Episode 15: 12/12/08

Readings:

Psalm 31
Isaiah 7:10-25
2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5
Luke 22:14-30

Sermon:

“Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law. Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.”
Isaiah 42:1-7

Grace, Mercy and Peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.

There will be one who rises to bring judgment, the divine Judgment of the Lord, and, in him, the path of the righteous shall be restored….

Sin dwelt, sin dwells everywhere. This was no less true of the children of Israel. Having seen the miracles of God as He lead them from Egypt, caring for them amidst the vast wilderness of the desert, as He lead them to victory over their enemies at Jericho and Soloh even as it seemed as if they were destine for defeat, as He worked His will in their lives with each and every step they took, they were still prone to sin, to look to the laws of God and then turn their backs to it, finding ease and convenience with the idols of this world that expected nothing of them except that they give into their baser human nature.

At every turn, with every chance it seemed they were eager to abandon the Lord and His ways, for a life of ease with no accountability, with no laws or rules, with the belief that if they ignored His presence amidst them that He would turn a blind eye to their transgressions.

Yet it has never worked that way. Wrath would follow…

The divide Kingdom, civil war, conquest at the hands of their enemies, exile to foreign lands, servitude at the hands of foreign masters, in their misery and pain their cries would once more go up to their God, that God that had lead them from the hands of their captors so many times before, that God they were so quick to forget when the times were good and they found themselves at ease, living within the peace that He had created.

His anger would not be turned to them forever…

As would be foretold of by Isaiah, there would come a judge, God, in His infinite mercy would send one who would bring redemption to the fallen and restore the path of righteousness for all people.

But this would not be a judge as they had always known or a prophet like they had always seen. He would not seek to force them to repentance, nor would he seek to call them to it by invoking the image of God’s great wrath towards them. He would not sign laws like a king or a ruler, with guards and soldiers to enforce them or with a sword in his hand to cut down those who transgressed against them, nor would he stand in the town square demanding adherence. Rather, through love, patience and mercy, he would be a gentle teacher, firm in his resolve and yet compassionate in his work living amongst the people seeking to teach the laws of God, person by person, soul by soul, to call them to righteousness. This judge would not be for one nation, nor just for the Israelites alone, but would be called forth for all people and all places, that faith they might find grace, and in that know the salvation that can come through God.

There he would not be just any judge. After all, the children of Israel had known judges before, with all their wisdom and understanding, even with the truth of the Lord revealed to them, they would still be prone to the same human faults and human failings, able only to judge word and deed. No, this judge would be different. In him would come perfect wisdom and understanding, their would be no fault or sin, and despite the mortal coil that he had been given, he would be perfect and blameless in every way, judging the hearts and souls of man, able teach the word of the Lord because he was the word of the Lord made flesh. And when it would come time to judge the sins of man, the transgressions they had done against God, instead of a message of wrath and anger, he would offer himself as a sacrifice that man may no longer know the vengeance of the Lord, and may, in their faith, be judged not guilty.

And so it is with us as it was with the children of Israel.

Each person has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We sin in thought, word and deed, by those things we have done and left undone, by our inability to keep God law perfectly as it should be. There, if the wages of sin are death, then each of us deserves that spiritual death that comes from our own failings. But through this righteous judge, whose advent was foretold of by Isaiah in the words of Prophecy and who was made manifest in Christ Jesus, redemption is within our grasps, even where it seemed just out of reach before.

To read the stories of the prophets and the kings, the judges and the fathers, its not hard to picture God as distant, as hard and unfeeling as he delivers His blows against the people for their transgressions. Every page of their writing seems to be filled with it. But ever harsh judgment made by God there is a pearl of hope. His law, His judgment, was meant to turn our focus from ourselves and from this earthly world and all the sins that seek to lure us from His path, to the advent of the Messiah, sent to rescue us from sin’s captivity.

There, to see God as mercy is to see Him rightly. Each of us, no matter how great our sin may be or how heavy that burden may weigh on us, have a Savior sent not to pronounce judgment on us or to punish us in wrath and vengeance, but to show us a path of righteousness by which all of our sins are forgiven and we may find the peace of the Lord. Though the wages of sin may in fact be death, through him, through this judge, we may find life everlasting and a mercy that transcends all ages, made perfect in the love of God for us.

The peace of the Lord that transcends all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus even unto life everlasting, Amen.