December 8, 2019 Text: Isaiah 11:1-10
Dear Friends in Christ,
When you are a fan of the University of Illinois football you expect defeat rather than victory. Coming into this season you just wanted see some competitive gridiron action. Earlier in the season they stood at 2 wins and 3 losses but I told Karson I felt good about their chances against Michigan because they usually play Michigan well even if they don’t win. Well, they lost. The next game on the schedule was Wisconsin. They were undefeated and ranked #6 in the nation. In their history Illinois is not competitive with Wisconsin. That week I told Karson this, “Illinois has zero chance of winning this Saturday. None.” For most of the three hours on that Saturday it looked like my prediction would ring true. Then plays start happening that you can’t explain. I still have the game on DVR if you want to come over and see. On the last play of the game Illinois kicked a field goal and beat the cheeseheads from the north. The improbable, no the impossible happened. They went on to win three more games and today will find out what bowl they will go to.
Friends, I have witnessed the impossible – remember I am a lifelong Cubs fan. One night in Cleveland changed lives and a franchise. The improbable, no the impossible happened. It is improbable this sermon will go past ten minutes, but remember it’s not impossible. I wonder how long I would have to preach before one of you would stand up and shout, “He’s either sick or out of his mind!” Mmm . . . I wonder if I should try it someday. Improbable, but not impossible.
Come on along as together we see that . . .
“THE IMPROBABLE IS POSSIBLE”
In our text from Isaiah a most improbable kingdom is described. Wolves and lambs live together? A child plays over the hole of a cobra? A calf and lion together and a little child is leading them? Improbable, impossible we say, but is it?
What if provision were made for the improbable to happen? God provided for the improbable and made it possible. A shoot comes out of a seemingly dead stump. It seemed improbable but God brought David’s kingly line out of exile and back to Jerusalem. This kingly line found its full growth in the birth of Jesus. He was a physical descendant of Jesse and David, the “shoot from the stump of Jesse.” The child born in Bethlehem was improbable but God made it come to pass in history.
In Jesus God makes provision for the most improbable act of all, making saints of sinners. Isn’t it improbable to consider us candidates for inclusion in heaven? We are self-righteous filthy rags. We think that just being a confirmed Lutheran gives us a free pass to the perfection of the eternal. John the Baptist calls us out “you brood of vipers” – we are snakes. When will we strike with a coarse word here or a cold shoulder there?
It may seem improbable for sinners to become saints, but it has actually happened because a loving God has made provision for the improbable. God counts us righteous and holy through faith in Jesus. His sacrifice on the cross changed our filthy rags to white robes of righteousness.
In Jesus God makes provision for his improbable kingdom to be previewed in the church. In the Christian church God draws us together as a unified people through our Baptism into Christ. In the church we are safe because the cross heals and mends all our wounds. In the church God leads people of all kinds to live in harmony. Wolf and lamb, calf and lion, cow and bear and dare I say it – cardinal and cub. Our harmony is imperfect, we must admit, but in our unity around the cross of Christ we make a powerful witness to the world of the transforming power of the Gospel.
The improbable promise of a future perfect kingdom gives us hope in our present troubled times. A kingdom is coming when all will be set right. The wicked will not prosper, the loudest voices will not rule, the misguided will not be listened to. Until then, we hold up the Gospel for all to see. We take the improbable body and blood of Christ, another provision of God, to live in a remarkable way – as forgiven sinners who know the path of salvation. Is it improbable for us to live as God’s saints? Not with God on our side – the improbable is possible.
Well, the impossible is not going to happen today. This sermon is going to end at its usual appointed time. But always keep this in the back of your mind as you sit in that pew week after week – the improbable is possible. You saw it today – thanks be to God through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen.