Poor Israel. Life, it seemed, had become a beach constantly battered by the relentless pounding of the surf. Jerusalem seemingly absorbed wave after wave of Babylonian barrages. The fighting finally let up when Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar put his own man, Zedekiah on the throne. Zedekiah had a firm right to the throne, but he was far too weak to be a good king. He simply was King Nebuchadnezzar’s puppet.
Pressure mounted on Zedekiah to be faithful to Judah rather than to Nebuchadnezzar. In a sudden surge of nationalistic pride, Zedekiah finally rebelled against the more powerful Babylonian King. His chest undoubtedly swelled with pride, but his decision served only to thrust the vastly inferior Judah back into the crosshairs of the Babylonian army.
In this next assault, life as they knew it would be lost. Everything that gave their lives meaning would be ravaged and destroyed in the fighting. The temple, the king, the priesthood, their homes, their families, their city, their entire lives would be reduced to rubble. Exile loomed immanent on the horizon. Jeremiah finds himself in jail. From his imprisonment he penned our text this morning.
“The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days…I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’”
What beautiful words! What words of hope! Words that can only be heard adequately against the background of Judah’s utter hopelessness.
We’ve almost become numb to the stories emerging in Iraq. The big news this week was the debate over whether or not Iraq is embattled in a civil war. The fighting seems to be getting worse rather than better. Recently leaked memos indicate an apparent lack of confidence in the Iraqi leadership to control things. Iraq is turning to Syria and Iran for counsel. If there is light at the end of the tunnel, we can’t see it from all of the smoke rising over the death and destruction. Where is the hope?
The big news this week was the Pope’s controversial visit to Turkey. It was supposed to be a trip for dialogue between the East and West branches of the historic church. Those talks, however, have been overshadowed by the conflict between Christians and Muslims. Buried beneath the façade of good will and peace making we hear Muslim clerics condemning all who “spread Islamophobia.” We find the Pope condemning all religious leaders who espouse violence for religious purposes. Where is the hope?
The sense of despair is not just out there somewhere. I was watching television this week. I tuned in to what is becoming one of my preferred programs: On Que. It is a “Dateline” type news program, except it is local to Western Pennsylvania. One of the episodes this week spent the hour looking at life in Brownsville. Brownsville is a small town that grew up on the banks of the Monongahela River. It was once a hub of activity in the Mon Valley. The business district was once packed with prospering businesses: diners, clothiers, hardwares, five and dimes. You name it, they had it down on Main Street.
People were everywhere. The diners were always packed at lunch time. Every Saturday evening the people came to town to do their shopping. It was common to see people walking in the streets because the sidewalks were too full. But that was then. This is now. As the cameras rolled up and down throughout the business districts, there were no cars, there were no people. Where once business thrived and people scurried to and fro, one now finds only boarded up windows, pad locked doors, and “Condemned” signs.
In the midst of the world, we hear these words from Jeremiah: “The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days … I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’”
Jeremiah had a vision. It was a vision of hope. It was a vision of restoration. It was a vision only fulfillable by God’s faithfulness to God’s people. God’s plan was always that Israel would be ruled by God alone. But the people desperately wanted a king. Israelite kings were supposed to be God’s ambassadors. They were supposed to reign as God would reign. They were supposed to be God’s anointed, ruling with God’s character. They were supposed to model God for the people, embodying the justice and righteousness of God. They were supposed to shepherd God’s people, caring for them as God cared for them. This is what God intended and this is what the people expected. But neither intention nor expectation was met.
Jeremiah casts a vision of hope. He tells of a day when a new king will rise from the rubble. He tells of a day when a new king will deliver Judah. This new king will embody the faithfulness of God. He we be an agent of change, and a bearer of God’s steadfast love. He will be the one through whom God’s new work is begun. He will be a King that fulfills all the expectations of God’s kings and he will be known for being just and righteous.
The days passed and the years rolled on. Centuries drifted by and Israel waited. They waited for God to break into the world. They waited for the king who would be just and righteous. They waited for the king who would deliver them from their exile and from their enemies. They waited … and they waited … and they waited.
We wait today.
Advent is a season of waiting. It is a time when we wait for God to break into our world. Advent is a time when we live every day grasping tightly to the promise that one day God will intervene and our prayer will be answered, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Advent is about reflecting on the past and anticipating the future. But it is also about living in the present, as people with hope – as people with a promise.
Our hopeful waiting is firmly rooted in the activity of God. It is based on the promise of God. It is a promise fulfilled at Christmas. Christ is our hope. Christ is our promised king. He is the king who delivers us from our bondage. He is the king who brings salvation to His people. He is the King who was just and righteous. In Christ, we have redemption. In Christ, we have salvation. In Christ, we are free. We are free, yet we look at the world around us. Where is the salvation? Where is the freedom? All we seem to see is war and violence, death and disease. Christ came that we might be free, yet evil is all that we see. And so we continue waiting, our hope in Christ, that he will come again, just as He has promised.
Waiting, however, is not a time for idleness. It is not a time for passivity. It is a time for action. Jeremiah’s prophesied king was not said to be righteous and just, but was said to “execute justice and righteousness.” Christ was righteous and just, but we know he was righteous and just because he executed, he practiced, he promoted, he worked hard for righteousness and justice in the world. Waiting is not and sitting back. Waiting is about getting up and doing. We’ve all been around children enough to understand what it means to live with a promise and to wait for that promise to be fulfilled.
One day Johnny was feeling down. He is feeling depressed. His father noticed Johnny’s depression and said to Johnny, “Don’t be so down, I’ve got a surprise for you.”
“What is it Daddy?”
“I can’t tell you yet, you’ll just have to wait.”
“But Daddy!”
“Johnny, I promise you you’ll get your surprise. Your going to have to wait though.” Suddenly everywhere the father went, so went Johnny. All of a sudden the father did not have to ask Johnny to keep his toys picked up.
“Daddy, is it time yet?”
“No Johnny, not yet.” But Johnny’s determined. He continues trying to help out and he continues reminding Daddy of his promise. Johnny waits for his surprise, but he is not about to just sit in his room while he waits. He is going to do everything he can think of to make the surprise happen as soon as possible.
This world’s only hope is the righteousness of Christ. Waiting for Christ to come, however, is not a time for sitting by, it is a time for action! Jeremiah frequently looked to the actions of Israel’s kings as a major factor in their present predicament. The world’s only hope is the righteousness of Christ, but like Israel’s kings, we have been sent as ambassadors to the world. We wait for the king to return, but we wait by acting. Waiting means we reign as Christ would reign. We are Christ’s anointed, ruling with Christ’s character. We are to model Christ for the people, embodying and practicing the justice and righteousness of Christ. We are to shepherd God’s people, caring for them as Christ cared for them.
Advent is a time of active waiting, when we, with Jeremiah, proclaim a message of hope. We, with Jeremiah, proclaim that the king is coming and the king will bring salvation. We with Christ execute justice and righteousness. We spread the love and joy, hope and peace of Christmas. But we don’t just talk about love and joy, peace and hope, righteousness and justice. We do everything we can to make these things a realilty in our world. We don’t just pray “Thy kingdom come,” we work to make His kingdom come. We stand up for the oppressed, we free the captives, where there is war we make peace. In doing these things we pray, “Come Lord Jesus, come.” We proclaim, “the King is coming.” We bring the hope of Christmas to a desperate and needy world. To the glory of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
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