Advent Sermon: Pointing to Jesus by Becoming Peacemakers - Isaiah 11

Good morning, friends.  For those of you who do not know me, my name is the Rev. Kristen Yates, and I am the Associate Pastor for Formational Discipleship, and it is my delight as always to share the Word of God with you on this second Sunday of Advent, this wonderful season of longing, expectancy, hope, and for many of us, childlike wonder.   

Now, speaking of child-like wonder, I have been finding lately that as I get older, I grow more and more nostalgic of the things that I loved as child.  And with my parents just in town for Thanksgiving, I have been thinking a lot this week about the things that brought me wonder as a child, such as our beautiful Christmas tree we cut down each year at a local farm, while sipping hot chocolate; or the large hill in my backyard where all the neighborhood kids came sledding once the snow started falling; or my favorite, the tall, majestic white cherry tree in my front yard, which was draping in white cherry blossoms in the Spring and then adorned once again in the winter with snow. Truly, when I think of my childhood home during Christmas time, it was like a winter wonderland, and I can still picture the scene in my mind’s eye. 

And I am glad I can picture it so clearly, because if were to visit my childhood home now, sadly I would see quite a different scene.  The house is of course the same, but where that beautiful cherry tree once stood in front yard, there is now a gaping hole.  All that remains is a large stump, and honestly, it makes me quite melancholy just thinking about it. 

Well, friends would you pray with me.  Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for your invitation to us to journey through this season where we can give voice to our longings, laments, and hopes.  Thank you that you are a God who hears us and is with on this journey.  Lord God, would you now send your Holy Spirit upon us so that we may truly hear your word and also respond to your call to be peacemakers in this world, and give us faith and perseverance as we wait for Jesus to return to set up His perfect world of justice and peace.   Amen.

So today, we continue our Advent journey through some key passages found in the Old and New Testaments that point to the advent or arrival of Jesus.  And today, we look at Isaiah 11, which like last week’s passage that Mike preached about, speaks of a future time, a Messianic age of peace, justice, and complete restoration of earth – a time when there will be no more death and where harmony will even exist in the animal kingdom, as predators lie down with prey.  Along with last week’s passage, this vision of Isaiah is a beautiful vision, filled with hope. 

And certainty, the people of Judah during Isaiah’s time needed this message of hope for the reality was that they lived in precarious times when they were under constant threat from the surrounding nations.  They also lived under ungodly kings like King Ahaz who sacrificed to pagan gods, even offering up a son to the god Moloch.  Idolatry and injustice reigned both outside and inside the borders of Judah during Isaiah’s day. 

And although according to the prophet Jeremiah, God had once called Judah a “green olive tree, beautiful with good fruit,” Judah would soon become a mere stump, being cut down for its bad fruit, first being besieged by Assyria and later by Babylon.  And this would all happen because the people of Judah had failed to live into their vocation as the People of God.  God would cut them down for the evil that existed within its house.   The beauty and the majesty of Jerusalem would be taken away before their very eyes. Thus, the years ahead would be a time of great melancholy, and so the people of Judah needed some source of hope, and Isaiah gave it to them.

As dire as the situation looked, that stump of Judah descended from King David’s father, Jesse would not die out completely, and from it would arise a tender shoot, a branch growing from the roots that would bear great fruit.  This tender shoot would be the Messianic king.  This Messiah, however, would not just be another king in the line of David, growing from the same faulty trunk of rule and authority exercised by the previous kings.  No, the Messiah would be a completely new kind of King, one springing from the very roots of God’s original intentions for Israel and the world, a king, who like a tender shoot, would look vulnerable in comparison to all the other earthly kings who stood like tall, proud trees in the world, but who in His vulnerability would establish a Kingdom of justice and righteousness.  

For this Messianic King would be full of the Spirit – of the Spirit’s wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, fear of the Lord, and the Spirit’s resting presence.  In fact, this seven-fold Holy Spirit gifting (seven being the number of perfection in ancient Israel) demonstrated that unlike any other kings in the past, present, or future, the Messiah would rule and judge the world perfectly, with complete and utter righteousness and justice.  While worldly rulers make judgements out of what they hear, see, feel or what benefits them and the influential, the Messiah would make judgements out of His perfect knowledge of reality, which would bless those who have been made and kept poor by the systems of this world and would bring down those who have acted wickedly in this world, causing harm, especially to the most vulnerable.

