Make a Way for God

December 8^th, 2019  “Make a Way for God”  Rev. Heather Jepsen

Isaiah 40:1-11

         The season of Advent continues as does our narrative lectionary.  Last week we read from the prophet Jeremiah.  The people of Jerusalem were on the brink of destruction and Jeremiah was offering them a word of hope.  God would not forget God’s promises, and a new day with a new king was on the horizon.  Today we hear more about the work of God through the prophet Isaiah.

         Though collected together as one book in our Bible; scholars think that the writings of the prophet Isaiah actually come from three different time periods.  First Isaiah, chapters 1-39 was written by the prophet named Isaiah before the time of exile. Our “Sour Grapes” sermon from last month was preached on the vineyard text in first Isaiah.  Second Isaiah chapters 40-55 was written by a different prophet during the exile.  Third Isaiah chapters 56-66 was written by still another prophet during the return to Jerusalem.   This is the easy answer to a question still in debate, as scholars find themes throughout the book as a whole.  This is one of those Biblical history issues where we have a “it was probably like this” idea instead of a “we are sure it was like this” understanding. 

         All this to say that our reading for today, Isaiah 40, is the introduction to the writings of Second Isaiah.   This prophet is speaking in the time of exile.  Unlike last week, where Jeremiah spoke a word of hope on the edge of destruction, this morning Isaiah speaks a word of hope following great suffering and hardship.

         The Babylonians have come and destroyed Judah and Jerusalem.  The temple is gone and the people are in exile.  The time of exile lasted around 70 years and with typical life spans of the period that would be a whole generation.  Imagine that most people were taken away, their culture destroyed, and they were forced to assimilate.  The first generation probably dies in exile, and it is their children who will hear the word of hope that Isaiah offers.

         Isaiah offers a word of great comfort.  The people have suffered for their sins, they have paid the price, and now the wrath of God will relent.  The time has come when God will call the people back home to Jerusalem.  Isaiah says to make a clear path for God.  The mountains will be made low and the valleys lifted up.  Though the people themselves are across the desert in Babylon it will not be them who take this exodus road home.  Instead, God will travel the road and come to them in their time of exile. 

         In verse 6 we read that “a voice says ‘cry out!’ and I said ‘What shall I cry?’”  We are very familiar with this translation but we could also read the Hebrew word for “cry” as “preach”.  A voice says “preach” and I said “what shall I preach?”  (Sounds like me every week!)

         The word that Isaiah is given to preach is that the people are nothing but grass.   Our constancy is like the flowers of the field.  While we know that life is short, what Isaiah is actually talking about here is our faithfulness.  The faithfulness of the people (their constancy) is like a brittle flower or a blade of grass.  It only lasts a day or two.  We have heard this theme all through the narrative lectionary.  God wants faithfulness from the people, God wants commitment, and the people can’t do it.  Our promises are like the blade of grass, here one day and gone the next.

         The preacher is called to say that when it comes to promises the people are nothing, we stand empty.  But God, on the other hand, stands forever.  The preacher is told to climb the high mountain and to cry out to the people of exile that even though they have nothing and are in exile, God remembers them and will bring them home.  The word of God, the work of God, the promises of God; those things will last eternally. 

         The preacher cries that the Lord is coming now upon this highway, this clear path, and it is a very interesting picture of God that we see.  “The Lord comes with might, and his arm rules for him, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.”  When we read this we imagine this is a God of war, a God of power, a God of might and strength.  This God is coming to clear the path and wipe out the enemies. 

         But this God is more than that.  “God will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.”  This is a God who comes in tenderness and care, a God whose strength is in love.  Unlike what we might first imagine, the mighty arm does not wield the sword.   Rather it gathers up the weak and brings them home.  It is a beautiful picture of the power of our God, the power of tenderness and love.

         This is a challenging text to read in our own time and place.  How do we relate to the people long in exile?  How do we relate to a people longing to come home?  For many of us, we do not feel we are in exile at all.  We have become so assimilated to the ways of this world that we no longer notice the absence of our God.  Like we talked about a few weeks ago, some of us have grown quite comfortable worshipping the false gods of money, sex, and power.  We are happy with our place in the economy, we ignore the toll our lives take on the environment, and we buy into all the stories about how our nation’s military might and violence keep us and others safe.  We don’t feel our exile, because we have gotten so used to telling a story that this is our home.  We have forgotten what it is our God demands of us. 

For others of us, the feeling of exile is real.  We buck underneath the pressure of the competing gods of our day and culture.  Some of us are outcasts and ostracized because of who we are, we feel that exile and are longing to be welcomed home.  Some of us know well the inner workings of power and the cost of our nation’s military might and we long to return home from such brokenness.  Some of us have been crushed by this nation’s economic system, we seek to find relief from grinding poverty and we long for a way home.  Some of us feel the weight of sickness and pain, we feel exiled from a healthy life we once had and we long to return home in healing. 

All of us, those who feel their exile and those who don’t, need to hear these words of comfort today.  God is coming to us in our exile, and God will bring us home, but we need to prepare the way.  Like a house that is over cluttered, or a mind that is constantly distracted, we need to make a way for God in our world.

What mountain needs to be made low?  What giant thing is blocking God’s way in your life?  What valley needs to be lifted up?  What deep hole do you need to fill and smooth over so that God can reach you?  What rough place is making it hard for you to see your need for God today?  From our smart phones to our busy schedules to our constant hunger for things that are not God, we need to clear this place up and make a way for God to come to us.  The time of Advent is a time of preparation, we need to take stock of what we have and who we are so we can clean house and prepare for the coming of our God.

Today we gather at the communion table and this is a wonderful time to consider how we might make a way for God in our lives.  As we come to the table we remember our own sinfulness.  We come here confessing all the ways we have done wrong and all the barriers we have put up to hide ourselves from God.  And after we confess, we come here to be fed.  In the meal of Christ’s body and blood we remember that this God comes not with the might of the sword, but with the might of love.  Like the good shepherd, this God longs to gather us together in God’s arms.  This God feeds us with God’s own body.  This God loves us with God’s own heart.  When we are in the depths of exile, this God comes to us with comfort and grace.

This Advent season, I want to invite you to consider how you might make a way for God in your world.  A voice says “preach” and I said “what shall I preach?”  These words aren’t just for me, they are for you too.  As our busy Babylon continues barreling on into a consumer Christmas, what word of hope might you offer to those around you?  What things of comfort might you say to a people who are in exile?  What might you do this week to make a way for God in our world?

As our Advent continues may we reflect on God’s promises.  God is coming to us, to bring us out of exile, to bring us home.  How can we make a way for God in our world this week?  What can we clear out of our busy lives so that we have room for God to enter in?  What word of hope and comfort might we preach to those around us?  This Advent let us be mindful of who and whose we are.  Our promises don’t last a day, but God’s love is forever.  How can we make a way for the love of God to enter our world this Advent season?  Amen.