Isaiah 11: 1-10 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord— 3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes or decide by what he hears with his ears; 4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips, he will slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. 6 The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling[a] together; and a little child will lead them. 7 The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. 9 They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. 10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.
Matthew 3:1-12 3 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness,‘ Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”[a] 4 John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 “I baptize you with[b] water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with[c] the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
- We are now into the second week of Advent. As we all know, time is passing rapidly. Before we realize it, 2023 will be on our calendars. We will be looking forward to the slow and steady lengthening of the day and the retreating of the darkness.
- As Johnny Cash would sing in the song “Sixteen Tons” –“another day older and deeper in debt.” Could happen to us at Christmas if we are not cautious — but the days pass rapidly.
- Let’s reminisce! Think back to Christmas time in the past. There is something about the past that attracts each one of us. Deep in every human heart is a desire to repeat some experiences from the past. There is a hope of recapturing the thrill, the excitement, the joy of days now long gone. Oh! For the more relaxed Christmas time of the past. Or was it relaxing?
- We decorate our homes with oil-burning lamps and candles, exactly like those that our parents and grandparents so eagerly cast aside when rural electrification came to their farm.[i]
- We do not feel that we really have a cozy home unless there is a fireplace; exactly the kind of fireplace that so many generations stood before, extra warm on one side and chilled on the other.
- We remember that previous generations provided food for their table from some garden plot, and all of us must have some small plot on which we can grow something to eat.
- We celebrate anniversaries and birthdays, not just because they are milestones for those who observe them, but because they bring to our memory days that are past.
- Just for a moment, in the celebration, we can remember and relive how it used to be. We can experience that special joy again.
- A common human yearning is also a deep religious truth. Deep within our human memory is a picture of that reality which no longer exists. We think there were times when things were easier, but we know that times in the past were harder.
- Pleasant Grove Church was consecrated in 1868. Three years after the end of the Civil War. We can’t even remember the pain and fear that must have been in this land as mixed loyalties plagued local communities.
- War was ongoing in our land, and we did not have the quick information technology that we do have today to know how close the war was to us.
- There was a time and a place–a time so long ago and a place so far removed–that the people of the Bible called Eden, where life was surely different than it is for us today.
- It was a time of innocence. Adam and Eve could walk in the garden, in the company of each other and of God and feel no guilt, no embarrassment, even though they were not clothed.
- It was a time of peace. There was no struggle between people and nations, no anger, no hatred, no animosity. There was no mistrust between the animals; and man had no fear of any beast.
- It was a time of harmony. Each of the creatures, each part of creation, had a place. All worked together to accomplish the purposes and the goals of God.
- Then Eden was lost. The Scriptures tell of that loss in the story of Adam and Eve and the Serpent and the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden. When the story ends, everything is different. Adam and Eve are ashamed of their humanness. The anger and hostility and mistrust between humans now reigns supreme.
- Adam and Eve are removed from Paradise; it is lost forever.
- As far removed as we are from that innocence and peace and harmony–marred and damaged the picture may be–a memory of Eden is still present in the background of our lives. Maybe it is that deep sense of hope that there could come a more peaceful time.
- We have to wait until the time, when as John speaks in Revelation 21 “Death will be no more: mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away”
- As we read last week, the prophet Isaiah 4 He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.
- Then, again later on in Isaiah 11, we read today: 6 The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling[a] together; and a little child will lead them. 7 The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. 9 They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. 10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.
- What a different world that is from ours! What a glorious hope those words present! What a magnificent dream are those prophetic words!
- Isaiah tells us that it shall become a reality.
- It shall occur when a shoot springs up from that chopped-down tree that is the house of David the King.
- A new branch will appear from the roots of that stump, and it shall mark the beginning of the new age. The shoot comes from Jesse, the father of David.
- Isaiah lived in a century when it was clearly evident to people of vision and to people of God that David’s dynasty was passing.
- It would never recover from its sickness. The glory of King David had lived on for a time in his son, Solomon. The nation prospered as never before.
- But the old animosities, the old hatreds, the old angers, and mistrust surfaced among David’s grandsons.
- The people and the nation were split in two.