Thus, under the Messiah’s rule, the world would become what it had always meant to be – a place of flourishing and peace where those under His rule would come to a full knowledge of the Lord and His ways, and then would act accordingly.  Thus, Isaiah’s vision was indeed very good news for the people of Judah.  While it didn’t take away all the pain of the past, present or near future, it assured them that one day the Messiah would make all things right. 

And friends, this same truth holds for us today, as well.  Though we are living today in very different circumstances, we are also assured that one day the Messiah will come back and make all things right.  And indeed, we very much need this message of hope, as much as the ancient Judeans did.  The continuation of mass shootings in our country, up to 611 just in 2022 alone; the war in Ukraine, racism; antisemitism; human trafficking; poverty; political dissension; and all manner of relational breakdown in our lives and the world show us that our world continues to be a profoundly messed up place, despite the myth of progress we still hear on some people’s lips.  Our world needs fixing, and we cannot do it ourselves, even if we improve our education systems, continue to advance in technology, and make our best attempts at setting up good political systems.  We do not have what it takes to redeem the world.

We need the Messiah to establish a world of justice and peace.  We need Jesus to return to judge on behalf of the poor and vulnerable.  And this, friends, is why we celebrate Advent each year, to remind ourselves of how much we need Jesus to return and, in the meantime, to give voice to our longing, laments, and hopes.  This, however, is not all we do. 

During Advent, we also remind ourselves that we have a role to play on this earth as we wait for Jesus’ return.  As Mike said last week, our Advent waiting, indeed our life-long waiting for Jesus, is not an idle waiting, that involves sitting around doing nothing as the world falls apart.  It is an active, anticipatory waiting where we earnestly seek out peace and justice in the world, however imperfectly it may be, as an attempt to live out the vocation as the people of God and as a sign of what is to come at the end of time.  Our lives, like those of the prophet Isaiah or John the Baptist are to prepare the way for the Lord, to point to Jesus and the Messianic Kingdom that He one day will set up in all its fullness in our world. 

The question of course that many of us may have at this point is how are we to tangibly do this? 

And while this is a question we can’t fully answer in the next few moments, there are a few things for us to consider this morning.

First, if we are going to be the kinds of people that seek out peace and justice in this world, we must make room for Jesus in our lives, the one who is the Alpha and the Omega; as well as the vulnerable baby born in Bethlehem; the God-man who proclaimed good news to the poor and the Savior who died for the sins of the world;  the One filled with the Spirit who came to set the captives free and the One will come again to make all things new.  As we make room for Jesus, we will be changed.  Over time, as we get to know Jesus more, our priorities will shift, and they will begin to look more like His priorities.       

Making room for Jesus in our lives of course also means making room for the Holy Spirit who empowered Him.  Though we won’t exhibit the seven-fold gifting of the Holy Spirit as the Messiah does, which allows Him to judge and rule the world with perfect righteousness, we who believe in Jesus have been given the same Holy Spirit.  Through silence and listening and our continual “yes’s” to the Holy Spirit, we can hear from the Lord and be empowered by Him to live more righteously, peacefully, and justly. 

Making room for Jesus in our lives also means looking more and more like Him, and one of the ways we can look like Jesus is to embrace humility and vulnerability, to be tender shoots just like the Messiah was.  And we can do this by acknowledging the ways we contribute to the disfunction of the world and by also recognizing that we are not the saviors of the world.  No matter how hard we try, all our efforts at working for justice and peace in this world will be imperfect, and this, friends, is actually very good news, for the weight of the world’s problems can absolutely crush us and paralyze us.  We cannot bear this weight by ourselves and we do not need to.  Nor do we need to give into despair when our efforts do not yield the full fruit we desire.  For Jesus has got this.  Once we recognize this, we are actually freed to do what we can do to work for justice and peace.  We can move forward with perseverance without the crushing weight, despair, or burnout that comes from expecting ourselves or others we trust to be our saviors.  We can move forward in the power of the Holy Spirit, joining Jesus in what He is doing now, trusting Him for guidance, and living in such a way that points to that time when Jesus will return.

Now of course the next question that many of us may have is what does it look like to live in a way that points to that future time when Jesus will return?  Well, quite simply, friends, it looks like us all becoming peacemakers in this world, people who seek true peace – shalom, wholeness, relational harmony, and flourishing for all peoples and living things, starting with the people who God has placed in our lives and then expanding out to those who are not in our immediate circles of relationship.

