"The Persistence of Hope" (Isaiah 11:1-10)

We have all seen it.  The image is simple.  It is a plant that has the guts to sprout in a crack in a sidewalk or driveway, surrounded by concrete in all directions, in an attempt to establish itself.  In our minds it is a futile attempt because we know that it doesn’t have a chance . . . someone will pluck it up . . .  or maybe spray it weed killer . . . or run over it with a tire from a car or truck.  True, it makes us smile at its persistence, but we know that it will never survive.  It is a “goner”.  We have all seen these errant plants.  

Now, I have a confession to make . . . I am not the best lawnkeeper or gardener when it comes to maintaining a yard.  I am happy to keep my yard mowed and green . . . I attempt to keep the weeds under control . . . and, yet, year after year--in the cracks of my driveway and sidewalk, these persistent plants keep showing up.  Not just once, but several times over the growing season.  They amaze me with their persistence to survive and grow where they should not be.  Despite my best efforts they keep showing up . . . they won’t give up . . . they are determined to grow and fulfil their destiny despite the odds against them.  I must admit, I have to admire that.

Our reading this morning comes from the prophet Isaiah.  We should be quite familiar with the story of Isaiah and his time as a prophet with God’s people.  We know that he attempted to warn God’s people that their attitudes and actions were going against the desires and will of God . . . that their attitude and actions were disrespectful of God . . . that they were pretty much ignoring God.  Isaiah warned them that this would not be good and that the consequences would be nasty.  And, sure enough, it came to be.

The people of God were overrun by their enemies--the Babylonians, defeated, stomped, destroyed, and made captives in a strange land far from the familiarity of home.  In being crushed, the Babylonians yanked the foundation of  faith from the people of God.  All that they knew and understood was taken away from them, and they were left to deal with this traumatic event in their lives with nothing more than shattered faith.  They were struggling with finding something to hang on to . . . something that would get them through the night.

Central to that grasping for anything to help, was the feeling of revenge . . . an “eye for an eye” feeling in which the people of God wanted to inflict the same sort of pain and hurt that they had experienced upon their captors.  But even that was not going to happen.  The God that had been their protector has seemingly abandoned them . . . there would be no revenge inflicting pain and hurt upon the captors.  No, what the people needed was a rescuer . . . someone to come and take them away to allow them to start all over.

These were the people that the prophet Isaiah had to deal with once they were in captivity . . . a broken, hopeless people.  With this in mind, the prophet offers them hope.  The problem is that the hope that he offers them is not quite in the form of hope they desired or expected.

“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse . . .”

As I stated earlier, I am not much of a gardener, but I do know that when I cut down a tree I am doing so because I no longer want that tree . . . I want it gone.  Isn’t that why we cut down trees . . . to get rid of them.  They are no longer of use to us.  Imagine then my reaction to seeing a shoot popping up out of the stump.  Reminds me of that persistent plant that keeps showing up in my driveway or sidewalk.  Out of something useless and what I thought was dead, comes a shoot . . . a silly, persistent shoot that thinks it is going to make it.  What do I do?  I cut the shoot.

But the shoot comes back.

The image of the God’s people’s rescuer is that of a fragile shoot that pops up on a stump of tree that has been left for dead.  Not quite the powerful image that the people of God want; after all, the shoot--like any shoot growing where it supposedly is not suppose to be growing, is that it is weak and doesn’t stand a chance.  This is not what the people are looking for; no, they are looking for that powerful warrior who rides in to conquer the oppressors and set the people free . . . not some flimsy, wimpy shoot coming out of a stump.

Then to top it all off, as Isaiah describes this rescuer, he provides a description that goes against the views of the world in which the people are actually living.  This rescuer will not be like what the world knows.  This rescuer will be the complete opposite.  This rescuer will be having enemies lying down with one another . . . eating with one another . . . there will be peace and justice . . . there will be a new way of doing business . . . of living.

Again, this is not quite what the people were hoping for.  Like any person who has been hurt there is always that feeling and desire that those who have hurt them receive the same consequence for their actions.  The old “eye for an eye”.  It is only a natural feeling and something that the people remember from their past relationship with God.  It is one of those straws that the people grasp for and hope to hold onto to get them out of this terrible situation.  Yet, in their pain and suffering they cannot see . . . or won’t admit to . . . that their relationship with God has changed.  It has changed drastically.

