December 29, 2002

Rejoice, Beloved of God,
For God Rejoices In You!

Isaiah 61:10-62:5 (NRSV)

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to worship – on the most depressing and frustrating day of the year – the Sunday after Christmas. We have walked together through weeks of anticipation – remembering the promises of the prophets and reliving the miracle of the Christmas story. And while we rejoice in the good news that Christ is born – the world seems very much the same as it was a month ago, when all this hoopla began. Does the birth of Christ really make a difference in our day to day lives?

And we have opened our gifts, eaten our dinners, and rehearsed our family traditions. Somehow, the anticipation of these annual events is always greater than the reality. What happened to those magical moments we dream about (White Christmases in Florida, the joyous family gatherings, and waking up on Christmas morn to wonderful surprises under the tree)?

Once again, we saw a record heat wave in Jacksonville, grandma still has bad breath and clammy lips when she greets us with those hugs, and the sweater from Aunt Myrtle looks like a Goodwill Store reject – Christmas, like the Super Bowl, just never quite lives up to its own hype!

Many people suffer from PCD – the Post-Christmas-Doldrums. We spent hundreds of dollars on gifts this Christmas, but we are no happier now than then. Someone has said that Christmas is a time when we spend money we don’t have on gifts that do not satisfy for people that do not need them. Yet in our affluent, consumer society we are convinced that material things will somehow numb the deep-seated anxiety and restlessness that plagues us.

But there is some great news that can help heal our Post-Christmas Doldrums – good news from God’s word. It is found in Isaiah 62:5: For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your builder marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.

SITUATION

The marriage relationship is often used in Scripture to describe the relationship between God and God’s people. Because of God’s love and choice of the people of Israel, a covenant bond of love was formed between them. God promised to love and care for Israel, and asked for their love and faithfulness in return.

Imagine with me a young man named Josh. He was a pretty good boy, average size and skills, in the middle of the pack at school. Josh comes from a family that is actually on the lower end of the economic spectrum, very conservative in their values, and rather stoic in their temperament. This is a family where love is rarely spoken or expressed, discipline is swift and severe, and there is not much laughter in the walls.
Josh grows up with a rather low sense of self-worth. He is poorer than most with no real “bragging rights” with regard to physical prowess or mental abilities. When it comes to playground baseball, Josh is usually the last one chosen – to play deep right field. When it comes to study hall, Josh finds his place at an empty table. When it comes to girls, Josh hasn’t got a clue.

Until the day that Laura sets her eyes on him. It happened during freshmen orientation at the state university. How it happened, Josh will never know. Why it happened, Josh didn’t care. But every day he would pinch himself to see if it was all a dream. “What did she ever see in me?” Whatever it was, Laura set her affections on Josh and pursued him – relentlessly, until he finally succumbed to her chase and the sparks of romance began.

That is how it was with Israel and Yahweh, her God. There was nothing special about this people – they were not the richest, the brightest, or the best. In fact, in Deuteronomy 7, we discover that the only explanation for this relationship lies in the heart of God, the chooser: “the LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on earth to be his people, his treasured possession. It was not because you were more numerous than any other people that the LORD set his heart on you and chose you-- for you were the fewest of all peoples. It was because the LORD loved you. (Deut 7:7-9)

COMPLICATION

But 70 years of exile meant that this relationship of love and faithfulness had been shattered – not by faithlessness or failure on God’s part, but because the people had not remained true to their God. Because of Israel’s sinful and rebellious ways, God had abandoned this people to exile – their new identity, their new name was “Forsaken” and “Desolate.”

Let’s return to the courtship of Josh and Laura. After a season of exclusive dating, Josh began to grow more and more confident in himself and his abilities to relate to others, especially the members of the opposite sex. He began what he thought was innocent flirting with some of the other girls on campus. But his “innocent flirting” had disastrous results on his relationship with Laura.

Laura’s love for Josh was strong – but it was a jealous love, pained by the “betrayal” of his eyes for other girls. Laura’s heart was broken over Josh’s casual flirtations – and she broke off their year-long courtship. It was not an easy choice for Laura – but loyalty really mattered to her!

Josh was devastated. He never dreamed his waywardness would result in the dissolution of their romance. How could he have been so silly, so short-sighted, and so selfish? Josh had spurned the one true love he had ever known – and his choice sent him into the pit of self-pity.

This was so much like Israel during the exile. After 70 years of captivity, God’s people finally realized that they were reaping what they had sown. Their forsakenness and desolation was a direct result of their foolish choices – flirting with other gods and refusing to maintain a pure love and loyalty to the one true God.
How could they ever recapture their former relationship? Would God dare love them again?

RESOLUTION

It is hard to believe, and impossible to explain, but the prophet declares the mystery of God’s amazing love - you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will give. 3 You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. 4 You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the LORD delights in you. (Isa 62:2-4)

Israel’s longing for intimacy, relationship, and love is met by the determined resolve of her God. God has opted for this forsaken people. God has chosen them in love. Listen to the verbs that declare God’s restoration of his people: God clothes them with garments of salvation; God also causes righteousness and praise to spring up; God speaks; God acts; God gives them a new name; God treasures them; God delights in them; yes, God rejoices in them!

The most powerful, intimate imagery is used to describe God’s love for this people - as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your builder marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. God, the Great Romantic, sets his affection on his beloved. He is relentless in his pursuit, and will stop at nothing until he captures and possesses their hearts.

And we return to the story of Josh and Laura. At the beginning of their junior year, Laura’s broken heart melts at the sight of Josh, and once again she begins the pursuit – to repossess the man who had broken her heart. You just cannot explain love like this – but it transforms Josh’s world. No more self-pity, no more emptiness and pain, no more longing for intimacy. Everything turns on the power of love. Josh can rejoice and be filled with delight – for he is the object of Laura’s affection!
Rejoice, beloved of God, for God rejoices in you!

CELEBRATION

One of Jesus’ parables tells of a merchant who found a pearl of great price, and sold everything he owned in order to obtain it. For years, I read this story about our love and devotion for God. We are the merchants and God is the pearl of great price. Realizing the great worth of God’s kingdom we will willingly relinquish everything in order to know and love God. That is a fine way to hear the parable.

But it is even more wonderful to reverse the characters. What if God is the merchant and we are the pearl? What would it mean to see that God has given everything He had in order to possess us? Is it possible that we could be that valuable in God’s sight? Is it possible to be the object of God’s greatest affection? Doesn’t that interpretation resituate us in a new world of God’s amazing love and grace?

Now there’s a cure for the Post-Christmas-Doldrums. Rejoice, beloved of God, for God rejoices in you! God has chosen us. God has set His affections on us. We are His beloved. God delights in us. God has courted us, proposed to us, and intends to marry us. His pursuit is relentless; His wooing is full of unashamed passion; His desires for us are all-consuming. He will not rest until He possesses us fully as His beloved bride. We are romanced into His kingdom – into His heart.

And one day, we will gather at the great Wedding Feast of the Lamb. Our Bridegroom has made all the preparations necessary for us. He has chosen us, bought us at a great price, clothed us with the garments of salvation and covered us with the robe of righteousness. We who were once forsaken and desolate are now beautiful and precious in His sight. Rejoice, beloved of God, for God rejoices in us. Let the wedding celebration begin!