December 1998 Issue

This chapter of Isaiah processes into the Advent liturgy with joy and gladness and rejoicing which echoes in the music of the spheres. Joy is the hallmark response to God's redemption of humanity. Indeed, at God's redemption of the cosmos the earth itself bursts into song. If the sermon on this third Sunday in Advent in any way echoes the literary form of this Isaiah text, it should be a cymbal crashing, banner waving sermon. The whole earth awaits the glory and majesty of our God!

One sermon possibility is to begin where the scripture passage begins, and to focus on how the whole of creation awaits redemption of God. A second angle of interpretation would be to bring to light how Jesus fulfills the Old Testament prophesy through his life and ministry among us.

The whole of creation awaits the redemption of God. Isaiah's message of cosmic redemption speaks a resounding word of grace against the trappings that have become the signs of Christmas. Fake snow, plastic snowmen, forever cherished traditions of Christmas trees, a sudden affection for farm animals around the manger, have all somehow wrapped themselves around the coming of Christ.

How does the preacher preach about the gladness of land, blossoms in the desert, and the earth itself in song against the trappings of Advent? Perhaps the deserts of our despair about the environmental crisis, the daily destruction of whole species, the dry thirst of the poor in our inner cities, the lostness of a secular people trying to find a highway to God, are all places to start.

One bleak midwinter day, I stumbled out of the church door which serves as an entrance to the night shelter for seventy homeless guests. It was a rare day in Atlanta when the early signs of snow were being realized as it fell softly and wistfully down. The entrance to the shelter was cluttered with the usual debris. There was one of a pair of worn shoes, and an envelope with a county office return address stuffed with crumpled mail and probably bad news. The wall behind the boxwood reeked of stale urine. There were a couple of broken bottles and some sandwich wrappers from the next door church's feeding program.

There was the despair which found itself inside me as I tired of the stench of poverty. On that particular afternoon, I remember because snow is rare in Atlanta, I noticed that between the wall of the church and the sidewalk, three bright yellow crocuses were blooming, now dusted with snow. "The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad! The desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing" (v. 1-2). The simple sign of a crocus blooming in the city's chaos of urban poverty may just be such a sign that the glory of the Lord is near!

Jesus fulfills the Old Testament prophesy through his life and ministry among us. In the concrete and very specific ways that Isaiah promises, Jesus comes to save. The eyes of the blind are opened, the deaf hear, the lame leap like a deer, and the speechless sing for joy (vv. 4-6). At the core of the redemption of the whole creation is the salvation of humankind.

[The preacher does not have to look far to see the utter brokenness of humankind, especially during Advent]. Just as Isaiah is specific about how God's redemption will create harmonies of nature, Isaiah is specific about how humankind will be redeemed through the healing presence of the One who is to come. Our Holy Way through Advent is the journey into the presence of God in the healing ministry and highway making of Christ.

Agnes Norfleet