Now they are given the image of hope that is difficult to comprehend . . . a shoot from a stump . . . a plant poking its head up through the concrete of the driveway.  There is no way this can be a symbol of hope that will carry them through these difficult times.  And, yet, the prophet is adamant about this hope . . . certain in the words that are being spoken.  So certain is the prophet that he tells them that not only will this rescuer save them, but this rescuer will save the world: “In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious.”

There is an advantage of 20/20 hindsight.  As the followers of Jesus we know who that shoot of Jesse’s stump is . . . we know who that rescuer is.  It is Jesus himself.  Jesus, a person like no other . . . a person who seemingly goes against the known mores and morals of the world we live in . . . a person who calls us to a world that is not like this world, but of God’s desires and will . . . a person who leads not in the ways of power, but through love.  We know this shoot to be Jesus . . . for over two thousand years we followers have known; and, yet, each year we deal with the same image of hope since the time of Isaiah.  Over and over again, the image of this persistent plant popping up through the concrete keeps showing up.  

Why?

Well, I am not the smartest person in the world, but I would guess that maybe it keeps showing up because we keep plucking up that image of hope and throwing it away.  Or we ignore it.  I don’t know, but I do know that it keeps showing up each and every year that we celebrate the season of Advent.  And, I also know that it will not go away until we embrace it and begin to live it despite what the world around us thinks.

“Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.”  That was a quote that was recently on our church’s Facebook page.  I like it, but for this morning I would like to change it.  I think that it should say: “Hope is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this hope is to see what you believe.”  In other words, to embrace that which is our hope and to live it each and every day.  Instead of plucking it up, cutting it off, dousing it with weed killer, or running over it with our car or truck tires, we embrace it and allow it to grow into what God intends it to be.

On this second Sunday of Advent the theme is always the peaceable kingdom . . . Isaiah offers such a picture this morning with his description of the rescuer to come.  The gospel reading this morning, offers another picture.  The second Sunday of Advent points to God’s Kingdom of what could be if we chose to truly follow the one who leads us in that direction.  That person is Jesus.  He is the shoot that comes from Jesse’s stump.  He is that persistent plant that grows where no one wants it to grow . . . constantly showing up over and over again . . . year after year . . . generation after generation.  And, the odds are that he will keep popping up until the world finally gets it.

Thus it is that Isaiah offers the people an odd symbol of hope . . . persistent hope.  I am not sure he was thinking of those persistent plants that keep showing up in our sidewalks and driveways, but he understood how the power of persistence . . . especially when it came to hope.

As followers of Jesus we hope for . . . and, strive for . . . that peaceful kingdom of God that is not like that of the world in which we live.  A kingdom that is based on love and grace . . . where a “wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat; the calf and the lion and yearlings together; and a little child shall lead them.  The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.  The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest.  They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the earth.”

We are not there yet.

This Advent season will we embrace the shoot of Jesse’s stump . . . embrace it and make Jesus’ ways our ways; or will be pluck it up, throw it away, and continue to conform and make ourselves in the image of the world around us?  Isaiah spoke of hope.  Again, this year, we are offered hope.  The choice is ours.  Let us be persistent in our hope . . . and, let us live our hope.  Amen.

“Sleepless Nights” (Matthew 24:36-44 and Romans 13:11-14)

What keeps you up at night?

You have probably heard the Leo Tolstoy’s story about Martin the Cobbler.  Martin is a lonely shoemaker who is promised in a dream that Jesus will come and visit his shop.  The next morning he rises early, gets his shop ready, prepare a meal and waits.  The only one to show up in the morning was an old beggar who came by and asked for rest.  Martin gave him a room he had prepared for his divine guest.  The only one to show up in the afternoon was an old lady with a heavy load of wood.  She was hungry and asked for food.  He gave her the food he had prepared for his divine guest.  As evening came, a lost boy wandered by.  Martin took him home, afraid all the while he would miss Jesus.  That night in his prayers he asks the Lord, “Where were you?  I waited all day for you?”

he Lord said to Martin:

“Three times I came to your friendly door,

Three times my shadow was on your floor.

I was a beggar with bruised feet.

I was the woman you gave to eat.

I was the homeless child on the street.”

