The text this morning is from the Old Testament lesson, the Prophet Isaiah, chapter 40, especially verses 1 and 2 and 6 through 8:
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,Thus far the text.
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…
A voice says, "Cry!" And I said, "What shall I cry?"
All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it;
surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
Dear friends in Christ,
“Comfort, Comfort, my people.” The Isaiah text this morning is one of my favorite texts in Scripture, as it speaks poignantly to the human condition. We are sinners, this is true, and yet God desires that we are His, so He brings comfort, salve to a hurting people.
Every time I hear this text from Isaiah I am taken back to, perhaps, the most well-known work in the Western world, Handel’s famous oratorio, “The Messiah.” In fact, the very first vocal work in Handel’s piece is titled “Comfort ye, My people.” Handel got it! He got the point of Scripture! Oh, the strains of joy and anguish that flow through the notes and orchestration of that song. It takes you to a loving God, a God who has looked down on His creation and has spent His time despairing. God’s very own creation has rebelled against Him, and yet He is a God who cannot give up His people into the hands of the devil without a fight. We know this story well: God sent His Son, Jesus, into the world, the very Jesus that we celebrate in this Advent season, the very infant Christ that was heralded by angels. This infant child would grow and, in time, would also be the man who died on the cross in our place for our sin.
“Comfort, Comfort, my people,” God says through His prophet, Isaiah, to His creation, to you. God sees a world in crisis, a world in need, a world crying out for a savior. God sees that His people are hurting, are searching, are toiling without purpose. The heart of God’s people is broken. Your heart is pained. You are dead in your trespasses. You have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God.
In the area right outside Seattle, there are beautiful fields of flowers, rich, flowing for acres. The color is so incredible. Unless you’ve seen it, the beauty can’t even be imagined. Each individual flower is built by its Creator seemingly to perfection. Each petal, each stem, all leading to the most amazing experience. Every morning, hordes of families and businesses take to the fields, bringing back their beautiful treasures to sell. If flowers could be jealous, if they had the capacity to dream, every flower would dream of being grown in Seattle and picked for their specific purpose: their beautifully designed bouquet. This is what the flower is destined for: to be sold and to be enjoyed. The flower is a small part of the larger bouquet to be taken home and to be looked upon fondly, to rejoice over.
But who rejoices for the flower that falls to the ground and is trampled underfoot? Who rejoices for the flower that is stepped on and smushed into the dirt, with the life-nourishing liquid running out, leaving bruises on the petal? Who enjoys the flower that is laying on the sidewalk, decaying until a street sweeper moves it out of the way and into the gutter, where it can be washed away with the rest of the trash? No one. No one enjoys this flower. No one wants this flower. No one needs this flower.
This flower, this worthless piece of smushed and trampled trash, this is you, a sinner. You are worthless, like a once-beautiful flower that has given itself into decay. “ The grass withers, the flowers fade.” You have faded, and not because you are the poor victim of someone’s ill will, but because you have thrown yourself off your stem; you have sinned against the God of life, Himself. You were once something beautiful, and deep down, we know this. We have a longing in our heart for what was meant to be. We were destined to be the crowning achievement in God’s good creation. We were created to be something more than we are. We were created to be perfect. And, by our own choice, we’re not.
Deep in our hearts, we know that we are not what we were. We know that our first ancestors sinned and have passed it down to us. But, if only we could be perfect, if only we could keep the Law, maybe, maybe God would have mercy on us. Yet, we can’t be perfect. We can’t keep the Law. We can’t listen to God. We can’t be what we were intended to be. We just can’t do it and we know it. So, we rebel. We go hard the other way. “We are sinners? Fine. I’ll show you sin, God. I’ll show you just how bad I can be.” We stick our tongues out at the very God we never even realize is keeping us alive, breathing on us, the very God who is giving us the ability to stick our tongues out at Him, the very God who allows us to choose if we will serve Him or we will serve that damnable demonic devil, the deceiver, Satan.
We chose badly. We chose sin. We chose Satan. We always will, when we’re planning on going our own way.
“Comfort, Comfort, my people.” God doesn’t just leave us, however. God never forsakes a soul. He is always with them, even until the end of the age. God is always with you, behind you, in front of you, under you, over you. God is always with you. And God is clearly holding compassion in His heart for you. He looks and feels compassion for His people, for you. He sees what He created His people to be, He sees that you have chosen Satan over Himself, but He sees that beauty that was intended for you. It is reflected in the face of Christ.
God does not want you to be suffering but He desires that you be redeemed. And you are, in Christ! He does not want you to be distant from Him but longs to hold you. And He does, in Christ! He does not want you to turn away from Him but wants you to fix your eyes on Him. He desires to put you back together, to take that smushed petal and put its life-giving water back into it, to heal its bruises, to reattach it to the stem, and replant it into the ground. God remakes you, better than you were, for His enjoyment and for your life. You are no longer just yourself, but you are you-redeemed-by-Christ.
God Himself sent His Son, Jesus, to redeem you, you who are the faded and broken flower. Christ becomes the faded and broken flower in your place. He gives Himself up to be broken and to die for you. Christ, in those awful moments of agony on the cross, in His sinless life and obedience, in His suffering, in His resurrection, Christ earned your salvation! You have received a double portion of His righteousness, the pardon of your iniquity. For all your sins, for which you should serve an eternity in Hell, Christ has gone to Hell for you. For all your imperfection, for which we suffer and cry, Christ has given you eternal life and comfort. For all your trials and tribulations, Jesus gives you a double-portion of Himself.
Do you have enough Jesus? He gives Himself freely; take what you need. Take more if need be; drink deeply of Him! Do you need forgiveness for your sins? They are forgiven! Do you need to feel God in your life? Taste His body and drink His blood! Do you worry that you cannot be saved? You are baptized and you are God’s! No one can snatch you from His hand.
You don’t have to fight anymore. You don’t have to throw yourself to the ground. Your struggle against sin, death, and the devil is over. Jesus Christ has done this for you on the cross! Jesus beat them all! God tells you that your warfare is accomplished! It’s done! It’s won! Your sins are forgiven! God’s Word, God’s promise, stands forever.
You are now, in Christ, He who is the first-fruit of the dead, the beautiful flower that God has always meant you to be. This isn’t done by us; we don’t put ourselves in this situation, but God has redeemed us for His own enjoyment. He looks at His people, at His creation. He has sorrowed, of this we are sure. But God sorrows no longer, for He has seen the suffering of His Son, Jesus Christ, and it is enough. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was enough for you. It was in your place. God no longer sorrows, but sees His creation as it should be and He rejoices! He sees His creation, He sees you, covered in the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, whom He loves more dearly than anything. He sees His creation covered in the very blood of Jesus Christ that was present in His infancy, in His childhood, and as He grew to be a full man. The infant Jesus we celebrate is here to live, die, and rise for us and He did.
You now, God’s flowers, you now, God’s chosen people, you now know this Jesus. You know this man, this God, who died for you. “Comfort, Comfort,” He speaks to you. He has given you all that you need. “Comfort, comfort!” You are a righteous people. You are given Jesus’ righteousness. Be comforted for He has taken your brokenness and has placed it on Himself. Be comforted for He has taken His wholeness and has given it freely to you. There is nothing you can do but glory in the very creation that God has made. You are the crowning achievement of God’s creation, not because you deserve it, but because Jesus has made you so, He has given Himself and has covered you with a double portion of His righteousness in place of your sin. This is the Word of the Lord and this Word stands forever. Amen.
Now may the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment