Peace!

Text: Isaiah 40:1-11

Focus: Peace

Function: To help people live at peace with God

Form: Bible study

Intro:

I love these first two verses. In The Living Bible we read it like this: Comfort. YES! Comfort my people!

Speak tenderly to them. Let them know that their sad days are gone.

Isaiah is the preacher. But he is much more than just a preacher.

A sermon is the Word of God, filtered through the lens of the pastor, to help the congregation understand the Word of God.

Sometimes the sermon is best explained in a personal story as to how the preacher lived out the passage. Sometimes it is in the story of another, or someone close to the preacher.

Sometimes, it is in the heart of what seems important at the time.

But this sermon is different from the mind of the preacher trying to help a congregation make sense of God's word.

This sermon is the Word of God being created. This message was for these people in this time. It wasn't the preacher's opinion, it was the direct word of God to the people.

And the message was, and the message still is: Comfort my people.

And here is the kicker. The people knew that they had been in the wrong and God says to them: “The punishments for your sins are over.”

God is saying to them. Take a breath. Think positive. Look ahead. I am the God who forgives you!

So, the time of God's favor for them is near.

God is saying to them. Get ready for it. Good News is coming.

Get ready for it, gospel is coming. Gospel means “good news!”

So how do you get ready for good news?

Well, the prophet gives them clear instructions.

He tells them to build a ceremonial highway to announce the coming of their hope.

What does a ceremonial highway look like?

Well, in this passage it is symbolic.

Shave off the tops of the mountains, and fill in the depths of the valleys. Make the road smooth. Make it easier to walk on. Make it easy for everyone to follow. Keep the stumbling blocks away from people.

Let this be a highway that goes out of its way to ensure that everyone is welcome.

I love the song: “The Holy City.” I love the line in the song: “And all who would might enter and no one be denied.”

Isaiah is telling the leaders to establish a just religion for the people of Israel.

It is like they are commanded to make a path that is handicapped accessible.

Make sure that this is a place where everyone can find their way to the Lord.

This is a command from the Lord, and it is not only for the ancient Jews who heard this message, It is a message for the Church.

Because this prophecy is about the coming of Jesus.

It is about the fact that Jesus comes to take away our sins.

The price has been paid, not by us, but by God Himself.

God paved the way for our salvation. And, in order for us be ready for His appearance, we need to be sure that the message is given in such a way that everyone can hear.

And the idea of a “ceremonial highway” reminds me of Advent.

Advent. It is a season in the Christian calendar where we take the time to prepare for what it means that God came to earth to save all the people of the earth from their sins.

It is symbolic.

And, it is important.

Someone sent me a thought this week. It was a comment written by a woman, Rebecca Duke. She is a Christian but she said something to me that is haunting. She said: “I've begun to realize that Christmas is about, among other things, the conditioning of children to consumerism.”

Repeat about the conditioning of our children to consumerism.

I might add, the god of consumerism.

And yet, God calls us to this ceremony. God calls us to this time of preparation for the coming of the King.

And it is important that we remember what it is really about.

That highway, making the road smooth is at times at odds with what actually happens in our culture, even the culture of Churches.

I am glad that we are accessible here for persons with disabilities.

But I believe that God is talking about spiritual handicaps. God is talking about creating a place, in church, where sinners and people who are struggling can find hope.

LuLu Roman was a famous Country singer. She starred on the show He Haw. Her fame went to her head and she became a drug addict. Because of her addiction, her career and what appeared to her to be her life, were over.

She wandered into the back of a little church. A church that I picture that is exactly like this one.

Her scandal had hit the papers and she was drug through the mud. At that time, Country Music was working hard to establish a family friendly, wholesome reputation. And she sinned against Country Music. She let her cast members down. And in Nashville, she was scandal.

She had a spiritual handicap that seemed insurmountable.

And that churched loved on her. Accepted her. Lowered the bar and let her in. And God did the clean up work.

When I hear those words, lower the mountain tops, raise up the valleys, make the road easier to climb, I hear a call from God to make the church an hospital for sinners instead of a museum for saints.

During the season of advent, we are more generous than at other times. I hope that is because of the influence of what it truly means to be a Christian.

But I see a spiritual generosity called for in this scripture.

