Sermon Notes for December 4th
December 4, 2005
Isaiah 40:1-11
“Here is Your God!”
1. The controversial 19th century philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote “One day the wanderer closed the door behind himself and wept. Then he said,' This burning desire for truth, for what is real, for what is not only apparent, for what is certain - how I hate it!"
Well, we all know this anguish. Yet there is no escape from the burning desire within each of us for the true, the good, the beautiful. Each of us lives with the unrelenting expectation that life is supposed to make sense and satisfy us deeply. And even an atheist feels cheated if he doesn't experience some kind of meaning, purpose, and peace - in a word - happiness in this life.
But just where does this universal expectation of personal fulfillment come from? It isn't exactly something we drum up or manufacture on our own – is it? No, this burning yearning for "what is real" seems somehow to be incorporated into our very nature as if put there by God. And it is this burning desire which can lead either to the torment of pain (as Nietzsche pointed out) or to the power of love which we see in the great saints of the church.
What this means is that, if we don't surrender ourselves to the Source of that deepest longing - to God himself - then we could actually come to hate the very thing that remains the key to fulfilling our destiny. It’s either a case of “Joy to the World … or Bah, Humbug!!!
2. Well, the holy season of Advent is supposed to set us the path of the good, the true and the beautiful – the path of Joy. The word Advent means "coming" or "arrival” and the focus of the entire season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in his First Advent, and to create the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in his Second Advent.
Thus, Advent is far more than simply marking a 2,000 year old event in history. It is celebrating the truth about God, the revelation of God in Christ whereby all of creation might be reconciled to God.
3. Now much attention in recent biblical scholarship has focused attention on the details … the so-called historical facts contained in the Biblical witness. But, as I have mentioned before, the Bible is more than history. So, in order to understand the Biblical witness we have to take off the glasses of historical and scientific research … from time to time … and realize that the genre of choice in the ancient world was not factual history … but rather story …
In fact, all ancient people lived by stories which were more than just facts … the Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer …for example … are both factual and mythical all at the same time …are they not? So, also the sacred scriptures which we call the Bible … The purpose of the Bible, we sometimes fail to realize, is more than just to give a factual account of things …for the stories of the Bible are, according to Biblical scholar, Don Benjamin, an enduring incarnation of Israel’s faith … and way of looking at the world. They continue to challenge us to look at life in new and exciting ways. The Bible seeks not just to give us the facts … it seeks to change our lives by revealing who God is …
4. So, we have these stories … such as the Advent story of Joseph and Mary and the Baby Jesus and the Wise Men … and the shepherds … (all of whom will be here next week – by the way – during the Children’s Christmas Pageant) … well, these stories are there for a purpose … which is to take us on a sensual pilgrimage in order to hear, see, smell, taste, and feel the world with new recognition and increased reverence. They are not mere facts, they are poetry, literature, and art – which are meant to challenge our imagination and touch our hearts (as well as our minds). Does this make sense?
Stop for a moment and consider how the Bible stories have inspired music, sculpture, architecture, paintings, weaving, and literature … And there is, of course, much more than just stories in the Bible … there are also, trials, drama, teachings, hymns, poetry, laments, even romance and war and it is all in the context of the overarching spiritual presence and reality of God and all His angels.
This is because, as I have been saying recently, one of the main purposes, if not THE MAIN PURPOSE of the Bible is to help us to understand God – our Creator.
Ad, one of the best ways to learn about God is through stories … which challenge our imagination …
5. Today’s scripture reading or story is about Isaiah … or Yesha’yahu …in Hebrew.
The time Isaiah was born was not a wonderful time for the people of Israel. In fact, they were very troubled times. First, the nation’s prosperity was in decline (they were having a depression); second, a killer earthquake struck the nation and caused much upheaval and suffering; third, the Assyrian armies began a series of attacks which signaled trouble ahead. On top of that, the King of Judah – King Uzziah became ill with leprosy and died. Not good!
Sounds almost like today!
Well, things went from bad to worse in the next 150 years … and eventually total chaos struck and the people of Israel were ripped from their land and enslaved in Babylon. What’s that phrase? “It’s all downhill from here!”
6. Well, the famous Russian revolutionary, Leon Trotsky once said, “he who desires to live a quiet life, did poorly to be born into the twentieth century. He ought to have known, because after Stalin came to power he was exiled to Mexico where he was murdered with an ice pick! So much, for Trotsky. Stalin, who had millions of people imprisoned and murdered, died in his sleep, apparently. Apparently, life is not fair!
