Pastor Scott
Jonas
12/20/17
Isaiah 40
O Come O
Come Emmanuel
Almost all Holidays look
backwards. They are rooted in the
past. They force you to look backwards
and embrace something in history. Your Birthday. It seems to me we should be celebrating mom’s
accomplishment on your birthday but nevertheless. On your birthday you celebrate way back when
you were born. Your anniversary. Throw a party and remember your wedding day
and the marriage that followed. Thanksgiving. In November 1621, the Pilgrims and Native
americans sat together and gave thanks.
Fourth of July we recall the Fourth of July 1776. Easter is a celebration of Christ’s
resurrection 2,000 years ago.
Christmas. The same but His
birth. All in the past.
Advent is a weird holiday
season. We remember the past. Yes. But we remember the past looking forward to
the future. We read stories of ancient
hebrews who awaited the Savior’s birth. O Come O Come Emmanuel. We read accounts of the prophets from
yesteryear predicting the future which has been fulfilled 2 millenia ago. Makes your head spin.
Which is more comfortable for
you? Thinking about the past? The present?
Or the future? I suggest that the
reason we love holidays is because we are most comfortable with the past. The future is scary and unknown. The present is a mixed bag. The past can’t hurt us anymore. We have more control over the past or at
least our perception of the past.
It’s called nostalgia and all of us
are susceptible to it. Nostalgia= a
sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period
or place with happy personal associations.
If that’s doesn’t describe our experience with the Christmas season then
I don’t know what is. Christmas reminds
us of all the fond Christmas before.
Dean Martin Singing, “Baby it’s cold outside. Hanging lights around the house. Christmas ornaments passed down from your mom
and dad. The church alive with green and
red. Loved ones gathering around the
fire.
We
don’t dwell on the stress our parents felt to prepare everything. We forget when our uncle drank too much. We gloss over the church service that went
on for way too long. We keep only the
good stuff and delete the rest.
Humans
really have not evolved. The Jews with
Moses remembered Egypt fondly. They
deleted the slavery thing and focused only on a few things. In Egypt they had full bellies. In Egypt they weren’t lost in the
wilderness. In Egypt they had
security. You can almost hear them singing
“Kababs roasting on an open fire. Pharoah
nipping at your heel. Although it’s been
said many times many ways “We miss Egypt, Don’t you” Nostalgia.
In
Isaiah 40, the Prophet is doing an amazing bit of prophecy. In the past, is Abraham to Moses to King
David and Solomon. The present is King
Hezekiah who has made Judah a slave to the Babylonians. So Isaiah speaks to Hebrews in the
future. God has told Isaiah that God’s
people will be torn from their homeland a spread across Mesapotamia. To Jews three hundred years ahead of him he
says these words,
A voice says, “Cry!”
And I said,[c] “What shall I cry?”
All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty[d] is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the Lord blows on it;
surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower
fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.
Isaiah
knows that people are nostalgic. We
never live in the golden age. The golden
age is always in the past. What was the
best year to be a cardinal fan? What
year was the greatest year to be an American?
What year was the greatest year to be a Christian? What year was the greatest year to be at
Glendale? The golden age is always in
the past. So Isaiah knows that when he is talking to future generations they
are going to look back to Isaiah’s time as a perfect time. He’s waving his arms saying “No!” “Don’t believe it!”
“All
flesh is grass. All things fall
apart. Human bodies fall apart. Can I
get an amen? Families fall apart. Nations fall apart. Don’t look backwards and think, “They had it
all together.” Because we don’t. We just have different problems that look
more attractive through the lens of nostalgia.
In some respects nostalgia is a mirage.
My
family loves the movie White Christmas.
It is full of life, dancing, singing, and Christmas cheer. Have you ever watched an old movie like that
and thought, “Everyone who is in this movie is dead.” Merry Christmas!
Isaiah
says, “Beauty goes away (Even beauties like Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen,
The grass withers, the flower fades, BUT the word of our God will stand
forever.” Forever is a future word. Nostalgia is remembering fondly. Memories too fade. But The Word of our God is stronger than our
memories. God promised a savior to be
born. That promise is true for the time
of Moses, the time of Isaiah, the time of the exiles, forus today and for those
who come after us.
I don’t want you to get the
impression that nostalgia is bad. Maybe
nostalgia is our way of conceiving a perfect future. Our brains can’t comprehend a perfect future
with God so we take the best parts of our past and over time perfect them. Maybe life with God is a little like
snuggling on the couch with your mom and dad. Perhaps the joy you felt years ago telling
Santa your wish list is a little like speaking to you’re your heavenly
Father. What if the anticipation of
opening up your stocking is a little like waking up in heaven.
O Come O come Emmanuel. O Come thou key of David Come. And open wide our heavenly home; Make safe
the way that leads on high and close the path to Misery. Rejoice, Rejoice Emmanuel, Shall come to the
O Israel.