Matthew 28:16-20 While We Wait

 

All advent, the theme has been about waiting, how Israel was waiting for Jesus to come as their Messiah, and how we are waiting for Jesus to come back again. Christmas has passed and now we switch the focus from whom are we waiting for to how do we wait for Jesus to return? We turn to Mathew for part of the answer to this question, to Jesus’ instruction to his followers. Matthew tells us that Jesus called his disciples to meet him on a mountain in Galilee. Mountains are important places in Jewish history, places where God often met and spoke with his people, giving them instructions on who he is calling them to be as his people. Jesus continues this tradition with his disciples by meeting them on a mountainside to give them some last instructions before he returned to his Father in heaven.

One of the things Matthews shares about this meeting of Jesus and his disciples puzzles me, “When they saw him, Jesus, they worshipped him, but some doubted.” I get the worshipped part, they had seen Jesus die on the cross, they saw Jesus after his resurrection by appearing out of nowhere in the locked upper room, saw the scars on Jesus from the crucifixion, ate the breakfast Jesus cooked for them on the seashore, and yet Matthew tells us that some of them doubted.

I have always wondered who doubted and what they doubted; did they doubt Jesus’ death, or maybe some of his teachings about being the Son of God, or was there something else? Yet I have also found some hope in their doubt for my own times when faith has been hard, or Jesus’ presence seemed far away; the hope comes from knowing that in spite of their doubts, God used these same doubting disciples to spread the good news of Jesus across the known world and even into parts of the world not under Roman rule. My doubts are not strong enough to resist God’s grace!

Jesus reminds his disciples who he is, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” There is no authority, no person with more authority in heaven or on earth that Jesus, including Caesar or Satan. The rabbi they’ve been following for the past three years, the person who was crucified, who rose from the dead, and is now standing before them, has been given all authority over all creation by God, because, as we hear in John’s Gospel, “through him all things were made that has been made.” There is a sharp divide between God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit and every thing else. God is the creator and everything else is the created; this is why Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth in himself.

Now Jesus gives his disciples their marching orders while they wait for his return, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Jesus commands his disciples to make disciples, a brief grammar lesson, the word ‘go’ is a participle and can easily be translated, “Therefore, as you are going…” going about your lives, “make disciples.” It’s a naturally expected part of who we are as Jesus’ disciples, that we make disciples as we walk through life. We can do this in confidence because they, as we also are, are all under Jesus, who has been given all authority in heaven and on earth, to carry out his wishes and commands.

Leslie Newbigin, a British missionary wrote that, “this is the time given for the witness of the apostolic church, to the ends of the earth. “Missionary obedience” is at the core of Jesus’ return.” We look at wars and rumours of wars and physical disasters as signs of Jesus’ return, but “missionary obedience,” being faithful in sharing the good news of Jesus, is the true sign of Jesus’ return.” I keep hearing people say that Jesus’ return must be coming close because of all the trouble in the world, but I appreciate Newbigin’s approach to understanding Scripture better. Jesus told us that there would be all kinds of troubles and wars, but that they were not the sign of his coming back, not even Jesus knew when he was coming back, but focusing on Jesus’ last command and being faithful in making disciples, in being a blessing to all nations by bringing them the good news of Jesus and the transformation that Jesus brings, is a more biblical understanding of what we should be doing while we wait for Jesus’ return.

Rather than looking for troubles pointing to Jesus’ return, we should be looking at how the gospel is impacting the world and our neighbourhoods, how the gospel is the answer to all the troubles in our world and lives. This ties in much more biblically to God calling Abraham and his promise to bless Abraham and that all peoples on earth will be blessed through Abraham, which is especially fulfilled in the coming of Jesus, his death, and resurrection, and the giving of the Holy Spirit. This also fits with the images of being salt and light in the world, images of blessing and hope. Israel, and the church are called to be God’s people in the world, shaped by God to show the nations who God is and who he has created humanity to be.

A former professor from Redeemer University, Michael Goheen writes, “the church is not about receiving salvation, but being a channel of that salvation to others. In other words, the church has a missional identity of being the new humanity for the sake of the nations to invite them into it. And now that we are in a new era between the coming of Christ and his return, it's a time for the gathering of the nations from all parts of the world, into that new humanity that will one day fill the earth…. this time between the resurrection and the return of Jesus is a time of gathering. Hendrick Kramer speaks of the walls of history remaining open until the church completes its mission of gathering in the nations into the new humanity.”

