“Even Now”

December 5, 2010
Isaiah 11:1-10; Matthew 3:1-12

It’s really hard, sometimes, for me to relate to Matthew’s wild-eyed prophet-of-doom, John the Baptist, and the whole wilderness and wild honey thing? Maybe it’s his unsettling message of "the wrath to come" and his image of a judgmental God, waiting to send us into an "unquenchable fire," that is so hard for me to accept? Yet on the other hand, Isaiah’s image of God’s reign of peace when the lion and the lamb will lie down together provides a much more comforting scenario. Maybe it’s because the peace it depicts is something we all long for in a life full of conflict?

Isaiah promises a time when the world will be ruled by justice and righteousness, and the poor and the meek of the earth will get their due; in fact, all of life will be transformed so that peace will reign and there will be no more pain and destruction throughout all of God's creation. Not only will the lion and the lamb lie down together, a baby, the most helpless among us, will play happily over a den of snakes. Imagine that!

For Isaiah's people, this hope of peace rests in a ruler who will be a complete surprise, "a shoot from the stump of Jesse." What a great image that is! How can a stump of a chopped-down tree produce the life and hope, the promise and power Isaiah speaks of? He said, “God chops down the tallest trees of Lebanon (representing the rulers of all the mighty kingdoms surrounding Judah and Jerusalem)

Isaiah addresses the people’s situation, offering a poetic promise of a shoot – new life – yet to come forth from the lifeless stump of their “chopped-down” nation, Israel. Jesse was the father of David, who represented the glory days of Israel, its time of greatest power and prestige, the time people always talked about, and how they loved to think of themselves. It was their hope to live the glory days again. But it had been ‘cut down,’ taken away, when the Assyrians destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel and marched to the gates of Jerusalem. The people of Judah knew the bitterness of conquest and exile, violence, and the constant threat of war. Life seemed unfair, and they wondered if God had left them.

Although Isaiah considered Assyria an instrument of God to punish the unfaithful, he still offered the people words of hope. “No,” he said, “God has not forgotten you.” As bad as it may get, things will change: one will come, like David, who will be anointed with the Lord’s powerful Spirit of understanding and wisdom that will allow him to judge and rule in a way that will transform all of creation. Isaiah promises, “One is coming who will bring justice, deliverance and peace. So, hold on to your dream of a better day.”

Years later another prophet came along talking about the nearness of God's kingdom and the One who is coming. On first hearing, his message seems very much one of fear and judgment, where no one is safe from "the wrath that is to come." It doesn’t matter who you are, only what you do (and soon) that counts. “Even now,” he says, “the ax is lying at the root of the tree; (and) every tree …that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. It’s all a bit scary, isn’t it?

Yet think about what John says at the beginning of today’s text. Referring to himself, he quotes a different part of Isaiah: “…O comfort my people,' says your God. 'Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, …she has served her term… 'In the wilderness, a voice cries out: prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.'"

John the Baptist is the one Isaiah said would bring the good news, the one who tells us to prepare the way of the Lord. Someone is coming, John says, so do something, now – repent. Get rid of anything blocking the way of the One who is coming – greed, selfishness, hostility, resentment, doubt and despair. Reshape your lives so that the poor and the marginalized are brought back into the life of the community. Strive for peace and justice. Because, what you do matters!

This is the season of Advent, a season for waiting – not just waiting to celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus, but for the coming of the one who fulfills Isaiah’s beautiful dream of peace as well. And what we do as we wait matters. We can either participate in God's dream of peace for us… or not. We can turn toward God and away from everything that keeps us from the peace and wisdom and righteousness of God… or not. We can radically re-orient our lives, clear a path, and prepare the way of the Lord… or not. We can transform our lives and the life of this community and the world, as we reach out beyond these walls, speaking and living words of peace… or not.

Each one of us stands in need of repentance every day, not to make God love us, but so we can come closer to experiencing the enormity of God's love for us and God's amazing grace at work in our lives. What we do matters, yet God’s grace trumps all.

The good news for us today is the same as it was for Isaiah’s people. Regardless of what your life has become, God has not forgotten or abandoned you. After all these years, the dream of peace is for you, as well. Henri Nouwen spoke of this hope when he wrote, “We are not loved by God because we are precious; we are precious because God loves us.” So, underneath the call to repent is a call to return home to the God who loves us and longs for that dream of peace to become our lived reality.

But that can be a scary thing as well, because it means our transformation into what God wants us to be. It means every one who comes through these doors seeking to be healed, reconciled, and welcomed home will be. And it means the ministry of this church will be a blessing in this community, as we proclaim and attempt to live the Good News to those who have no church home, who think they never want to be part of a church again, or who have never attended a church. Imagine, God working through us!

You see, we are messengers, too. When we live our lives – in peace, in justice, in caring for one another and for God's good creation – we are living the good news. It is important people still hear God’s message. Prepare the way. Even now.