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Isaiah 11: 1–10
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Lord, may we hear your voice in the words spoken in your name. Amen.
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I couldn’t help but notice this week that two seasons were
beginning – one here in the church — and the other outside
our church walls. On the day after Thanksgiving the world outside
our church walls kicked off the Holiday Shopping Season by celebrating
the high holy day – Black Friday. On that day people all
across this country lined up in the darkness before dawn at brightly
lighted stores — hoping for special deals on gifts to give to
family and friends on their long Christmas lists. So the stores
were crowded, the music was loud, and glitter was everywhere. And
Black Friday was only the beginning. If anybody missed actually
getting to a store that day, they could always shop online – for
similar deals — on Cyber Monday. Wherever they shopped,
the message was urgent to “Get it now – before you miss out,
before someone else beats you to it.” And if you managed
to find your deal on Amazon, the promise was that you could have it
now – or at least by the next day — delivered straight to
your door. ¹
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Here in the church, we started a different kind of season this
week. We entered into the long, slow Advent season. Advent,
too, is done in anticipation of the Christ child’s birth. And
Advent too begins in the dark. But right there is where the
similarities between the two seasons end. For here in the church
things move at a slower, quieter pace than they do in the world. We
do have music, but it is quiet reflective music. And yes, we also
decorate, but not with glitter and certainly not with pressure to buy
anything.
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In fact, aside from these fresh greens, the only new decoration we
have in this sanctuary is our Advent wreath with its four purple
candles. We will light just one new candle on that wreath each
week – and as we do, we will take time to talk about what each
candle represents – the hope, the peace, the joy and the love at
our Lord’s presence in our lives. And you know, that’s
the way it has always been for God’s people. Our
understanding of our Lord’s holy coming has always unfolded
slowly, with hope and joy and quiet reverence.
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But we can’t blame the world for their confusion about the nature
of these holy days. For Advent doesn’t just celebrate
newborn Jesus, the hope of the world, lying sweetly in his mother’s
arms in Bethlehem. Advent also welcomes the adult Jesus as he
begins his ministry, heralded by the fierce warnings of John the
Baptist — warning everyone to repent. And as if all
that weren’ enough — Advent also celebrates
Jesus’ Second Coming – when, as the old Prayerbook
puts it —
. . . he cometh to judge the earth
and with righteousness to judge the world
and the peoples with his truth.
That is a solemn warning if ever there was one! No wonder the
world is just a bit confused about Advent.
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You and I, though, do not worry. We can’t explain the
mystery of our faith, but we have come to know the Lord, better and
better. So we trust in his promises. We trust his patience
with us, with each one of us individually and with others around
us. For we know he loves us all. And as we continue to pray,
as we continue to worship and listen, we notice that our faith is growing.
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So yes, this time of Advent is a hopeful time, as we reset our own
faith and watch and wait for signs of our Lord drawing near.
It’s not a quick fix – not for us, not for our families or
for our world. But this long slow season in the church offers us
the real hope of our Lord’s return. For we know that when
he comes, he will set right whatever has gone wrong – in us
individually and in our world. He will bring peace to our souls.
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It’s this same kind of reassurance the prophet Isaiah was trying
to give to the people of his day. For in his day, too, the people
around him were filled with anxiety. Powerful enemies were
threatening the nation. And their leaders were proving
unreliable. But Isaiah’s trust was in the faithfulness of
the Lord, the faithfulness of God’s promises to his people. So
the prophet reminded them of another time in Israel’s life when
things had looked bleak – a time just a few generations earlier.
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Do you remember, he asked them, when Jesse’s family tree looked
like it was finished? It had dried up. It was only a
stump – and a dead, lifeless–looking stump at that. But
then — a small green shoot emerged from that stump – and grew
ever taller. That small green shoot was David, who became
Israel’s greatest king, a king who ruled — by the grace and
guidance of God — with wisdom and righteousness and humility.
Remember those days, Isaiah told the people – for the Spirit of
God, by which David ruled, is with us still. And God has promised
that we will yet have such a righteous King. We will yet have
peace throughout the world. Remember God’s promises, he told
them. Remember — he has told us — that the roots of
that old stump will yet produce surprising fruit.
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He was speaking, of course, about Messiah, and Messiah’s coming
reign – which would bring peace to all of Creation. A peace
so profound that the lamb would lie down peaceably with the
wolf . . . and the leopard would
befriend the kid . . . and children
everywhere would be safe and happy. That is the peace Isaiah
reminded the people was coming. And it’s the very same
peace that we watch and wait and hope for during Advent.
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So how can we participate in this renewal, this rekindling of our
faith? How do we begin? We begin by doing what we are
doing right now. We remember his promises to us. “Come
unto me all you who are weary and heavy laden – and I will give
you rest.” Or “Be not afraid; I am with you
always.” Or “Be still and know that I am
God.” That’s the first step during Advent – to
remember God’s promises to us. For we know if those promises
once brought us peace and reassurance, they can do it again.
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Then we confess to him our real needs and our real desires. We get
honest with him about ourselves and our situation. We take that
leap of faith that allows us to trust that his grace will supply our
needs . . . over and over again. His
forgiveness will cover our shortcomings. And the light of his
countenance will lift our spirits.
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And finally, before we leave this sanctuary, we come to this Communion
rail and offer him our concerns, our hopes and dreams, trusting that by
his grace we will here receive what we need to be healed, made whole,
and equipped to go out and serve others. Here we receive
pardon. Here we receive mercy. And here we are blessed to
be a blessing.
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Do you see what has happened? The long, slow process of Advent
lessons, Advent worship and Advent faith has done its work. Christ
has come. He has come to us — and we ourselves are being
transformed to carry the faith of his coming into the world.
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Let it be so today for you and for me.
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Amen.
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¹ Br. Curtis Almquist SSJE “The Dawning of the Light
of Christ” Podcast from November 28, 2021.
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