How do you see Jesus and God, do you see God as an abundant God who is generous with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, or a stingy God who is holding the Spirit back? Jesus reveals a God who is pouring out into the world, a generous God who throws lavish feasts and is generous with his invitations, a God filled with grace and mercy who calls us to confession and repentance, and who then gives us the Holy Spirit to guide us in our confession and new life, and who equips us to share the good news of Jesus and live out the good news.

A disciple is someone who follows Jesus, and to be a disciple, you make disciples, that’s really at the heart of Jesus is all about when he says to us, “Follow me.” This looks like sharing the gospel news of Jesus as we live out the good news in our own lives. Who are you speaking the gospel news to, who has Jesus placed in your life to share the gospel with? Making disciples is about going to people who don’t know the love of Jesus and leading them to experience the life and love of Jesus through you and with you. Baptizing people when they put their faith in Jesus shows them that they belong as they join us in learning about and exploring what it looks like in the day-to-day journey of following Jesus.

David Platt writes, “Making disciples is what happens when we walk through life together, showing one another how to pray, study the Bible, grow in Christ, and lead others to Christ.” “Therefore go and make disciples” looks like regularly getting out of our church circles and being a part of our larger community. It’s about listening to the questions and doubts of people about Jesus and church and having conversations, not giving lectures, with them. This is what we will be doing this winter in the Sunday evening pastor’s class beginning in a couple of weeks. It’s in the regular activities of life in our community that we find the opportunities to build relationships and friendships where making disciples becomes a natural and normal part of following Jesus, shining his light into the lives of others.

Jesus tells us “To teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.” This means knowing the Bible and filling our own words with God’s Word, teaching others everything that Jesus has taught us. Part of the teaching is doing good in order to bless the church family we are part of, after-all, how we live with and love each other is a powerful witness to our faith and to Jesus, and to serve our community to be a blessing to others so they can experience the love of Jesus through us. This is part of the teaching and living out God’s Word that shapes us and is often the first step in making disciples as they encounter Jesus through us. As church, we are working to become more like Jesus and nurturing others to become more like Jesus; this is the essence of what Jesus is talking about.

Luke 2:1-20 Love is Here--Christmas Day

 

Today many people all over the world will be sitting down to tables groaning with food with family and friends, whether they believe in Christmas, or Jesus, or not. Today is a day of giving and receiving, and of joy and peace. Yet while we’re at our full tables, thousands will be spending Christmas more like Jesus and his family did that first night; wondering what the next few days hold for them and praying that God will provide for them. For many today, even here in prosperous Lacombe, there’s little money for gifts, sometimes no family to be with, and little joy or peace, and yet people like these are the ones that capture God’s heart and who Jesus reaches out to. They understand the glory of God; they understand what Saviour and Messiah means. We remember this, not to feel guilty, but to be more grateful for what we have and more generous with what we have.

 In the dark of the night, simple, humble and mostly poor shepherds are in the fields working to put food on their families’ tables when they’re startled by an amazing sight: angels fill the sky, shining in the night and bringing news from God. A great light shines over them, offering hope and probably a little fear as well. The glory of the Lord shines around them; God’s on the move, breaking into the world, coming close to his people and offering good news of great joy, not only for Israel, but for all people. Glory is all about God’s presence. God’s closeness radiates in the angel’s joy as they tell of a child just born and lying in a manger close by, close enough to visit and see, close enough to see that the angel’s message that God is doing something special for his people is true. The angels guide these poor and yet strangely blessed peasants in the cold fields outside Bethlehem to a humble home in the town of Bethlehem where God’s love is on display in a tiny child.

“A saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” This is no ordinary child, but one anointed by God for a special calling, to be the Saviour of his people; a child with power and authority from God himself. Yet what a strange place for God’s glory to be revealed: to a group of shepherds working in a field outside of a small, unimportant village, through a baby in a manger, and a poor couple with a strange story to tell. The meeting place of God with his people is normally in the temple where the glory of God is experienced in the Holy of Holies. But instead of meeting his people in the gorgeous temple that rivalled Solomon’s, or in the palace of the king, or in the court of the great Roman emperor, we find ourselves late at night going with the shepherds to a humble home in this small village of Bethlehem. God continues to turn our expectations of the way things should be upside down. God’s glory and love are revealed in unexpected places.

When God comes, he doesn’t visit the emperor, he visits a group of shepherds; not the rich, but the poor; not the important people, but the insignificant; not the powerful, but the weak; not the rulers, but the subjects; not the special, but the ordinary. If Jesus came today, would he be here in our homes filled with all the comforts of life, or downtown Red Deer with the homeless at the Mustard Seed, or the Safe Harbour, or the Woman’s Outreach Society? Would the angels be singing “Glory to God in the highest,” over Lacombe, or over Maskwacis, or downtown Red Deer where there’s a high concentration of people struggling with homelessness and addictions? That’s part of the wonder of the glory of God, the love of God; that he sees the ones we often don’t see, that he comes to the ones we stay away from. Jesus becomes one of the people that we don’t want to be. God with us, Immanuel, comes first to the ones who need him to be with them the most.

The shepherds’ fear changes to joy with the angel’s message. The news is glorious; God has sent someone to save them. Anointed with God’s spirit to lead his people to freedom, the one they’ve been waiting for, for hundreds of years already. The angels give them a sign, they’ll find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. To show the shepherds that they share their joy, the angels praise God, saying, “Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests.” The response to God’s glory is praise and obedience. The angels get it and they point to God and to his relationship with us. The Greek word for peace translates the Hebrew word shalom, which is peace, but so much more than peace, it’s about a right relationship with God, healthy relationships with others, health in our souls and hearts, and experiencing fullness in our lives. What a blessing, what a gift God gives us by giving us his favour, showing us his love through Jesus. Jesus leaves his home and comes to a strange country to bring hope, peace, and the love of God the Father.

We offer the world, the greatest gift of love when we share how God has come to us. We can be like the angels offering good news of great joy, letting the world know that God loves us so much that he came to be with us, to experience our lives, and bring us his strength and hope. We share the good news that we’re never alone. When we feel that no one sees us or cares, God does see us and he does care; he cares enough to come to earth and be born, experience life, and then die for us on the cross so our sins are forgiven.

We offer hope to the world in Jesus’ name by drawing close to the people often ignored or overlooked by most people, by willing to be on the side of the hurting, the oppressed, the orphan, the widow, and those who are unable to defend themselves, or take care of themselves. How have you offered joy and hope this week? How have you been the presence of Jesus is someone else’s life lately? Have you stopped to offer peace and shalom, stopped to praise God in the busyness of the season and share the good news of great joy to someone who needs words of hope and joy?

The shepherds rush off to see the child, to confirm for themselves that the angel’s message is true. When they had seen the child, they go from there and share with whoever they meet the story of the angel’s message and the child in the manger. Luke tells us Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The angel’s message to her is confirmed in the shepherd’s story, that she has just given birth to the Son of God! Everyone who hears the shepherds’ tale is amazed, after all it’s a fantastic tale, a story of hope and wonder. But it’s the shepherds’ response that grabs our attention. They respond to God’s glory by going out and telling everyone they meet what God is doing.

It may seem hard to see God’s glory today when we hear about wars, hunger, job losses, pandemics, injustice and abuse, and yet God is still breaking into our world today. Everywhere that someone helps someone else in Jesus’ name; God is breaking into that person, every time a church preaches the Gospel, God is breaking into the world; every time people dream new dreams of new ways of helping others and begin to work out ways to do them, God is breaking in, every time we work for unity and towards others instead of apart, God is breaking into our world. Finally, every time we open our hearts to the Holy Spirit and allow God to change our hearts, helping us to live out love, mercy, grace, patience, perseverance, and obedience, God breaks into us.

I invite you this wondrous Christmas day, to go from here and celebrate as the angels did, and as the shepherds did by going to the child in the manger, by going to meet Jesus. As we look to the child in the manger, see God’s glory shining through this child, this son of God and son of man. He came for you and for me; he came to draw us close once again to God our Father, to bring hope and healing, to bring new life to all of us. Glory to God in the highest and peace to you this day. Go from here this morning after experiencing and hearing of God’s glory and grace and share with someone what God has done in Jesus and continues to do today.

 

Isaiah 60:1-3 From Darkness to Light--Christmas Eve

 

It’s Christmas Eve, a time of hope, symbolized by light; the wreath and candles all leading to the lighting of the Christ Candle which symbolizes the coming of Jesus to chase the darkness away. Light is powerful, it chases darkness away, it takes the power and fear that darkness often brings and replaces it with hope and strength. This evening we’ve heard the story of God’s redemption, we’ve sang the songs of hope and peace, we’ve lit candles as a symbol of how Jesus has come to banish the darkness of sin, and the different forms of darkness that can creep into our souls, by shining his light on them, forcing the darkness to retreat.

