There is a promise made when a Christmas tree goes up in a house. As the tree goes up and the decorations begin, you know that there are going to be presents under it. You know that come Christmas, there will be a time spent with your family opening them. For some of us that is Christmas Eve, for others it is Christmas Morn and still for others, it is whenever the family can get together. I remember as a kid being too excited the days leading up to Christmas to do much of anything. My parents realized that Christmas Eve was just too much for my sister and me, so we would go out snow-skiing on Christmas Eve and this would keep our minds off the presents under the tree. It would also wear us out so we could actually sleep Christmas Eve. We saw those boxes wrapped in wrapping paper and we saw those bows and we knew that we would be opening them on Christmas morning. The promise was there and we trusted in it.
My mom, when we were in high school and college, had difficulty finding gifts that we liked, particularly with my sister. So she would often give gift certificates. But she didn’t want us to know that they were gift certificates. So she would wrap them in an envelope and then put that envelope in a big box and wrap it and put it under the tree. And so my sister and I would open these big boxes to find out what they were and we’d discover that they just had an envelope in them; a good trick, and not terribly disappointing, for we got to spend money on things we wanted this way. But I wonder what would happen if I opened a Christmas package and found that it was empty. Would I be hurt? Would I feel betrayed? Would I think that a promise made me had been broken?
Advent is all about looking at the wrapped presents. It’s all about waiting for Christmas. For centuries, the people of Israel waited for a Messiah. They waited for a savior. They had a wrapped present under their tree and they waited for Christmas until they could open it. But when they did open it, they discovered that the Messiah wasn’t exactly the gift they were expecting. He was better.
I. People Walking in Darkness
This advent season we are talking about what it means to believe. We are reminded throughout the Bible the importance of belief. And we are reminded that belief isn’t just about accepting a certain group of facts as true… it has a deeper meaning. Believing is trusting. Believing is following. Believing is allowing yourself to live differently because of what you trust and know to be true.
Belief is living the life of hope. Trusting that what God has promised will come true.
For the people of Israel, this life of belief was a long and difficult road. They went through much and waited and waited for a Messiah. In the scripture we read this morning we hear one of the promises that they are given in the midst of that long and difficult road. It begins by describing them where they are at, “The people walking in darkness…” Their lives are difficult. They don’t seem to be going where they want. The world around them seems to be conspiring against them to make life as difficult as possible for them. They are walking in darkness. But the promise is here right at the beginning of the passage, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light.” Though you are walking in darkness, though you are dealing with the problems that this world has to offer, though you are living in a land that does not know peace, though you deal with death on a daily basis; there is hope, there is light, there is promise.
The scripture tells the people of Israel that they will have reason to rejoice because the yoke that is over them, that burdens them shall be broken. And they will rejoice as they rejoice when bringing in the harvest. They will rejoice as they rejoice when they go through the plunder after a battle. They will be able to throw away all their clothes designed for war, they will no longer need them.
This is the darkness they faced: constant warring, constant battle, subjugation under other nations who mistreated them. But this darkness would not last. It would not remain. They would see it end. Peace would reign when their Messiah would come.
And so, the people of Israel kept their present under the tree and waited and waited. This promise that they had of a Messiah was that war would end and they would find peace. But as they sat with their present under the tree, life continued to become more difficult for them. We see them taken into captivity in Babylon, and then released. We see a group of people set to destroy their race completely, and a queen is just barely able to save them through her faithfulness. We see them then conquered by Alexander the Great and watch as under the rulers that followed him, they are persecuted for their faith and faithfulness. Many are martyred for their faith in God. Others turn away from God completely. We see a family that leads a rebellion and re-dedicates the temple (which is celebrated each year at Hanukah). We then see them conquered by the Roman Empire. And through all this darkness, they wait with the present under their tree. For they know that the great light is coming.
II. Unto us a Child is Born
And the great light that is coming is also described in this passage. It is a person. It is a king. It is God made man. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” The promise does something powerful here, and yet it is so minor. As it described the people living in darkness it described them in 3rd person. It referred to them as “they” and “them”. It is easy for us, 2500 years after this was written, to talk about “they” and “them” and focus on what God had done. But here all of a sudden, it switches into 1st person. “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.” For those this was written for 2500 years ago it was telling them that the child, the son, the Messiah was for them even in that day, 500 years before he came. For us, as we read this we realize that this child, this son, this Messiah is for us as well as for them. And we realize that as he brought light to the darkness of those who lived 500 years before he came, he brings light to us as well.
But Jesus wasn’t exactly the present that the people of Israel expected. And as you read this promise, you discover that there are aspects of it that don’t seem to be fulfilled quite yet. When it promises that there will no longer be a need for warrior clothing, we see that this just hasn’t happened yet. We have seen that very clearly this last year.
And so, though we fully and completely believe that Jesus is the answer to this promise, though we believe that the child described in this scripture is Jesus, we realize that he hasn’t yet completed the fulfillment of this promise. So this is a promise that we not only look back on but that we also look forward to.
We look forward to the increase of his government and we look forward to peace. We also wait for the fulfillment of this promise. And we also have more throughout scripture telling us of what this promise has in store for us.
III. Justice and Righteousness
We know that Jesus is going to return. In Revelation particularly, we have that return described to us. And, oh, it will be a glorious return. He will return from the sky on horseback and the whole world will see him and he will bring his kingdom. He will create a new heaven and a new earth and we will live in his presence forever more. But sometimes we seem to think that we are just to wait until that kingdom comes. We pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven” and we think that means that we are praying for the end of the world so that Jesus can return. But Jesus’ kingdom is more than that which we have to look forward to. It is here and now and we are to be sharing it with those around us. We are to be telling people that they don’t need to wait to open all their presents. They can open them now, for the kingdom is here. But where is it? We still don’t see it in the midst of darkness. The kingdom is found where we find justice and righteousness. These are the things that uphold Jesus’ kingdom. These are the things that will show it so that we can see it. And it is also found in love.
So, lets not wait too long for Jesus to fulfill that promise. He has already begun to do so. And we are to be the fulfillment of that promise for each other and for the world, and even for the people of Israel. We are to live lives of justice and lives of righteousness. We are to live lives of love. This is how we will find ourselves as a part of Jesus’ kingdom. This is how we will find ourselves as a part of the promise.
We believe that Jesus fulfilled the promises that God made in Isaiah. We believe that he answered the needs of his people. But we also believe that he continues to fulfill that promise. We also believe that the promise is for us and we can wait on the Lord to bring his kingdom to this earth. When you pray the Lord’s Prayer, asking God’s kingdom to come here on earth, know that you are a part of that kingdom. When you receive communion, Jesus’ body and blood, know that you are receiving a piece of the promise that God has made to you. And what a promise:
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Believe the promise… it will change you. Amen
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