+ Advent Midweek 3 – December 14th,
2016 +
Isaiah
40:1-11; Matthew 3:1-12
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen.
The rock n’ roll legend, Tom Petty was right, “The waiting is
the hardest part”.
During this season, we spend a lot of time waiting: in lines
at the store, for packages on our doorstep, or on the freeways in traffic. For
some of us, this waiting is full of excitement and expectation, like a child
who can’t fall asleep Christmas Eve because they’re so antsy waiting for
Christmas morning. Still, there are many others who are waiting for the
holidays to be over.
In the Lord’s House, Advent is a season of waiting as well. We
wait to celebrate Christmas Day and sing with joy: “Glory to God in the
highest!” We join the Psalmist in crying out:
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.
and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.
And as we hear God’s Word taught and preached, as we live in the
word and water of our Baptism, as we receive Jesus’ body and blood by his Word
and promise in Holy Communion, we also wait for Christ to come again on the
Last Day.
The people of Israel have a long history of waiting. Waiting
on God’s promises is the story of the Old Testament. Israel waited for their
exodus from slavery in Egypt to enter the promised land, waited for the glory
of the Lord to fill the temple built by Solomon, waited for the promised
Messiah to come and crush the serpent’s head once and for all.
YHWH sent Isaiah the prophet to Israel at a time of waiting.
The kingdom of Israel, established through David, given the Lord’s splendor and
glory through Solomon, was divided. Though a faithful remnant would remain,
many did not wait on the Lord and chased the instant gratification of false
worship to false gods. Meanwhile, the Babylonian and Assyrian empires waited
for an opportune time lay waste to Jerusalem.
In the years after Isaiah, Israel would need the word of the
Lord he delivered.
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that her warfare is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord's hand
double for all her sins.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that her warfare is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord's hand
double for all her sins.
King Hezekiah foolishly put his trust in the Babylonians to
protect Israel from the Assyrians. Isaiah warned of the coming Babylonian
exile. But in 587, Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians. The Holy City was
consumed in destruction. The land, promised by YHWH, was pillaged and
devastated. Israel was taken into exile. Ezekiel’s chilling vision had come
true. The glory of the Lord departed the temple. And the temple – the place where
YHWH dwelled with his people and for his people - was in ruins. No temple, no
sacrifice for sin, no liturgy, where YHWH was present for his people in mercy.
And there in Babylon, far from home and the Lord’s house,
Israel waited in lament:
By the waters of Babylon,
there we sat down and wept,
when we remembered Zion.
there we sat down and wept,
when we remembered Zion.
And in many ways, we’re a lot like Israel. Waiting is not
something we excel at. If the busy-ness of the holiday season teaches us
anything, it’s that we are far too easily frustrated, impatient, and quick to
anger and abounding steadfast stubbornness.
Like Hezekiah, we put our hope and trust in the Babylons of
this world, in people, places, and things that are temporal. All flesh is grass; it withers and fades
away, says Isaiah.
Like Israel, we war with God, we are unfaithful as his bride,
chasing our own passions, desires, lusts, and idols.
Like Israel, we live in exile in a fallen world, far from
home; in bondage and slavery to sin, in the wilderness awaiting the Promised
Land. And we cry out with Isaiah: Woe is
me; I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell among a people of unclean lips.”
Like Israel, God sends us Isaiah and the prophets, all the way
down to John the Baptist, to awaken us in our waiting. Repent. The Kingdom of
God is at hand.
But Israel did not wait in vain for the Lord. For neither
exile nor captivity could silence the Word of the Lord. After 70 years in
captivity, Israel returned to Jerusalem. The walls and temple were rebuilt. The
liturgy and sacrifices for sin was restored.
Into the destruction, despair, and desolation of Israel’s exile,
the Lord sent his Word, his solemn promise.
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that her warfare is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord's hand
double for all her sins.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that her warfare is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord's hand
double for all her sins.
Like Israel, we do not wait in vain. The Messiah that Isaiah
foretold came for Israel and for you. The comfort Isaiah declared comes for you
in the flesh of Jesus. The forgiveness and pardon promised by God comes for you
in Jesus born for you, held captive to sin and death for you, crucified and
risen for you.
Into our exile, into our lives broken by sin, into our lives
of hopelessness, destruction, disease, and death, the Lord sends Jesus, the
Word made flesh for you. For us who sit in exile in
this fallen world, Jesus comes and frees you from captivity to sin. For us who
are unfaithful in thought, word, and deed, Jesus comes as the faithful Son in
your place, always fulfilling the Father’s will and desires for you. For us who
were at war with God in our hearts and minds, Jesus wins victory and brings
peace to you by his death on the cross. For us who deserved double punishment
for our iniquity, Jesus comes and pardons you, gives you double forgiveness,
double comfort.
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Comfort is a Gospel word, and once is never enough with the
Gospel. You simply can’t hear, receive, eat and drink God’s comfort for you in
Jesus too much.
So it is this Advent; we wait with Isaiah and
Israel who longed for Jesus’ appearing, with Simeon who was awaiting the
consolation of Israel, with Anna and all who were waiting the redemption of
Jerusalem.
For the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
The glory of the Lord has returned and is revealed for you in
Jesus. From the tabernacle of Mary’s womb comes forth the temple of Jesus’
body. The glory of the Lord revealed to Moses in the burning bush now manifests
his glory from the tree of the cross for you. The glory of the Lord who led
Israel by a pillar of smoke and fire now leads us as the Good Shepherd, who
laid down his life for you. The glory of the Lord that sat between the cherubim
on the ark of the covenant, now dwells for you in the bread and wine of the
Lord’s Supper, the water of your Baptism, the double forgiveness of Absolution,
and the Word of the Lord endures forever for you.
Here in the Lord's House, we have everything Israel had, only
infinitely greater: the temple, the liturgy, sacrifice for sin,– it’s all here
for us in Jesus, the glory of the Lord in human flesh. Yes, we wait, but not in
vain.
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that her warfare is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord's hand
double for all her sins.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that her warfare is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord's hand
double for all her sins.
In the Name of the Father
and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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