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.” Light has come bringing hope, courage, and strength. Light and glory are intertwined as Isaiah connects the light in Isaiah 60 to God, echoing back to when God lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt by leading them through the wilderness with a pillar of fire and cloud. Isaiah shouts out to the Israelites, “Get up, see the light shining, God is on the move.” Jerusalem is in ashes, ruin, and despair. But just when it looks as if the sun will never rise again, there are hints that dawn is about to break, God’s getting ready to bring Israel home again.

Darkness may cover the land, thick darkness over the peoples, but when the light of the Lord rises on us, when he shines his glory over us, there’s no way the darkness stands a chance! I love how Rachel Hackenberg paraphrases these verses and reflects on them, “For darkness shall cover the earth like a fog, and dense clouds will hide all people from one another, but the LORD will arise upon you and God’s glory will be over you. Seriously, it’s time! The grace that you know, the passion for justice that you share, the fellowship that binds you: these are needed to bear witness to the dawn! Lift up your eyes and look around: nations shall come to your light; people will gather together; your sons shall return from their wars and your daughters shall find healing. Do not be shy or fearful. Look and see the light that you have been given to shine together. Live boldly as the very best community that God has called you to be, and watch how others come to join with you in beaming with God’s Spirit. Then you shall see and be radiant. Your heart shall thrill and rejoice! You will be surprised by the gifts that are shared — brought by sea and by camel — in joyful praise of the LORD. Let grace beget grace, let joy beget joy, let light beget light, to the glory of God! You — and me, and us, and all people as far as you can imagine with your arms stretched wide — together we are the new thing that God is doing in this world, for the sake of the world.”

Now we move from Isaiah to Luke, to the light of the world coming during another time of darkness in Israel. God begins a new thing by sending his son to become human, to come and shine his light into the world and draw people to his light. Luke 2:6–14, “While they, Mary and Joseph, were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Close your eyes a moment and imagine being outside on a dark night, no moon or stars shining, and suddenly a light appears. See the difference the light brings; imagine the relief and hope you experience in seeing the light. Now imagine being with the shepherds the night of Jesus’ birth, sitting with them in the dark of night, and suddenly an angel, a messenger from God appears with God’s glory shining brightly in the darkness, sharing good news, God is doing an amazing thing, the Saviour has finally arrived! The light of the world has appeared! While the times may be dark and life may be difficult, the darkness now has to contend with the creator of the world whose first words were, “Let there be light,” and there was light and it was good. Professor Brett Younger writes, “This child of light whose birthday we just celebrated—who Isaiah dreamed was coming, who the magi traveled so far to see—took on the darkness so we could see the light. It’s hard to explain and we can’t prove it, but if we look carefully, we may see a flicker of hope even in the darkest night.”

We will light our candles from the Christ Candle as a symbol that Jesus shines his light into our lives, and as a result of his light shing in us, we now carry Jesus’ light into our communities bringing his hope, bringing joy, peace, and love. By taking the light of Jesus out into the neighbourhood, we help them see that Jesus can shine his light into their darkness, that hope has come for all people. I love the picture here of people from every language, culture and background all coming to the light of Jesus, to discover the hope, the challenge, and the grace found in accepting Jesus.

We hear God call to us in Isaiah 42:6 “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles,” repeated again in the servant song in Isaiah 49:6, where God points to the promised Messiah, “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” As Jesus’ light shines in your heart and life, take the light of the world with you to shine it brightly into the lives of all those that Jesus places in your life path.

John 4:4-14 Waiting to be Satisfied

Have you ever been really hot and thirsty? How about really hungry? Have you ever been sad or lonely? What made you feel better or happy again? Did a glass of water make you feel less thirsty, and maybe a snack made you feel less hungry? How about when you’re lonely or sad, who helps you feel better? Do your parents or brothers and sisters help, or maybe a friend?

In this Bible story, Jesus is walking with his disciples and it is hot outside and he’s getting thirsty, hungry, and tired, so he sits down beside a well while the disciples go into a nearby town to buy some food for all of them. They leave Jesus alone at the well, still thirsty because he doesn’t have a bucket to get himself some water. A woman comes to get some water out of the well for her and her family. She is a Samaritan woman; do you know what that means? It means that people like Jesus who were Jewish didn’t like the Samaritans because they were only part Jewish.

