December 8, 2002

Are We Ready?

Isaiah 40:1-11 (NRSV)

INTRODUCTION

Bill and Julie celebrated their 7th wedding anniversary last week. From the looks of things, theirs is a picture-perfect marriage. They grew up in church together… became high-school sweethearts… were engaged as sophomores in college… and married on a gorgeous May afternoon with the blessing of parents, pastors, and friends. It was a storybook wedding that gave birth to a happy and wonderful life together as husband and wife.

Those first years were marked by unusual success in their careers. Bill was a real estate attorney and Julie was a flight attendant. They took frequent trips to exotic destinations (Europe and Hawaii were their favorites). They bought a beautiful home in an affluent suburb – with a huge pool in the backyard. They both drove luxury sports cars and enjoyed some of life’s finer things, thanks to a healthy, growing bank account.
And they were generous with what they had – “Good stewards of God’s blessings,” said Bill. They opened their home to their Sunday School class, the youth group, and the pastoral staff. They gave much more than 10% of their income to the church and its mission work. They remembered all their pastors on special occasions and holidays. They were charitable at work and in the community.

And even though seven years of marriage have flown by with lots of good fortune and happy memories, Bill and Julie are suffering from broken hearts. The reason for their pain is an empty bedroom in their house. They have been trying for three years to have children – to no avail.

The doctors have run every kind of test, they have tried every kind of fertility drug, and they have been put through every kind of procedure imaginable in order to conceive. But, in spite of all the latest treatments and the best technology, their nursery is still bare!

Barrenness! It not only describes Bill and Julie’s physical condition – it is the sad state of their hearts. For years, they have waited in hope – but year after year, they still come up empty. How long, Lord, how long? Why, Lord, why? When, Lord, when? These are the cries of this couple’s heart!

SITUATION

Barren – a word that evokes desert imagery. A wasteland that is desolate, parched, and unfruitful. Air that is dry…arid… scorching the lungs with every breath. The wilderness is a place that is empty of life and void of hope. Can anything good come out of the wilderness?

Israel knew what it meant to live in the wilderness. For forty long years this people journeyed through the desert. On their way to the land of promise, their failure to trust God in critical moments sent them on a generation-long detour through barrenness.
But the wilderness did not last forever. God not only faithfully provided for his people during these desert days. God also led them like a shepherd into a land flowing with milk and honey. God established them in this land and made them into a thriving nation. They lived in cities they did not build, they drank from vineyards they did not plant, they enjoyed food for which they did not labor or toil. The land was a gift of God’s grace!
Yet, for all God’s goodness and blessing, Israel did not listen to God or obey God’s commandments. And the consequences proved to be absolutely devastating. Israel’s history became spotted with threats from enemies – the Philistines, the Assyrians, and now the Babylonians. And the prophets of God would not let Israel forget: “Our rebellious ways have invited this retribution from God.” You just cannot keep going against the grain of God’s law without suffering the splinters of God’s judgment.

So it was that in the year 587 BC, the Babylonian armies finally prevailed. Jerusalem was sacked and burned, the leaders of Israel along with many of the people were taken into exile, and the land was left desolate and destroyed – a barren wasteland, the haunt of jackals and owls.

This was Israel’s new wilderness experience – the wilderness of exile. Israel felt forsaken by God, helpless and hopeless, held captive in a foreign land. Barren, empty, frustrated, and desperate – that was Israel’s experience of exile. How could this happen to God’s people? Has God abandoned us and forsaken us? Have you ever felt abandoned or forsaken by God?

COMPLICATION

This new wilderness experience of Israel became unbearable. Not 40, 50, or 60 years, but 70 long years were spent in exile! A whole new generation was born in this foreign land – young people with no memory of home – only stories from parents and grandparents about a land that once flowed with milk and honey.

Seventy years is a long time to wait for God to answer prayer – truly a lifetime! How do we hold on to hope and continue to trust in God when for so long there is no answer? Is there anything else we can do to break the bonds of despair?

One option is to take matters into our own hands – to try to make something happen. But how could Israel force a change in her circumstances? Israel’s power was no match for the armies of Babylon! In such a situation, you are absolutely at the mercy of another.

And isn’t that just what we do when the going gets tough – or when God does not work on our time table? We look for another way out – trusting in our own efforts, resources, or technologies to make something happen. But what do we do when our best efforts come up short? What do we do when we have visited every doctor, tried every drug, endured every procedure and there is still no baby?

Another option is to give up hope altogether. “We have prayed, we have hoped, but God has not answered. What’s the use in trying?” That is the tone of verses 6-7: A voice says, "Cry out!" And I said, "What shall I cry?" All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the LORD blows upon it; surely the people are grass.