As we enter into the season of Advent we need to remind ourselves exactly what the season of Advent stands for.  Advent is a season which kicks off the start of a new liturgical year in the life of the “church” . . . it is the “beginning” of a new year.  It is a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the nativity of Jesus at Christmas.  The term, advent, is a version of the Latin word meaning “coming”.  Latin adventus is the translation of the Greek word parousia, commonly used to refer to the second coming of Christ.  For Christians, the season of Advent anticipates the coming of Jesus from two different perspectives . . . the ancient longing for the coming of the Messiah . . . and to be alert for his second coming.  Thus the season of Advent is a time to prepare and to remember . . . everything points to the “coming” of the Holy on that Christmas Day and in the future.

Or so it would seem.

The season of Advent always seems to begin with apocryphal readings . . . “end times” scripture; and, our start to the Advent season is no different.  This morning we begin with Jesus sharing a familiar bit of scripture about the “end times” and the second coming . . . “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father . . . Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come . . . So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

Jesus warns that the time will come . . . so, you better be prepared.  The only problem with the warning is that Jesus never tells anyone when that time will be.  It is a lot like that teacher who tells his or her students that they had better do their homework because there just might be a pop quiz at any time.  Now, that is enough to keep anyone up at night . . . sleepless.  That is enough to create more than a little anxiety in anyone . . . never knowing when.

I seriously doubt if Martin the Cobbler slept much after he was told in his dream that Jesus was coming by to visit him the next day.  I imagine that his mind must have been racing with making a plan to be prepared for Jesus’ arrival at his little shop.  I imagine that he must have thought of a thousand scenarios as to how he thought his encounter with Jesus would go . . . how he would welcome him, treat him, speak to him . . . a million things must have raced through his mind knowing the news that Jesus would be coming to visit him.  Yeah, I doubt if Martin slept a whole bunch that night with all the anticipation that was building up in him.

Anxiety has a tendency to create a lot of sleepless nights in our lives.  I think that we all can share stories of sleepless nights that we have endured in our lives.  I know that I can.  As a parent I can remember the many sleepless nights I put up with when my children were teenagers.  Someone once told me that they were just teenagers and not to worry about it . . . then I remembered my teenage years . . . it created even more anxiety and sleeplessness.  But the fact is that we all know how anxiety and anticipation about something that is to come or to happen can keep us awake at night . . . especially when we have no idea of when it is really going to happen.  It is no fun.  I never knew anyone who enjoyed the suspense of waiting for a pop quiz.

Yet that is the impetus that drives the season of Advent . . . be ready . . . be prepared.  In our remembrance we recall and retell the story of that very first arrival of the Holy . . . of that very first Christmas.  In our preparations we prepare ourselves for what is promised to come . . . we look to the future and all that is promised.  We situate ourselves between the past and the future during the season of Advent.  There in the middle we understand that what is promised in the past can happen at any moment . . . and, thus we are filled with a sense of anticipation and anxiousness . . . anxiety.  An anxiety that can cause us a lot of sleepless nights as we wait for a surprise that we do not know when it will happen . . . but we are suppose to be ready for it.

So, a big chunk of Advent is looking back and looking forward; but, in doing this we forget.  We forget that ours is a living God . . . a God of the present . . . a God who is with us right here and now.  We forget that we are in relationship each and every moment of life . . . that God is always with us.  Because of this there actually is a third possibly for the season of Advent.

What if the real surprise is that when Jesus returns he was always here to begin with?

In the story of Martin the Cobbler, when he questions the Lord about not showing up, he is told quite the opposite . . . he is told that Jesus actually showed up three times . . . in the beggar, in the old lady, and in the lost child.  Three appearances, that in the mind of Martin were nothing more than three everyday occurrences and encounters with the world around him.  The truth was that Jesus was closer to him than he ever realized.  He had entertained the Holy without realizing the Holy was in his presence.  And, without realizing it . . . he was prepared.

That is the part of Advent that is forgotten . . . that the Holy is with us, always with us.  Because the Holy is with us we are called upon to embrace those opportunities and those moments when we can be about the business of kingdom building.  When we give shelter to the homeless, feed the hungry, and guide those who are lost.  The presence of God . . . the presence of Jesus . . . the Holy . . . is all around us.  And, not only do we prepare for the Holy, we live and dance with the Holy because the Holy is with us.