Jesus is really thirsty, and he loves all people, even the Samaritan people, so he’s not afraid to ask the Samaritan woman for some water. She has a bucket to get water so Jesus asks her for help. The woman is surprised because she thought Jesus wouldn’t talk to her because she’s a Samaritan. She’s at the well alone because the people in her own town didn’t like her because she has had lots of husbands, so she’s probably pretty lonely too. It’s pretty hard when nobody likes you and Jesus knows this, and he cares about lonely people.

The woman asks Jesus, “We’re so different, how can you ask me for a drink of water?” Jesus tells her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” This is a strange answer. What does Jesus mean when he talks about the gift from God and what is living water? We know that the gift from God is Jesus; this is what we just remembered in the play that you did for us. Jesus is a wonderful precious gift from God who came to save us from our sin by becoming just like us. Jesus understands us and he understands what the woman at the well is feeling.

Jesus offers her living water. She’s thirsty too, but it’s her heart that is thirsty. Father Dennis Hamm writes that “today's story centers around what we have most in common—thirst for God.” Jesus uses our thirst for water as a sign for wanting God.  When Jesus says he has living water, he’s talking about the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus says in John 7, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”  By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.”

Rev. Dr. David Sapp teaches that, “living water meant flowing water as in a river, not the well water they were discussing. But Jesus told her that his living water was different. He said the living water he would give would come "gushing up into eternal life.” She had been drinking water that helped her when she was thirsty because it was hot outside, or because she was working really hard, but she knew that she would get thirsty again and have to get another drink of water, but Jesus told her about water that would never again leave her thirsty. Jesus knew that what she really needed, that what she was really thirsty for was for someone to love her and understand her hard life. Jesus knew that what she needed the most was him and so he offered to give her his living water that included his love, forgiveness, understanding and acceptance. He got her! He saw her sin and loved her anyway. Jesus filled her with hope; he gave her living water and she was satisfied.

We all need people who care about us, this is why Jesus gives us parents, grandparents, and a church family. But still there are times when we are lonely and afraid, times where we think that nobody knows what we are feeling and we’re too scared to tell anybody, sometimes even too scared to tell our parents or brothers and sisters, or even our grandparents. Jesus came to save us from our sin, but also so that we can come and talk to him when we’re lonely or afraid because we can trust that he really cares and loves us and understands our hearts.

At Christmas time, we remember that if you are looking for deep satisfaction in life, that you’re invited by Jesus himself to turn to him and drink from his living water and allow that living water to pour out through you into the thirsty world around us, into the other people who are seeking hope and grace to help them walk through their often dark and lonely paths in life.

 

Micah 5:2-5a He Will Be Our Peace

Christmas is coming and for most people that’s something to look forward to. People are filled with anticipation, eagerness, and a sense of hope because we may even be able to gather with a small group of friends and family again over the Christmas season. Beautiful bright lights and decorations, along with cheerful Christmas music is found everywhere we go. Yet for some of us, the joy and cheerfulness all around us can’t really make through into our hearts and lives. Some of us find ourselves wishing we could join in with the celebrations going on all around us, but the weight, the pressures, the losses and grief many of us have experienced this past year or so prevent us from feeling it, and many of us would simply like to retreat from all the festivities because it’s too hard right now.

The prophet Micah is writing to the Jewish people, warning them that God’s unhappy with them. God’s unhappy because there’s so much injustice going on, so many vulnerable people being taken advantage of, so many people getting hurt by those who were only concerned about themselves and what others can do for them to help them have an easy life. These were dark and hard times for so many of the Jewish people. God hears the cries of the widows, the orphans, the poor and others who are going through hard times because those who could make a difference were only looking out for themselves. This is why God sends the prophet Micah to challenge the oppressors and call them back to who God’s calling them to be as his people, to bring hope to those being oppressed, letting them know that God hears their cries and cares deeply for them.

Through Micah, God promises a son who will be like a shepherd to his people, a shepherd who will protect his people, provide for them, and will guide his people into peace, into shalom. This is a big word with a whole lot of depth and meaning. What the people who are hurting hear the prophet Micah say, is that God is sending a shepherd who is going to bring peace, quiet and tranquility. We hear echoes to Psalm 23, the Shepherd psalm where the shepherd leads the sheep beside quiet water and to green meadows, places of peace that soothe the soul and heart. God’s telling them that he cares and he knows their aching hearts and what they’re looking for: hope and new life.