We look for people to give to. I spent a few hours this week tracking down people for our deacon's fund to minister to.

We don't really know if those families have other people helping them.

Oftentimes, it doesn't really matter. Because the giving is about the act of generosity. It is a spirit within us that calls us to the noble concept of universal brotherhood and love.

It feels good to be generous.

And Isaiah is calling for this generosity to be both physical and spiritual.

Make it a place where everyone can come to God and find this same forgiveness.

And the ironic thing is this. Our generosity is a condition for this great revelation.

When we make this place level, then the glory of the Lord will be revealed.

When we are as willing to give the grace that we have been freely given, God's glory is revealed in us.

This is peace.

I love the Angels announcement at the birth of Jesus. Peace on earth to men of good will.

This lowering the mountains, raising up the valleys, helping people overcome their own spiritual inabilities to find access is what the angels were talking about.

This is peace because it isn't a tit for tat. It isn't about who gets more or who gets less. It isn't about giving the best present to prove to someone that you really love them. It isn't about getting a present that will truly make you happy. Presents can't bring peace. It is grace because it focuses on God's gift to us. When we get that in proper perspective, we begin to find a level of peace.

Listen to James 4: 1-2a: ¹What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Isn't it because there is a whole army of evil desires within you? ²You want what you don't have, so you kill to get it. You long for what others have, and can't afford it, so you start a fight to take it away from them.

God is calling us to His peace. He is not calling us to be so materialistic that we bring a can of pepper spray to the Wal-Mart to ensure that we get to spend more than the next person.

And I know none of us would ever consider the extreme actions of someone else.

But during Advent. Let us ponder the God who gave His life to redeem us verses the god of consumerism. It is almost as if we worship at that altar. We sacrifice to it because if we don't our economy will go belly up.

It isn't much different that some of the idolatry that we find in the Old Testament.

The ancients practiced their own forms of idolatry. The Baal worshipers did perverse things thinking that it would increase their crops. Others paid sacrifices of even their own children in order to gain favor from the gods so that they too would have a good year.

Our hope and our peace come from God.

God has called us to peace. And although a Christmas tree, full of presents is a beautiful and peaceful image. Peace can never come from the presents that are purchased.

Kathy Hepner read something to us on Wednesday. She said: Love is the sound you hear when you stop unwrapping presents Christmas morning and just take time to listen.

There are two more images in this passage of scripture that bear witness for Advent.

In the next few verses. God commands the prophet to start shouting.

And the prophet is confused, so he answers back to God.

But what do I say? God?

And God says: Yell this. People are like grass. Grass grows, is cut down and dies, relatively quickly. And when a blade of grass dies, no one really misses it.

In comparison to eternity. You are more like a blade of grass than anything else.

Your place here is only temporary.

But then he is to shout that God's word is forever. God's Word is forever.

So. Don't place your hope in things that will perish, even people. Don't be caught up in the moment and in what feels good right now.

Because this truth, these truths last forever.

So. To make a road smooth, to make grace accessible to everyone is a truth that just keeps on being true.

Why mention that all flesh is like grass? Why point out the temporary nature of every person?

Well, when we think about peace, and we think about people, even those who oppose us, remember.

They are just as impermanent as we are. Why let a person, and hatred, or unforgiveness for that person stand between us and eternity.

All of human suffering, fighting and rejoicing is temporary. God, and His Word are eternal. So trust in Him.

We on the other hand, stop for a moment and say. But right now, it may not be convenient. Right now, we are fighting with this group of people, or that group of people.

But God tells the prophet to remind that that His word is indeed eternal. And for God, that is not an excuse.

God wants to save the world entire. Not just those we are comfortable with, not just those the most like us. This word. This Good News. This Gospel will never change.

And, today's lesson is about peace, it is about God's comfort.

That leads us to the final image from the passage.

Jesus the Great Shepherd.

Herald the Good News! Isaiah is commanded to keep on shouting it.

He shall feed His sheep like a shepherd. He shall carry them in his arms.

This is the promise of peace we have.

It comes at times when we feel like we are all alone and no one is there to care for us?

He is. He is here to carry and nurture you.

And we, we are here as well. We are imperfect and we are trying to make that road smooth.

But He will never fail.

GOOD NEWS IS COMING!