But here is the thing, friends.  Seeking out true peace is not for the faint of heart.  Seeking out true peace can be challenging work, and because of this, what we often settle for in life is a false peace, a situation where we feel happy or we are free from anxiety, but where just underneath the surface exists relational and societal breakdown that we either ignore or excise from our lives.  In fact, I think this latter kind of peace is what so many of us fill our hearts and minds with during this season of the year as we binge-watch feel-good holiday movies, engage in all kinds of holiday cheer, and work hard to create nostalgic moments.  Now, none of these things are bad in themselves, but for many of us, they can actually serve as an escape mechanism from doing the relational work that we need to do to move towards true peace in all areas of our lives. 

To be true peacemakers in this world, we must address relational breakdowns in our lives, move through conflict, and do our own heart work.  If we think back on the vision of future peace that Isaiah painted for us in today’s passage, we see that peace will only come about once Jesus has made His righteous judgements.  Jesus will cut down and remove all things in this world that are wrong, unjust, distorted, and wicked.  That is in fact is why Isaiah prophesied that Judah would become a mere stump, a former shadow of its past self.  It is because there was too much in the life of Judah that was wrong, unjust, distorted, and wicked. These things had to be cut down if the people of Judah were to ever embrace a future of complete peace and justice.   

And that, by the way, also is why the beautiful cherry tree in my front yard that I mentioned at the beginning of the sermon also had to be cut down.  While it was once a beautiful tree, full of life, it had begun to rot from the inside out, and its fruit was no longer good.  It had to be taken down or else it would have eventually fallen down and damaged the house and anything in its path.  Therefore, although I get can melancholy thinking of its absence, there is no sense in wishing it was still there; It had to go.

And friends, the same truths apply to us.  There are aspects of our lives and relationships and society that need to go – that need to be judged and cut down no matter how much comfort they currently bring us.  Only then will there be room for true peace to emerge in our relationships and society.  This process, however, will often hurt in the meantime, sometimes very deeply, and so, there will be many occasions when we simply want to avoid it.  Rather than doing the hard work to reflect on our own hearts; see how some of our attitudes, words, and actions cause pain; and work to repair relationships and unjust systems, we will cut out people from our lives, blame others for our problems without looking at our own roles in these problems, and fill our lives with experiences that give us peaceful, happy feelings.   

When we do this, however, we will fail to embrace our vocation of pointing to Jesus and His future Kingdom of justice and peace.  We will also fail to receive the very real blessings now that come from reconciled relationships and more just systems in this current age, blessings that are very much worth our work and effort.

So, friends, during the next couple of weeks of Advent, I would like to invite you to ponder a few questions and to consider a few invitations that God has for you this season.

Firstly, I invite you to consider how are you concretely making room in your lives for Jesus during this season of your life.  How are you opening yourself up to Him and saying yes to the work of the Holy Spirit?  And how are you seeking out companions that can help you do so?  Opening up to Jesus and the Spirit’s work does not have to be a solo effort, so I invite you to seek out others as you seek to make space in your lives for Jesus.

Secondly, I invite you to consider areas of your life and work where you may carry a savior complex.   I also invite you to consider who or what things in your lives you expect to be your saviors? Then I ask:  what would it look like to release control of these situations, as well as the people and things you expect to save the day, and then instead to put your trust in Jesus.  Take steps to give these things over to God, looking only to Him who is the one and only Savior of the world.

Thirdly, I invite you to consider where relational breakdown exists in your life at this time.  What are the ways that you have contributed to this relational breakdown?  Are there attitudes or actions that need to be judged and cut down to make space for reconciliation and justice in these situations?  Are there concrete ways that you can serve as peacemakers in your families, workplaces, and beyond?  Take steps to becoming peacemakers in all your spheres of life.

 Finally, I invite you to consider where you feel cut down in life, feel like a mere stump, a shadow of your former self, whether that is because of God’s judgment and refining fire or because of the brokenness of this world that has left you lonely, injured, and hurt.  Take these areas of your life to God and let Isaiah’s message be good news for you.  Trust that nothing is ever too far gone in God’s economy and that out of this stump of your life, God can bring new life just as He brought new life out of the people of Judah.  Hold firmly to this truth.  Wait for it and see the new life that He will bring out of your life and all the stumps of our lives, which will one day grow into a beautiful forest of perfect peace, justice, and flourishing at the end of time.

Friends, I know that this is a lot to consider, but trust the Father to hear you and be with you as you wrestle with all this in this season.Trust the Son to judge you wisely and compassionately as He calls you to be all He has created you to be.And trust the Spirit as He guides you, molds you, and empowers you to be peacemakers in this world who point to that perfect Kingdom of justice and peace at the end of time.Friends, God will not fail you, and He will be with you at every step of the journey.In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.