Years later, that is what the Apostle Paul is telling the faithful in his letter to the Romans . . . Paul encourages them not to live stuck between the past and the future, but to live in the present moment.  In this he encourages them to not fall into the trap of idleness . . . those moments that pull one into doing things that shouldn’t be done; but to instead embrace the moment to follow in the footsteps of Jesus . . . to love.  Paul writes: “. . . whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no harm to its neighbor.  Therefore love is the fulfilment of the law.”

Embrace the Holy that is here, says Paul.  It is all around.  Thus he says, “And do this, understanding the present time.  The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.”  And, with that declaration, the surprise of Advent is that Jesus is with us . . . Jesus is here . . . and we are called upon to live in this moment.

During this season of Advent, it is good to remember the stories of that first Christmas . . . good to remember the stories of the faithful of that time.  Also, during the season of Advent it is good to look to the future and to embrace the hope of what is yet to come . . . God’s Kingdom.  And, at the same time, during the season of Advent, it is good that we realize that the presence of Jesus is with us . . . that God is with us . . . that the Kingdom of God surrounds us like a reality waiting to be exposed for the world to see.  Because that reality is there we are called upon . . . not to sit back and wait with great anxiety and anxiousness, but to embrace the Holy that surrounds us in the daily lives that we live.  As the Apostle Paul says . . . “our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.”

Our faith cannot change what happened yesterday.  Our faith cannot jump ahead and live in the future.  All our faith can do is to be exhibited and lived in the present moment.  Only in the moment do we encounter the Holy in such a way that it is exposed to the world around us.  Life is going to deal us sleepless nights, but when it comes to our faith . . . well, when it comes to our faith let us embrace the presence of God where we are in this time and place.  Let us use the season of Advent to build the Kingdom of God.  Let us always be prepared to love . . . to love the homeless, the hungry, and the lost . . . to always love.  Amen.

“The Day Shall Come” (Isaiah 65:17-25)

We are creatures of habit.

In one of the congregations I served as pastor, I received a call to go and visit a member’s adult son who was in the hospital.  The middle-aged man was in the hospital because his liver had started failing him . . . he was losing weight, his abdomen was swollen, he was jaundice, tired all of the time, and he was felt terrible.  In the hospital he told the doctor that it had to be some sort of virus or flu bug, and that with a couple of days rest in the hospital he would bounce right back.  No, said the doctor, you’re killing your liver with your drinking.

Of course, the man denied it.  Sure, he liked to drink, but not any more than the rest of his friends.  In the community this man and his friends were known as the town drunks . . . and, the doctor just shook his head at the man’s denial.  He showed him the pictures . . . pointed out the signs . . . and, then, told him that if he kept it up he would be dead in a year.

Well, that caught the attention of the man.  He didn’t want to die.  We talked, and he agreed to go to a treatment center and get his act together.  And, he did.  He did go to a treatment center for 90 days.  He came home sober and looking healthy.  It seemed like one of those miracle stories that had been bolstered by a lot of prayer from those who loved him.  There was hope . . . at least for a little while . . . and, then . . . he got back with his old friends.  He started hanging out at the bars in town . . . hanging out with his friends in their homes or his home . . . started drinking.  Within a couple of months he was back in the hospital again.

Again, he feared for his life . . . he didn’t want to die.  So, he went back for treatment a second time . . . another 90 days.  Got sober, got healthy . . . and came back promising he would find new friends.  Well, that lasted a couple of weeks before he was back at it again.  This time the family stepped in.  Their solution was to send him back east to live with his sister and to start a new life in a new place with new people.  

It seemed like a good idea . . . and, in the beginning it worked out great.  But then something happened.  All those old familiar feelings came back into his life . . . and, with those feelings came all the old familiar patterns of responding.  He started to drink again.  His liver started to fail him again.  I heard that he even tried treatment for a third time . . . but, the treatment didn’t do him much good, he was still drinking . . . he was drinking his liver to death.

The man was a creature of habit.  Then one day, when he was the sickest he had ever been--knocking on heaven’s door, he had finally had enough.  He was sick and tired of being sick and tired.  Being sick and tired he sought out a counselor and twelve-step program that would teach him new skills to cope with life.  He worked hard at learning these skills . . . worked hard at ignoring his old coping patterns; and, it began to work.  Oh, it is not easy . . . it is a daily struggle, but his life is much better than it has ever been.  He has supportive family and friends . . . a fulfilling job . . . and, he feels as if he is alive for the first time in his life.  