Most of us here this evening have experienced loss or hurt this past year, or a deep pain in the past we’re still mourning, and we need a place, a moment to come to God and tell him that we’re hurting and we need some healing, we want the tears and the ache to stop, or at least get less so we can move through our days and weeks with hope again. My father went home to the Lord this year, and for a number of reasons, we were unable to hold a ceremony for him, it’s delayed until spring. The ache goes on. The economy is still hard and many are finding it stressful to just get by, the pandemic has strained many friendships, and loneliness is the new pandemic. Our hearts ache, our souls are tired, and we’re looking for hope.

Christmas and all its celebrations are hard, but it’s in what we remember at Christmas that brings hope, comfort and peace; God comes to earth as a child in the person of Jesus. Jesus comes as the son that Israel was waiting for, the shepherd who will provide for and protect his sheep. Jesus comes to experience life as we live it, in the chaos and messiness of family with its joys and stresses, he experiences rejection and loneliness, he experiences sorrow when loved ones die, he knows our hearts because he becomes one of us and knows what we need, what we’re looking for.

Jesus doesn’t come with might and power, he comes from a small insignificant people, from a simple regular family, just as we do and he comes to walk with us and offer healing, rest, and strength with gentleness and compassion. Jesus comes with arms open, tears in his eyes, and an ache in his heart for you. Jesus knows your ache, and in the ache, he comes to bring you comfort, peace, and healing.

When you’re feeling sorrow, when you’re feeling overwhelmed, Jesus reaches out to you and invites to come to him for rest, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Accept Jesus’ invitation to rest, close your eyes and tell Jesus, “Here I am, tired, afraid, and hurting. Hold me close, let me feel your peace, and give me strength for the days, weeks, and months ahead.” May you experience his peace this Christmas season.

Isaiah 40:1-11 Waiting for Strength

I can’t count the number of times that I’ve been asked by people who are struggling with the hard things of life to read this passage from Isaiah. It’s a passage filled with hope and strength to those who are exhausted and feeling weak. “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.” The Jewish people have been in exile, have been forced to be away from their country for almost 70 years now. Most of the people that hear these words of hope have been born and raised in a country that they don’t belong to, raised in a culture and place that serves other gods instead of our God. They don’t even know what home looks like. The people are looking for comfort, for hope, for someone to care about them, and for strength to keep trusting in God after all these years.

God turns to the prophets and leaders who are living in exile and he commands them to comfort God’s people. It’s been a long hard 70 years. Leaders like Daniel and his three friends, people like Mordecai and Esther have been used by God to keep the Israelites safe and protected during these years, but the times of persecution have made many of the people long to go back of their home in the Promised Land. God tells the leaders to “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” In Hebrew, God is telling the leaders to speak to Israel’s heart, here translated as tenderly. I love the imagery here, this is healing kind of talking, this is bringing hope kind of talk. God knows how Israel is feeling; that they need to hear words of compassion, love, and hope to find strength.

God gives Israel a picture of the way home, “A voice of one calling, ‘In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all the people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” The prophets are to play the role of eastern heralds who were sent ahead of the monarch to proclaim the monarch’s coming visit and prepare everything for the monarch’s arrival. The picture the Lord is giving the people is that of the Lord’s coming to Jerusalem and of a processional highway being built to make the journey smooth, safe, and speedy for the Lord and his people. They’re going home and the Lord is going to prepare the way; he’s going to arrange it!

Can’t you see the hope, the strength flowing into the Jewish people as they heard their leaders and the prophets proclaiming this amazing news! You can see the people turning to each other asking, “Can it be true? Is our time of exile over? Our leaders and the prophets are saying this is from the Lord, that he’s going to show the nations his glory!” Matthew 3 echoes these words, pointing to John the Baptist who’s calling the people back to God, preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near,” as he gets the people ready for Jesus’ coming! John’s calling the people to see that the glory of the Lord is about to be revealed for all the people to see.

A new voice says here in Isaiah, “Cry out.” And the prophet asks, “What shall I cry?” “All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” This is a fascinating passage. We hear all kinds of echoes of these verses in Scripture, from the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus talks about not worrying and uses the grass of the fields and the flowers as examples, where God makes them beautiful even though they wither away so quickly, to Peter’s first letter where he writes, “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, all people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.” Peter points to how the word of the Lord endures forever and how we’re born again from seed that will not perish through the living enduring word of God, a message of hope that gives strength.

