Foreshadowing of Christ in Isaiah 64:1-9
St. John's Lutheran Church
Third Wednesday in Advent
Sermon on Isaiah 64:1-9
Isaiah 64:1-9: “1Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence— 2as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil— to make your name known to your adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at your presence! 3When you did awesome things that we did not look for, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. 4From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him. 5You meet him who joyfully works righteousness, those who remember you in your ways. Behold, you were angry, and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved? 6We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. 7There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities. 8But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. 9Be not so terribly angry, O Lord, and remember not iniquity forever. Behold, please look, we are all your people.”
In the Name of the Father and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit.
When I was young, one of my favorite parts of Christmas – really any holiday season – was the gathering of all my extended family – my cousins, uncles, aunts, and my grandmother – all in one place. I remember when it was time for my family to host the Christmas gathering, we spent a week cleaning the house, repairing whatever might have been broken, shopping for presents and food, preparing the food, wrapping the presents, and generally worrying about this thing or that. We knew that someone would find fault with something we had done, the food we had made, or a present we gave. Heaven help us if there was a family squabble going on during this time as well. I looked forward to it every time, even though I knew we would never meet their standards.
In a small way, my experience with my family gathering, was like that of Isaiah calling out to God to come down from heaven to be with His people. Isaiah knew that we are not worthy of this, because we have sinned, we have broken our relationship with God. Isaiah asked for God’s mercy, knowing that our sin, our broken relationship, takes us away from God. The more we sin, the more that the gap in our relationship with God widens, and thus we are inclined to sin more. It is kind of like a man wanting to get to point A but who keeps walking in another direction. Each step he takes, takes him further from where he wants to be. Like him we are unable to walk in the right direction.
It is as if I had a deck of cards, arranged in a certain order, and then you drop it on the floor. The cards would go all over the place. No matter how hard you try you will never be able to put the cards back in the correct order. Only I can put the card back in the correct order. That how it is with us and God. God established our relationship with Him, and we broke it. No matter how much good we do, we cannot repair our disordered relationship with God. Only God can restore our relationship with Him.
Then what are we to do, should we despair, knowing that there is nothing we can do? Should we just agree with the World and say, “yep, God hates us”? NO! God love us. The Apostle John wrote, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:16-17)
Isaiah prayed and asked for God to come down from heaven and remember His people, to forgive us of our sins, to repair our broken relationship with Him, and turn us back toward God. Out of His love for us, God did rend the heavens and come down. He came as a babe, born of the Virgin Mary on that blessed Advent Day we call Christmas. God dwelt with us and grew and was full of grace and truth. To forgive our sins, to restore that relationship between us, God was crucified, died, and was buried, and three days later, He rose from the dead as a declaration that our sins are forgiven, that our relationship with God is restored.
That does not mean we no longer sin. We still sin, we keep on breaking our relationship with God. But we have the assurance that when we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, God will restore that relationship between us and Him. Christ Jesus has already paid the price; He has already done the work to repair our relationship with God. As the Apostle Paul said, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15).
In the fullness of time, God will come again, a second Advent Day. God at that time will judge us all. He will separate the faithful from the unfaithful and give each their reward or punishment. We are in the midst of this second Advent season. Let us prepare our hearts and minds for Christ return. Let us encourage each other up in our Christian Faith. Invite your family, friends, and all to church so that they may hear the Word of God. Let us pray to for the Holy Spirit, to enter our hearts to give us faith and trust that Jesus Christ will repair our broken relationship with God.
When my family would gather for the holiday seasons, it was not about the presents or foods, it was about the love and affection we had for each other. God loves you and wants to gather you. God is preparing a place for us to gather with Him, for us to be part of His heavenly family. Unlike my family gathering, which always seem to end to soon, God gathering of His heavenly family, will never end. This is why we celebrate Christmas, for God so loved us that He came to us in the form of Jesus Christ, so we would not perish but believe in Him and have eternal life with Him.
May this knowledge of God’s love for you, strengthen and encourage you in your faith.
Amen.