Breaking habits is hard.

In reading the Old Testament we can get a feel of the patterns or habits of God’s people.  God blesses them . . . the people revel in God’s blessings . . . then they begin to forget whose they are, that they are the children of God called upon to do God’s will . . . they begin to do all the things they shouldn’t do, forget God’s will . . . God warns them through prophets to shape up or watch out . . . the people ignore the prophets . . . the consequences are dealt, the people are punished . . . they repent.  Over and over again this happens.  Why?  Because humans are creatures of habit.

Which brings us to our reading for this morning.  We are at the tail end of this habitual pattern of God’s people.  They have returned to Jerusalem from their Babylonian exile . . . a return they have waited 70 years to experience.  They are free and they are back.  After all the partying was done, the reality set in.  Things are not as rosy as they had thought it would be . . . life is still pretty tough . . . not much has changed.  The people are disappointed in their situation . . . it sucks!  And, so, what do you think that they do?  What is their habit when things go bad?

They lament . . . they moan . . . they groan . . . and, they whine to God at how terrible it all is.

Sound familiar?

You would have thought they had learned.  So, once again, God speaks.  God speaks some pretty familiar words . . . a new heaven, a new earth . . . a new Jerusalem . . . life will be good . . . life would be a blessing . . . it would all be new, completely different . . . the wolf and lamb will eat together, the lion and the ox . . . it will be a whole new creation.  It is a wonderful picture that God paints . . . more beautiful than anything anyone could ever dream of.  It brings hope . . . lots of hope.  And, God promises them that the day will come.

But . . . it always seems as if God has a “but” to add to the conversation . . . but, says God to the people, you have to do your part in the meantime.  God wants the people to break their old habits . . . to change their old patterns of coping . . . to start new.  Instead of falling into the depressing situation that they are in and allowing it to drown them, God challenges them to swim . . . or at least dog-paddle.  God wants the people to start living their faith . . . to seek peace and justice . . . to take care of one another . . . to love one another . . . to love God . . . to fulfil the covenant between them and God . . . to do God’s will.  God wants them to break the chains of habit and to set themselves free to live and to love.  In doing this they begin the work of building a new heaven and a new earth . . . of establishing God’s kingdom here on earth.

Sounds pretty easy doesn’t it?  To just quit what we have always done and add more positive and life-giving responses and actions to our lives.  Sounds easy, but we are all creatures of habit.  As creatures of habit we fall back on to that which we are familiar with . . . that which we understand . . . that which makes us comfortable . . . that which is predictable.  In the end, we do what we have always done.

Despite this wonderful picture painted by God . . . despite the hope it brought to a distraught people; we know from reading our Bibles, that the people would fall back into those old familiar habits and patterns.  It is human nature.  It takes lots of interventions to get us to realize how reliant we are on our habits and patterns of coping.  And, it usually takes us being sick and tired of being sick and tired before we change.

I think that God understood that.  I think that God understood that we would all reach that point in our lives when we finally give up with trying to cope on our own with whatever habits or patterns of coping we have.  I think that God understood that we would eventually get tired of being sick and tired . . . that the day would come.  And, God understood that when that day came we would need help . . . we would need a new habit . . . new patterns of coping.  Because God understood, we have Jesus.

That man who went to numerous treatment centers and kept falling off the wagon realized that when he was sick and tired of being sick and tired, that he needed help.  He sought out people who could help him break the old habits with new and positive ones . . . and, then he proceeded to live those new habits and patterns.  He knew he needed help . . . needed fellow companions . . . needed a model to follow.

And, so do we.

In Jesus we are given that model and told to follow him.  In Jesus we are shown the better way of living our lives in faith.  We are shown how to love God with our whole being . . . shown how to love ourselves . . . shown how to love others.  In Jesus we are witness to one who follows the will of God in his life . . . who goes out into the world to establish God’s kingdom in his time and place.  In Jesus we are shown the way to the Kingdom of God.

In each of our lives, that day shall come . . . if it has not already come.  That day will come when we will receive the keys of God’s kingdom through the witness of our Lord and Savior Jesus.  That day shall come . . . for this we have hope of a new heaven and a new earth . . . hope for God’s kingdom.  Amen.