The text this morning is from the prophet Isaiah, the thirty-fifth chapter:
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God. Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.Thus far the text.
My dear friends in Christ,
In the previous chapter to today’s text, Isaiah lays out a difficult and dark description of the earth and what will happen to it when the last day comes. The idea is that, for all those who have forsaken the way of the Lord, the earth becomes a barren wasteland, and the only things that could dwell in it, the animals that people would see in the desert, will live there and feast upon all they see. It’s tantamount to saying that your home will become a place where thousands of vultures are circling overhead and the coyotes wait for you to open your door. It’s not good.
To those who Isaiah wrote to directly, when the people of Israel heard Isaiah’s prophecy, I imagine they were cut to heart and wondered what hope could be left for them. The hope is in today’s chapter, where Isaiah describes the new Israel, the new nation, the Church. It’s easy to see this as a last day prophecy, but Martin Luther, and many with him, had a bit of a different perspective. His was more of a present, right-now creation through the death of Israel. It wasn’t something that is to come in the last day, but something that is had right now. Luther looked at this as a destruction of the old faith, the faith that turned people toward the unrevealed God in the synagogue. This isn’t a bad way of reading it, that all religions that lead people away from the God revealed in Jesus Christ, will be destroyed and laid bare, and all that is left are the demons who wait to eat them all. This works when you remember that Israel the nation was the same as Israel the religion. If you destroy one, you destroy them both.
I think we have to hold both in tension, the new creation and the Church now. I think this what some call the now-not-yet. Isaiah’s hope is coming to us now, and has come through Christ, and it will be completed with our Lord returns in glory. It is something for us to realize that all this has been given to us and it will be given.
In Isaiah 35, the Church is established out of the ruins of what was left behind, like a coral reef, where abundant life is found built on the husks of that which has died before it. Here, it’s as if life itself is rejoicing in the destruction of the wicked and unrighteous. When the land sees that they are dead and gone, it rejoices and brings forth new life in joy and singing. Now, finally, the new creation is able to live without fear and without groaning over the sin put into it by mankind itself.
When Isaiah talks of the glory of Lebanon, remember that all of the Temple was built out of the wood of Lebanon. When the glory of Lebanon is given to this new creation, the Church in Christ, it means that everything from Israel which was good, the priesthood, the rituals, the Word of God itself, is given to the Church. Carmel and Sharon have been seen as the gifts of the Spirit, and thus they are transferred to the Church.
The strength that the people receive in hand and knee and heart is both in the resurrection, but also that we are made new through the life of Christ right now. Even though we age and grow infirm, our spirits rejoice in God our Savior. The world can come against us, and yet we rejoice because it brings us ever closer to the day when our Lord will bring His recompense with Him from the clouds. We should not fear or falter, for our God is coming with that which is greater than the world, the devil, or our sinful flesh. We are looking for our Jesus to come, and He will. He will come and deliver us out of this domain of darkness and into His marvelous light. In that day, and even, we should say, until that day, we rejoice, for we will be made whole. We are going through this even now, becoming more like Jesus in every way, only to be perfected upon that last day when we are raise from our graves to have bodies that will never fade away.
Just as the creation is now bringing forth water from the deserts, so shall we go into this world to bring God’s Word to all creation. God’s Word, coming through us, will bring the Gospel to a hurting and dying people, water to an unquenched thirst. The Gospel will reinvigorate the land in which we dwell, so that it is everywhere we see. There will be so much, in fact, that the parched ground will not soak it up any more, but pool it together. This is a wonderful picture of evangelism right now, bringing the Word of God to those who need to hear it that they may repent and believe. It will be so loved by those who need it and hear it that they cannot keep it to themselves, but share it around this broken world.
This is the picture of the highway, that it is the Way of Holiness, namely the Church. Though jackals and snakes of the grass would choose to try to assault the Way, they cannot touch the Church. The Church will always be holy, even if it is made up of sinners. The true Church, wherever she may be found, will walk in the Way of Holiness, never sacrificing the truth of God’s Word for the assault of the devil. She will always remain true, and she will be made righteous fully on the last day. There is no danger to the Church; none can come against it. Even the dumbest person you know, even the people with the least ability to understand, is protected in the Church, and they will be preserved in joy with Christ forever.
The ransomed, those who have been bought back from sin by the death of Christ, will return to Zion, which is to say be drawn into the Church, and everlasting joy will be there, gladness and joy. Sorrow and sighing will be no more.
This is clearly a picture of the last day. And what a day that will be. That’s what we wait for, especially in this Advent season, when our Lord Jesus Christ will return to claim all that is His own. But this is a picture of now.
So often, I hear that Christians are morose and defeated. The sorrows of this world burden us; the politics of this nation divide us; the morals and mores of our time depress us. But, this picture today gives us a picture of how we should be now. Yes, the world is going to hell in a hand basket, and we should be out the evangelizing, trying to warn those around us of the coming judgment of sin. But we do it, even when we fail in our preaching, with joy and gladness. You are baptized, my friends! You have been claimed by Christ, and what greater joy is there? You have been marked with His seal and given His name, and you have been entrusted, you , you who think of yourself unworthy, have been entrusted to go out into the world singing and leaping with joy as you bring the waters of salvation to a thirsty people.
There is no one who should be more joyful than a Christian. ‘Tis the season of watching those horrific commercials, where a husband or wife goes out and buys a brand new car for their spouse as a Christmas surprise. Surprise! I just spent $50,000 without consulting you! Hope you’re happy! Or at least, that’s what I always think when I see them. And the person who gets it is always happy. Always. There’s never any fighting, arguing, demands to return the gift. But you have been given something even greater. And it comes to you not once, not once a week, but every day: the gift of Jesus Christ in His Word and Sacrament.
How can you receive these things and not feel joy welling up in your heart? How can you not feel strengthened or healed? How can you not leave your anxieties behind, even for the moment? You have been given an amazing gift in the Church, that she preaches and teaches and placards Christ wherever you look. In this place you are protected, so long as we are faithful to the Word of God. In this place, you are strengthened and secured, so long as we are faithful to the Word of God. This is the promise of the Lord to you, that He has redeemed you, that He has ransomed you from sin, that He has built you into His bride, and though the world fall apart, He will rebuild it for you. All this He does through His Son, who lived, died, resurrected, ascended, and is coming back for you to give you this world as your forever home. And here, in this redeemed place, in this paradise, shall you live forever with your Jesus. There is no greater joy than that.
So, today, as you await your Jesus, think of the joy you have today in the Word, in your Baptism, in the absolution of your sins, in the Sacrament of the Altar, think of that joy and leave leaping with the joy that is yours for eternity. Be glad, O Church, your Savior draws near, and rejoice with the world, the Lord has come and is coming. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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