The word in Isaiah that’s translated ‘faithfulness’ is one of those key words in Hebrew, it’s the word ‘hesed.’ It’s often used to describe God’s loyal love, his unfailing kindness, devotion to his people. It can also be translated as glory or as having a lovely appearance, as found in our verse this morning and echoed in 1 Peter. Isaiah is comparing the glory of something like flowers which have only a brief time of great beauty to the glory of the Lord and the word of God which endures forever. It’s all flows out of God’s covenant faithfulness.

In an article in the Christian High School newsletter, the author talks about how many of our young adults and youth walk through life in a posture of weakness. They’ve been told that they’re not worthy, that they’re born as oppressors to others. This may be true in a culture without Jesus, but we walk through life knowing that we walk with the Holy Spirit, in the strength of Jesus and God to love and serve. We have the Scriptures as a source of strength and to give us hope as God reveals to us who he is and his plan to redeem all creation. I sometimes wonder how strong our trust in Jesus’ strength and ability to transform us is. Often, I hear people say they cannot change; change habits, ways of thinking, or acting. We easily say that with God all things are possible, but do we really believe that?

We easily trust in human power when we know that their power is only for a short time, while we know that God’s power and strength is forever and much more than any human kingdom’s. Isaiah calls Israel to trust in God as he prepares them to return home because he’s all powerful and able to do this. We hear an echo in Isaiah 52:10 “The Lord will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.” The nations are going to marvel at God’s power as he saves his people. This message is still important for us to hear today. Scripture always warns us about putting our trust in governments, in legal constitutions that talk about individual rights and privileges; these are all human things. Place your trust and faith in God above all for he has the power to carry us through difficult times and to change us where we need to be changed.

Isaiah turns to the herald again, “You who bring good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!” The good news is that God is leading his people back home. The Spirit of God which left the temple when Israel went into exile is ready to lead his people home. “See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.”

Just over two thousand years ago, the angels came to bring good news, not just to Zion, but to all the nations, Luke writes, “But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” Israel’s king has come! Jesus comes as a child, but grows up to confront Satan in the wilderness when Satan tries to tempt him away from God the Father’s will, and then Jesus decisively defeats Satan on the cross and through his resurrection. Jesus brings us new life, brings us hope, fills us with his strength; a strength lies in humility, in servanthood, in grace, mercy, forgiveness, and love of God and neighbour.

As followers of Jesus, we often look at how powerful the things against God are, and we can lose hope, but in Isaiah, in Luke and the whole of Scripture, we are reminded again and again that Jesus is King of kings, Lord of lords, and as creator of all things, including Satan, Jesus is stronger than everything, everyone else, and he fills us with his strength through the gift of the Holy Spirit to be who he calls us to be as children of God. In Advent, we look ahead to Jesus’ return and the time he will completely defeat all his enemies and fully establish his kingdom here. We will be part of this because our God is strong enough to accomplish all things and he is on our side.

 

John 1:1-18; John 9:5 Waiting for Light

 

The Gospel of John is written by the disciple that Jesus dearly loved and as you read through John, the theme of Jesus’ love for people is woven through all the stories John shares. But John’s biggest desire is that we get to know who Jesus really is so that we will believe in Jesus as the Messiah. John writes in 20:31, “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” This is why John begins his Gospel with this extremely in-depth confession on who Jesus is.

There’s so much that John tells us about Jesus in these 18 verses; it’s a theological thesis on who Jesus is to help us understand Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. We’ll focus this morning mostly on the first half of these verses. John starts at the beginning of everything, his opening verses echo straight back to Genesis 1 and 2, the creation of the universe. Before there was anything, there was the Word and the Word was with God and was God. John clearly tells us straight out that Jesus is God, he wants there to be no doubt in our minds and hearts about who Jesus is.

When you take a look at the world around you, when you stop and watch the night sky on a clear night when the stars shine down on you from trillions of kilometers away, it’s good to remember that this all has its roots and beginning in Jesus, “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” Life itself comes from and through Jesus. John ties together the picture of light to the life that rooted in Jesus. The Hebrews experienced the world through word pictures, they helped them to understand the world through head and heart. In Genesis 1, the first thing God creates is light, God says “Let there be light,” and there was light and it was good! Without light, it’s hard for life to exist. The further down you go into the depths of the ocean, the fewer living creatures you find, the deeper you go into caves, the less life you discover. Light and life go naturally together, this is why God’s first creative words create light.

John heads straight down that way of seeing the world, “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John ties life and light together in Jesus. In the beginning light comes out of the life that’s in Jesus and that light is then what helps bring life into our world. In John 9:5, Jesus says, “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Jesus takes this image of light and applies it to himself and to our lives as we live and experience life; Jesus takes the image of light and shifts it away from a physical sun, moon, stars, and lanterns and reveals that his light is about him giving us life and guiding us.

During the time when Jesus was with us, it wasn’t always easy for the Jews. Rome’s in charge; there was the Roman Peace that didn’t guarantee justice. When Jesus talks about someone forcing you to go one mile, to go two miles instead, Jesus was referring to the law that said that a Roman soldier could tell you to carry his pack for up to one mile and you had no choice but to do it. The Jews weren’t slaves, but they weren’t free either. People were dreaming of the Messiah coming who would free them from oppression, a powerful warrior king. The Maccabees had freed Israel from the Assyrian yoke for a few years, but those years were long gone. The people were losing hope, and then on top of that, the Pharisees kept coming up with new religious rules and regulations for the people to follow; rules, that as Jesus said, even the Pharisees had a hard time keeping.

John writes his gospel years after Jesus went home to heaven, during a time of persecution, after the fall of Jerusalem, and the destruction of the temple. Their faith foundations have been destroyed. It’s a hard dark time. The people are looking at what’s going on in the world and seeing only distress and fearful gloom. Many people today find themselves in a place where it only feels dark in their soul and heart. Each one of us has dark places in our lives, dark scary places in our hearts and souls that some of us try to hide behind heavy strong doors inside us. Some of us live with depression and anxiety, feeling overwhelmed by the stresses that have come with the times we’re in, some are living with a sense of fear of the virus or the fear of loss of personal freedom, others live with the darkness of addiction, abuse, great poverty, or illness. It can be easy to find yourself in darkness and feeling all alone and as if no one sees or cares. Evil, suffering, distress, confusion, and more bring darkness into our lives, into our hearts and souls. This is what Satan wants. We wait for light to come.

Isaiah 9 points with hope to “a time is coming when the people walking in darkness will see a great light, and on those living in the land of deep darkness a light will dawn.” What were people waiting for in the Old Testament? They were waiting for someone to speak into the darkness and gloom and chase it away with light. Jesus is the true light, as John writes, “The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.” Jesus comes to lead us out of darkness into his light, if we let him.   

John the Baptist comes to bear witness to the light; he keeps pointing away from himself to Jesus. This is an important part of our witness, that we keep pointing people to Jesus, to his love and mercy to us, to his call to follow him, to rest in him, to look to him as our light. Light does a number of things. It shows reality, and therefore guides. There are many voices in our culture who are working to create a reality that differs from what Jesus teaches or lives out in the Scriptures. If you’re looking for a guide through life, go to the Gospels and meet Jesus and hear his teaching and see his life, and then go to the Old Testament and the creator God who never gives up on working to fulfil his promise of a Redeemer who will save his people. He’s a God who never gives up on his people, on his creation and all the nations. Then go to the rest of the New Testament to learn about Jesus. This helps bring Jesus’ light into our hearts and lives.

Light energizes us because it gives us hope. When things are hard, when the suffering seems like it will never end, when it feels like there is no one who can help, and then someone comes with a word of hope, a helping hand, a listening ear, and reminds us that we never walk alone. Jesus cares too much for us to live without hope, it often gives us that bit of strength to make it through the next day, week, or even month.

Light chases darkness away. Light and darkness cannot exist together. Light has the power to take the fear of the darkness away. This gives a deeper significance to what Jesus says, “I am the light of the world.” I love how Paul calls us to allow Jesus to open our hearts to his light, Ephesians 1:17–18 “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people” When your heart is afraid, Jesus can take your fear away by shining his light of hope and peace into your heart.

Jesus, in Luke 11:33–36 encourages us, “No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.” Luke emphasizes how important it is that the light in us comes from Jesus. As we wait for the light of the world to return, we offer the light and hope to Jesus to our community, always allowing Jesus to continuously pour his light into us.