- The Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah lasted for nearly two hundred years.
- During that time, they warred against one another, brother against brother.
- Just like our Civil War.
- They sniped across their borders. They made treaties and broke them.
- Then the lashing punishment of God came from the East in the form of the Assyrian armies. The Northern Kingdom was swept away in the tides of history and the vengeance of God.
- The ungodly armies from the East swept through the countryside. It came to the very gates of the City of God.
- The troops looked upon the Holy City and the Temple as well with vengeance and destruction burning in their hearts and their eyes.
- Any person of vision, any person of God, could see and know that the future of that tree which was the house, and the lineage of David was doomed.
- It would soon be cut down.
- The prophet Isaiah spoke for God and about God’s plan when he saw that a branch would come forth.
- It was a branch which would change the old nature of that tree, and with it would come a new age to humanity.
- PAUSE
- This week’s Gospel text introduces John the Baptist, who bursts onto the scene preaching repentance. [ii]
- Because of the strange description of how wild John is, we are tempted to dismiss him a bit too quickly. John does not fit the norm of how we picture ordinary people. Like so many other people, he is subject to our prejudicial dismissal.
- If I saw him, I confess, I would think he was a bit of a weirdo. Walking around shouting at people, wearing rough clothes, scavenging for his food– John’s behavior is a little strange, even to his contemporaries.[iii]
- John’s garments and diet were those of the very poor, and as one biblical commentary points out, as the only son of a priest he probably could have afforded much better.
- So, in appearance as well as in word, John the Baptist preaches repentance—a command to reorient ourselves, to turn from our former ways, to change our attitude and perceptions. “A voice of one calling in the wilderness,‘ Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.
- And John especially singles out the priests and religious people.
- And those whose hearts do not change, who lack integrity and character, John indicts as a “brood of vipers,” challenging them to “bear fruit worthy of repentance.”
- Remember John the Baptist is the cousin of Jesus.
- In today’s Scriptures we have the prophecy of the coming of Jesus and the announcement by John the Baptist that Jesus is among us. Now!
- Is it any wonder that those followers of Jesus of Nazareth, realizing the meaning and impact of His life and ministry, saw Him as that branch of Jesse?
- Jesus’ roots were deep in the soil of Judaism. But the leaves on His tree were so different.
- The fruit on His tree bore such little resemblance to that old fruit in Eden.
- To those disciples it was clear that Jesus, born in a manger and dying on a hillside, was a banner to all the world that Paradise was reborn and reestablished.
- The new age occurred when the knowledge of God and the obedience to God was reborn in that One Man.
- But, even more it came with power as it was reborn not just in His heart, but in the hearts of all who followed Him.
- Jesus, that new branch, was one whose total being was filled with wisdom and understanding.
- He knew how to live in the presence of God.
- He understood the will and the ways of God as had no human.
- Jesus, that new branch, was one whose total being was filled with counsel and might.
- He knew how to live before others with power, the very power of God.
- Jesus was able to withstand the force of evil and the powers of destruction and death.
- He could offer advice to all in words that made sense to them.
- Jesus, that new branch, was one whose total being was filled with knowledge and fear of the Lord.
- Jesus overflowed with a personal and intimate relationship with the Lord of creation, with the God of Eden.
- That Galilean could walk with God, talk with God, commune with God.
- Even more, He could teach others how to do the same.
- No wonder that Christmas is so marvelous. No wonder that Advent is such an important group of Sundays for us.
- We are getting ready for the One who brings a new world.
- We are preparing for the One who recreates the old Paradise for all of us.
- When Jesus is finished, Jesus has created in us a new innocence, a new peace, a new harmony.
- His work accomplished, we can truly proclaim, “The Old has passed away, the New has come.”
- That new is a new world of peace.
- That new is a new world of innocence.
- That new is a new world of harmony.
- That new is the New Age, Eden Returned, in which we can again live for and with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
- The new age is indeed a return to Paradise.
- “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.” Amen and Amen.
Dick
[i] Harold C. Prudue
[ii] Calvin Chinn Nov. 8, 2016
[iii] Inward/Outward Dec. 3, 2022