Well, we might also say that Isaiah did poorly to be born into the 7th century … that is the 7th century BC!
Actually, nowadays, most Biblical scholars believe that there may actually have been two Isaiahs … because after the first Isaiah died … about 150 or more years passed and another prophet came on the scene … also named Isaiah. This was because it was not at all uncommon, in the those days, for someone to be named after a previous person – just as the Gospels in the New Testament are named after the disciples but were also likely written by someone else. Remember, it’s the story that matters – not just the facts.
Now, it turns out that whereas the first Isaiah …in Chapters 1 through 39, is mostly a prophet of judgment …
Let Sodom hear the word of Yahweh, Let Gomorrah listen to the commandments of the Lord, Trample my courts no more, bring no more worthless offerings, Your incense is loathsome to me. Your new moons, Sabbaths, assemblies, music, and festivals I detest …
The second Isaiah is more merciful …
“comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.
Make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.
Get you up to high mountain, O Zion, lift up your voice and sing … say to the cities of Judah … Here is your God!
7. Well, which one is right? Which one speaks for God? Or, haf things changed from the time of Isaiah #1 and Isaiah #2? Correct answer ??? Times had changed!
Wait a minute? You ask. “Can God change His mind?” What is going on here?
The answer again, is YES.
Well, not exactly. God, you see doesn’t necessarily change His mind … but the circumstances change … and, as a result, God’s response changes.
So, then, you ask, “So, God doesn’t control every event?”
Answer: No, God does not control every event. That should be rather clear.
But, I thought God was all powerful. What is going on here?
Well, it should also be obvious that while God continually seeks to guide, direct, comfort, and challenge us to do what is good, right, and beautiful … which we know because we seem to have this burning desire always within us … we also, or some people, have the ability to just turn that idea off … and even hate it – as Nietzsche said.
Therefore, it should be clear, that people can decide not to listen to God … can actually turn a deaf ear …to justice and mercy and righteousness .. and when this happens … God is not pleased … Listen to the words of Isaiah:
You lift your hands, I close my eyes … the more you pray … the less I listen … Your hands are full of blood … wash yourselves clean … Get evil out of my sight … learn to do good … make justice your aim … redress the wronged … hear the orphan’s plea … defend the widow. ..
8. The answer, then, according to Isaiah, is that people bring upon themselves much of their own trouble … what do you think?
What then is God’s response … not to listen … right?
Recently, a lot of people have tried to say that the recent devastation in New Orleans was caused by the sins of the people who live there …
But, I was watching a television program about how various environmental groups and scientists were saying almost … a year ago that something bad would happen … and no one was listening … no one … it’s a fact!
So, who caused the hurricane? Was it God? No, not at all …
In fact, the Bible tells us that God is not pleased about disasters … not really.
We know that because of 2nd Isaiah … who prophesied for God in the midst of disaster … in Babylon saying … “Comfort, O comfort my people. See, the Lord God comes with might …he will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms …”
How can this be? How can God turn a deaf ear at one moment … and be caring and merciful in the next?
The answer lies in understanding what the prophets are telling us about the nature and purpose of God.
9. Back in the seminary, I had trouble with the Old Testament … and especially the prophets … it all seemed irrelevant to modern times … and the Biblical studies courses were all rather dry … and outside the windows it was the l960’s and there was rioting in the streets … and protesting … and people were passionately involved …and I wanted to be involved … What good is all this? I thought.
But, then I discovered in the seminary bookstore … the writings of the great Jewish theologian, Abraham Heschel. It wasn’t a prescribed text for any course. After all Heschel was Jewish and this was a Christian school. But, I started to read the most powerful account of the Jewish prophets I have ever read …
The prophet, according to Heschel, is a man who feels fiercely. God has thrust a burden upon his soul …frightful is the agony of man (echoes of Nietzsche – don’t you think?).
Prophecy is the voice that God has lent to the silent agony, a voice to the poor … it is a form of living, a crossing point of God and man. God is raging in the prophet’s words.
Wow, no kidding! That woke me up…
A God who really cares about what is going on in the world … who even cares about me! Now that was really saying something I could relate to!
10. But not everyone has this view of God. “Human affairs are hardly worth considering in earnest, and yet we must be earnest about them – a sad necessity …” wrote Plato in a melancholy mood.
And the great Cicero said, “the gods attend to great matters; they neglect the small ones.” Even Aristotle wrote that “the gods are not concerned with the dispensation of good and bad fortune or external things.”
But, Heschel said, “To the prophet, however, no subject is as worthy of consideration as the plight of men and women. Indeed, God Himself, is described as reflecting over the plight of man rather than as contemplating external ideas. His mind is preoccupied with men and women. In the prophets message nothing that has bearing on good and evil is small in the eyes of God.
Man is rebellious and full of iniquity, and yet so cherished is he that God the Creator of Heaven and Earth, is saddened when forsaken by him."
Well, that got my attention! Heschel, at times, seems almost to speak like one of the prophets, himself. And why not? For he had lost members of his own family in the Nazi holocaust. The voices of the prophets, I realized, were not to him something irrelevant or abstract – by any means!
And, what I want to say today is that the purpose of the prophets, all throughout the Hebrew Bible is to get our attention. To call us to repentence …to get us to wake up … to see what is going on in the world … to take into account our words and actions … because they really matter … not only to others around us … but TO GOD HIMSELF!
Even little old you and me. Imagine that!
Seems impossible, doesn’t it? And yet, when you consider the Universe … what is not possible to God? What is it that God cannot do? Think about it. Did you create yourself? Not hardly …
10. So, Advent then is about getting to know God better … and about beginning our journey toward discovering how God wants to get to know us better. And to discover how the coming of God in Jesus Christ is the ultimate revelation of God’s love … first in the great prophets … and finally in Jesus …
And what other man, I ask you, fits Hesschel's description of a prophet … than the one born in Nazareth … who was born to be the one prophet above all others … about whom Mark would write:
1The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.[a]
2It is written in Isaiah the prophet: "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way"[b]— 3"a voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.' "[c] 4And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
And after John the Baptist …came JESUS.
11. Advent, then, is the beginning of the journey that we, like the wise men and shepherds … are on once again as we seek to answer that burning desire for truth, for what is real, for what is not only apparent, for what is certain
Which is also the path of the good, the true and the beautiful – the path of Joy.
And, as we journey let us also journey together … as we share in the celebration of the sacrament of Holy Communion …
This morning let us open our hearts and our minds … and our hands …this morning to God and to one another … in peace and love … Amen!
Let us pray …
Isaiah 40:1-11
“Here is Your God!”
1. The controversial 19th century philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote “One day the wanderer closed the door behind himself and wept. Then he said,' This burning desire for truth, for what is real, for what is not only apparent, for what is certain - how I hate it!"
Well, we all know this anguish. Yet there is no escape from the burning desire within each of us for the true, the good, the beautiful. Each of us lives with the unrelenting expectation that life is supposed to make sense and satisfy us deeply. And even an atheist feels cheated if he doesn't experience some kind of meaning, purpose, and peace - in a word - happiness in this life.
But just where does this universal expectation of personal fulfillment come from? It isn't exactly something we drum up or manufacture on our own – is it? No, this burning yearning for "what is real" seems somehow to be incorporated into our very nature as if put there by God. And it is this burning desire which can lead either to the torment of pain (as Nietzsche pointed out) or to the power of love which we see in the great saints of the church.
What this means is that, if we don't surrender ourselves to the Source of that deepest longing - to God himself - then we could actually come to hate the very thing that remains the key to fulfilling our destiny. It’s either a case of “Joy to the World … or Bah, Humbug!!!
2. Well, the holy season of Advent is supposed to set us the path of the good, the true and the beautiful – the path of Joy. The word Advent means "coming" or "arrival” and the focus of the entire season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in his First Advent, and to create the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in his Second Advent.
Thus, Advent is far more than simply marking a 2,000 year old event in history. It is celebrating the truth about God, the revelation of God in Christ whereby all of creation might be reconciled to God.
3. Now much attention in recent biblical scholarship has focused attention on the details … the so-called historical facts contained in the Biblical witness. But, as I have mentioned before, the Bible is more than history. So, in order to understand the Biblical witness we have to take off the glasses of historical and scientific research … from time to time … and realize that the genre of choice in the ancient world was not factual history … but rather story …
In fact, all ancient people lived by stories which were more than just facts … the Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer …for example … are both factual and mythical all at the same time …are they not? So, also the sacred scriptures which we call the Bible … The purpose of the Bible, we sometimes fail to realize, is more than just to give a factual account of things …for the stories of the Bible are, according to Biblical scholar, Don Benjamin, an enduring incarnation of Israel’s faith … and way of looking at the world. They continue to challenge us to look at life in new and exciting ways. The Bible seeks not just to give us the facts … it seeks to change our lives by revealing who God is …
4. So, we have these stories … such as the Advent story of Joseph and Mary and the Baby Jesus and the Wise Men … and the shepherds … (all of whom will be here next week – by the way – during the Children’s Christmas Pageant) … well, these stories are there for a purpose … which is to take us on a sensual pilgrimage in order to hear, see, smell, taste, and feel the world with new recognition and increased reverence. They are not mere facts, they are poetry, literature, and art – which are meant to challenge our imagination and touch our hearts (as well as our minds). Does this make sense?
Stop for a moment and consider how the Bible stories have inspired music, sculpture, architecture, paintings, weaving, and literature … And there is, of course, much more than just stories in the Bible … there are also, trials, drama, teachings, hymns, poetry, laments, even romance and war and it is all in the context of the overarching spiritual presence and reality of God and all His angels.
This is because, as I have been saying recently, one of the main purposes, if not THE MAIN PURPOSE of the Bible is to help us to understand God – our Creator.
Ad, one of the best ways to learn about God is through stories … which challenge our imagination …
5. Today’s scripture reading or story is about Isaiah … or Yesha’yahu …in Hebrew.
The time Isaiah was born was not a wonderful time for the people of Israel. In fact, they were very troubled times. First, the nation’s prosperity was in decline (they were having a depression); second, a killer earthquake struck the nation and caused much upheaval and suffering; third, the Assyrian armies began a series of attacks which signaled trouble ahead. On top of that, the King of Judah – King Uzziah became ill with leprosy and died. Not good!
Sounds almost like today!
Well, things went from bad to worse in the next 150 years … and eventually total chaos struck and the people of Israel were ripped from their land and enslaved in Babylon. What’s that phrase? “It’s all downhill from here!”
6. Well, the famous Russian revolutionary, Leon Trotsky once said, “he who desires to live a quiet life, did poorly to be born into the twentieth century. He ought to have known, because after Stalin came to power he was exiled to Mexico where he was murdered with an ice pick! So much, for Trotsky. Stalin, who had millions of people imprisoned and murdered, died in his sleep, apparently. Apparently, life is not fair!
Well, we might also say that Isaiah did poorly to be born into the 7th century … that is the 7th century BC!
Actually, nowadays, most Biblical scholars believe that there may actually have been two Isaiahs … because after the first Isaiah died … about 150 or more years passed and another prophet came on the scene … also named Isaiah. This was because it was not at all uncommon, in the those days, for someone to be named after a previous person – just as the Gospels in the New Testament are named after the disciples but were also likely written by someone else. Remember, it’s the story that matters – not just the facts.
Now, it turns out that whereas the first Isaiah …in Chapters 1 through 39, is mostly a prophet of judgment …
Let Sodom hear the word of Yahweh, Let Gomorrah listen to the commandments of the Lord, Trample my courts no more, bring no more worthless offerings, Your incense is loathsome to me. Your new moons, Sabbaths, assemblies, music, and festivals I detest …
The second Isaiah is more merciful …
“comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.
Make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.
Get you up to high mountain, O Zion, lift up your voice and sing … say to the cities of Judah … Here is your God!
7. Well, which one is right? Which one speaks for God? Or, haf things changed from the time of Isaiah #1 and Isaiah #2? Correct answer ??? Times had changed!
Wait a minute? You ask. “Can God change His mind?” What is going on here?
The answer again, is YES.
Well, not exactly. God, you see doesn’t necessarily change His mind … but the circumstances change … and, as a result, God’s response changes.
So, then, you ask, “So, God doesn’t control every event?”
Answer: No, God does not control every event. That should be rather clear.
But, I thought God was all powerful. What is going on here?
Well, it should also be obvious that while God continually seeks to guide, direct, comfort, and challenge us to do what is good, right, and beautiful … which we know because we seem to have this burning desire always within us … we also, or some people, have the ability to just turn that idea off … and even hate it – as Nietzsche said.
Therefore, it should be clear, that people can decide not to listen to God … can actually turn a deaf ear …to justice and mercy and righteousness .. and when this happens … God is not pleased … Listen to the words of Isaiah:
You lift your hands, I close my eyes … the more you pray … the less I listen … Your hands are full of blood … wash yourselves clean … Get evil out of my sight … learn to do good … make justice your aim … redress the wronged … hear the orphan’s plea … defend the widow. ..
8. The answer, then, according to Isaiah, is that people bring upon themselves much of their own trouble … what do you think?
What then is God’s response … not to listen … right?
Recently, a lot of people have tried to say that the recent devastation in New Orleans was caused by the sins of the people who live there …
But, I was watching a television program about how various environmental groups and scientists were saying almost … a year ago that something bad would happen … and no one was listening … no one … it’s a fact!
So, who caused the hurricane? Was it God? No, not at all …
In fact, the Bible tells us that God is not pleased about disasters … not really.
We know that because of 2nd Isaiah … who prophesied for God in the midst of disaster … in Babylon saying … “Comfort, O comfort my people. See, the Lord God comes with might …he will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms …”
How can this be? How can God turn a deaf ear at one moment … and be caring and merciful in the next?
The answer lies in understanding what the prophets are telling us about the nature and purpose of God.
9. Back in the seminary, I had trouble with the Old Testament … and especially the prophets … it all seemed irrelevant to modern times … and the Biblical studies courses were all rather dry … and outside the windows it was the l960’s and there was rioting in the streets … and protesting … and people were passionately involved …and I wanted to be involved … What good is all this? I thought.
But, then I discovered in the seminary bookstore … the writings of the great Jewish theologian, Abraham Heschel. It wasn’t a prescribed text for any course. After all Heschel was Jewish and this was a Christian school. But, I started to read the most powerful account of the Jewish prophets I have ever read …
The prophet, according to Heschel, is a man who feels fiercely. God has thrust a burden upon his soul …frightful is the agony of man (echoes of Nietzsche – don’t you think?).
Prophecy is the voice that God has lent to the silent agony, a voice to the poor … it is a form of living, a crossing point of God and man. God is raging in the prophet’s words.
Wow, no kidding! That woke me up…
A God who really cares about what is going on in the world … who even cares about me! Now that was really saying something I could relate to!
10. But not everyone has this view of God. “Human affairs are hardly worth considering in earnest, and yet we must be earnest about them – a sad necessity …” wrote Plato in a melancholy mood.
And the great Cicero said, “the gods attend to great matters; they neglect the small ones.” Even Aristotle wrote that “the gods are not concerned with the dispensation of good and bad fortune or external things.”
But, Heschel said, “To the prophet, however, no subject is as worthy of consideration as the plight of men and women. Indeed, God Himself, is described as reflecting over the plight of man rather than as contemplating external ideas. His mind is preoccupied with men and women. In the prophets message nothing that has bearing on good and evil is small in the eyes of God.
Man is rebellious and full of iniquity, and yet so cherished is he that God the Creator of Heaven and Earth, is saddened when forsaken by him."
Well, that got my attention! Heschel, at times, seems almost to speak like one of the prophets, himself. And why not? For he had lost members of his own family in the Nazi holocaust. The voices of the prophets, I realized, were not to him something irrelevant or abstract – by any means!
And, what I want to say today is that the purpose of the prophets, all throughout the Hebrew Bible is to get our attention. To call us to repentence …to get us to wake up … to see what is going on in the world … to take into account our words and actions … because they really matter … not only to others around us … but TO GOD HIMSELF!
Even little old you and me. Imagine that!
Seems impossible, doesn’t it? And yet, when you consider the Universe … what is not possible to God? What is it that God cannot do? Think about it. Did you create yourself? Not hardly …
10. So, Advent then is about getting to know God better … and about beginning our journey toward discovering how God wants to get to know us better. And to discover how the coming of God in Jesus Christ is the ultimate revelation of God’s love … first in the great prophets … and finally in Jesus …
And what other man, I ask you, fits Hesschel's description of a prophet … than the one born in Nazareth … who was born to be the one prophet above all others … about whom Mark would write:
1The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.[a]
2It is written in Isaiah the prophet: "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way"[b]— 3"a voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.' "[c] 4And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
And after John the Baptist …came JESUS.
11. Advent, then, is the beginning of the journey that we, like the wise men and shepherds … are on once again as we seek to answer that burning desire for truth, for what is real, for what is not only apparent, for what is certain
Which is also the path of the good, the true and the beautiful – the path of Joy.
And, as we journey let us also journey together … as we share in the celebration of the sacrament of Holy Communion …
This morning let us open our hearts and our minds … and our hands …this morning to God and to one another … in peace and love … Amen!
Let us pray …
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