Why waste time with far-fetched dreams that will never come true? Israel certainly faced that temptation. In Psalm 137, the people in exile weep as they remember Jerusalem. And when their tormentors ask them to sing a “song of Zion,” the people cry out, “How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?” (v. 4)

Yet, forgetting God’s promise and giving up on hope is not a way out of the wilderness. So the poet declares, “If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither! Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy.” (137:5-6)

Are these our only options? Human striving – that simply exposes the depths of our inadequacy… or despair – that gives up because we see no hope on the horizon. Are God’s people doomed to an existence of exile, emptiness, and barrenness? Is there no hope for us in this wilderness?

RESOLUTION

Suddenly, a voice cries out! It is a voice in the wilderness… a voice from the wilderness… a voice to people in the wilderness. This voice cries out, “Comfort, comfort my people.” It is spoken to those who are in exile – weary of despair, and empty of hope. “Every valley shall be lifted up,” declares the voice. “Every mountain and hill shall be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.” The future of the whole world is transformed at the sound of this voice.

What voice can speak with such assurance and authority? Whose voice has such life-giving power? It is the voice of God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. It is the voice of the Creator – speaking into the darkness, the void, the barrenness of exile – speaking a word of life and hope.

Just as it happened on the first day of creation, when God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. Now God speaks again, “Comfort… deliverance… transformation… hope. And what God speaks happens! The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever.

Isaiah now introduces gospel vocabulary into Israel’s language – the voice brings good news, glad tidings that cannot be spoken in a whisper – it must be shouted from the mountaintops. It is good news to be shared with those who have lived in the barren wilderness for a whole generation: “Here is your God… the Lord God comes with might… He will feed his flock like a shepherd.”

This is good news indeed. God is coming, Israel will be redeemed, and the years of exile and despair have come to an end. This good news comes to Israel out of the blue! It is not because of anything Israel could do, not because of her power, her goodness, or her resources. The good news of God’s visitation comes out of nowhere – as a complete surprise. God comes in power, mighty to save!

And the good news of God’s coming summons Israel to get ready. That is the promise and challenge of Advent. Jesus is coming, yes, He is coming again! Are we ready for the coming of the Lord?

The prophet speaks two words to us to help us get ready for the Lord’s coming. In verse 3 he says, “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight a highway for our God.” These words were echoed by John the Baptist as he called his generation to get ready for Jesus’ first advent.

“Get Ready!” That’s what we do when we hear the news that “Mom and Dad” are coming to visit this Christmas. Windows get washed, ovens and refrigerators get cleaned, sheets get changed… we do whatever is needed to prepare our home for their coming.
“Get Ready!” That’s what happens when a man asks a woman, “Will you marry me?” and she gladly says, “Yes!” Invitations are ordered, caterers and photographers are hired, and pre-marital counseling sessions are scheduled. The engaged couple must get ready – for a great day is coming!

“Get Ready!” These words have a strong ethical dimension. “Prepare” literally means “turn your face toward,” or, as we sometimes say, “Face it!” If Israel is to get ready for God’s visitation, she must face up to the reality of her sin and her utter hopelessness. There can be no more cover up, no more delusions of false security, no more sweeping our sins under the rug and hoping they will go unnoticed by God. It is time for God’s people to face the facts – our sins do separate us from the joy and power of God. The Advent season calls us to repent of our sins, for the Lord is coming again!

The prophet also says “Make straight,” a phrase that also can be translated, “Be honest, be straight, and make things straight – with God and neighbor. This is the same word used in verse 4, declaring what God will eventually do, anyway. Since he will make all things straight, we better straighten up!

So Advent is a time for honest, probing self-evaluation. Are we ready for the coming of the Lord? Take an inventory right now of your relationships – with God, with sisters and brothers in Christ, and with neighbors. Can you face each one openly and honestly? Is everything straight between you and God, with you and your sisters and brothers in the Lord, with you and your neighbor?

A voice cries out: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God…Here is your God! See the Lord God comes with might…” Because God is coming, we are called and empowered to get ready.

CELEBRATION

Remember Bill and Julie. Three years of no results have left them empty and broken. No doctor has helped their barrenness, no medication has worked, no technology has helped them conceive. But one day, a voice cries out in the doctor’s office, “You are going to have a baby girl!” At the sound of that voice, celebration erupts. Julie screams in joy; she and Bill embrace and kiss; tearful phone calls are made to family and friends. The wilderness days are over. Barrenness gives way to blessing.

And now, this couple who has received this incredible good news, begins to make ready. The nursery is prepared, baby items are purchased, birthing classes are attended… all is made ready for the coming of the child. The news of the baby’s arrival gives new energy to prepare for her coming

All is made ready for the coming of the Child. That is the power of Advent. The news of God’s soon visitation sets us to singing – and preparing for the coming of Christ. “Joy to the world, the Lord is come, let earth receive her King! Let every heart prepare Him room!”

A voice cries out: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God…Here is your God! See the Lord God comes with might…”
Christ is coming! Are we ready?