Good Morning Friends,
I don’t know about you but I grew up on the comics of Charles M. Schultz. He was born this time of the year and if he was still alive, he would have been over a hundred years old. If you have ever read the Comics in the Newspaper, you have read his Peanuts strips. A few years ago to honor his memory almost all the cartoonists of the various strips gave a nod to Schultz and his characters…Lucy, Linus, Snoopy and of course Charlie Brown was drawn into the storyline of the other strips. I thought it was especially nice since I was quietly celebrating my birthday as well and it gave me a chance to consider how I would like to be remembered and how we are to remember Christ during the Christmas season beyond hearing Linus tell the Christmas story from Luke. The thing is that today is a day of preparation to remember what we are to be thankful for, and it is a little bit sad if what we are preparing for is just a seasonal event like a birthday and not something new. 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 remembers you now somewhat like the way the cartoonists remembered Charles Schultz and how we are to remember Jesus. Of course, God’s presence is to be forever while still realizing that the journey begins anew each day, each season, with anticipation and a newness as it does on this the First Sunday in Advent. Today’s lectionary text from the Gospel of Isaiah and Matthew touches on this new peace and hope that was made possible by Jesus. I have also added the challenging scripture 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)
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
Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
Romans 13:11-14 (NRSV)
For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.
Matthew 24:37-44 (NRSV)
Message: 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. It is a new creation. 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 relation 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. In the first chapter of the Bible, God’s very first recorded words were “Let there be light”. Some translations have it as saying, “Light, become!, and light became!” In that single finite moment, before we had anything like years to mark time, the infinite God spoke the Universe into existence. The first light pervaded everything, filling the entire Universe, and bringing something new into existence.
And So, when Christ, the light of the world, came into our lives, he woke us up and helped us prepare for the unexpected joy of discovering who we were made to be. And so, it would seem we should pay a little closer attention to the beginnings and endings of things. But 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 not so much to limit us but to release us. And in preparation as it was with John the Baptist and with Jesus during their times of preparation in the desert, I hope God has already taken up residence in all our hearts. And in addition, I hope that God has placed in you a song and attitude like that of Paul and Silas in the Philippian jail as well as those that sing from the Mountain tops. Indeed, God’s incarnation and resurrection presence is to be forever and everywhere sung. 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 anyway. 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 sense of guilt 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…we are to love. We are to trust God.
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 Christ’s faith this season and every season in the love of God that redeems sinners.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 