Do We Have The Faith, Hope And Peace That Prepares Us To Sing A New Song In The New Year?

Do We Have The Faith, Hope And Peace That Prepares Us To Sing A New Song In The New Year?

 

Good Morning Friends,

 

Yesterday during the children’s chat at worship, the Advent candle of hope was lit as a way of helping us to focus and prepare for the coming of Christ, not just in the sweet bye and bye, or just at Christmas but every day. Today’s lectionary text from the Gospel of Isaiah and Matthew touches on this peace and hope that was made possible by Jesus. I have also added the challenging scripture from last Monday that I forgot to include then from Revelation. Together they prompt this question as we start the Liturgical year. Do We Have The Faith, Hope And Peace That Prepares Us To Sing A New Song In The New Year?

 

Scripture: The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it. Many peoples shall come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!

 

Isaiah 2:1-5 (NRSV)

 

When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress.” And he said to him, “I will come and cure him.” The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and the slave does it.” When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,

 

Matthew 8:5-11 (NRSV)

 

 

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Then I looked, and there was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion! And with him were one hundred forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder; the voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps,and they sing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the one hundred forty-four thousand who have been redeemed from the earth. It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins; these follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been redeemed from humankind as first fruits for God and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found; they are blameless.

 

Revelation 14:1-3, 4b-5

 

Message: Today is a day of preparation and it is a little bit sad if what we are preparing for is just a seasonal event or if we count our chances of being in the 144 thousand. Yes, peace…the Prince of Peace is coming…Yes, Christmas, the light of the world is coming. Yes, Jesus is coming. But in preparation, I hope God has already taken up residence in your hearts and placed in you a song and attitude like that of Paul and Silas in the Philippian jail. Indeed, God’s incarnational and resurrection presence is to be forever and everywhere sung.

 

The prophet Isaiah foresaw the Savior of sinners, the Lord Jesus Christ, and painted a picture of this hopeful future of a leader who is God-with-us, the child destined to rule forever, the hope of the Davidic throne, and the anointed preacher of the gospel. In addition, Isaiah pictured the mountain of the Lord, which was a reference to the presence of God, to give God’s people in exile hope regarding the triumph of God’s purpose for his people. Isaiah’s vision is first and foremost a picture of God ruling. The power of the picture is one of great hope and a time when all nations will hurry to learn the Way. It is of God’s rule coming to earth as in heaven. And in today’s Gospel story about the faith of a centurion that impressed Jesus, we see that this power to rule is even recognized by earthly military leaders. Here we are to understand that the same Jesus Isaiah prophesied is the very same Jesus that brings us to a deeper vision and level of discernment in relationship to the healing nature of God and the judgement and the gift of eternal life. Here we are to be astonished at the love of God and the peace and good will that is so central to the Christian faith. But first we must have the conviction to believe it and to love. Friends, there are always changes and surprises and some of them come at Advent so be prepared. You never know what can happen.

 

Jesus has implanted a song of deliverance, of courage and peace and love and hope in our lives. Some cannot sing it because they have unresolved guilt or are perfectionists or because they believe a lie about themselves. And if you have lost your ability to sing in your caged life know that God loves you. To be sure, the Bible does teach us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. But let us not forget that it also teaches that we are made in the image of God and after His likeness. So, if you have unresolved guilt you might be excluded from the song. But it is not only those whose guilt, particularly sexual guilt, and a sense of guilt that is holding back their voices. It is also those who struggle with their imperfections and those who cannot get together the will to do what they know they ought to do, Friends, some cannot sing because they are struggling against a standard of perfection that it is impossible to attain. Still we are to prepare…we are to hope.

 

Pray we let God’s morning bring joy to our lives. Pray we sing a new song. Pray we cast away works of darkness. Pray we have victory in Jesus for that is the only victory that counts. Pray we see the Word of the Lord written on the hearts of our friends and family. Pray we too be a sign of hope in the world and an instrument of peace empowered. Pray we walk in the light of the leader of the universe. Pray we have a faith that is rewarded with the great peace and joy that our loved ones are delivered from the curse of sin. Pray we come to Jesus with a humility that acknowledges the necessity of God’s mercy, and our own inability to help ourselves. Pray we realize that God reigns now with power. Pray we lift our eyes beyond present circumstances to a future hope. Pray we put our faith this season and every season in the Lord that redeems sinners.

 
 

Blessings,

 
 

John Lawson