December 15, 2019                                                                          Text:  Isaiah 35:1-10

Dear Friends in Christ,

            Most of us have had the opportunity to see the country of Iraq as we have watched footage of war and violence.  The country is mostly barren desert.  You get a few splashes of green by the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers but Iraq is mostly dry, desolate wilderness.  It hasn’t always been that way.  The Tigris and Euphrates once flowed out of the Garden of Eden.   Paradise probably once flourished where Iraq now sits.  But Adam and Eve were driven out by their sin and the great flood showed God’s judgment and changed the landscape.

            Today the prophet Isaiah will take the lead as we see how . . .

“GOD RESTORES OUR RUINED WORLD WITH NEW LIFE”

            There is trouble in our text.  This wasn’t how Judah’s world was supposed to be.  Israel was a ruinous desert and the streets of Jerusalem were deserted.  Their world was ruined because of their sin.  They kept worshipping false prophets and they weren’t listening to the prophets, including Isaiah.  The destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC was violent and devastating.  The Jews were banished from the land because of sinful behavior.

            We too have trouble in our world.  Pollution and natural disasters indicate a world in decay.  Blindness and deafness and birth defects affect the quality of life for many.  Cancer and heart disease and chronic pain further indicate the fallen world we inhabit.  Add to this our “living for pleasure and power” over the peace and forgiveness of Jesus and we are in the middle of a mess.

            The ruin of our world is judgment on our sin.  From the time Adam and Eve knew better than God, creation has broken down.  Banished from the Lord’s sight.  Death and decay all around.

            But God restores our ruined world with new life.  God brought renewal for the people of Judah.  The wilderness and wasteland would blossom and rejoice with streams of water and new growth.  “They shall see the glory of the Lord.”  The blind will see, the ears of the deaf will be opened and the lame will leap like a deer.  These promises were fulfilled in Christ’s coming.

            This new life was a sign of God’s forgiveness and presence in their world.  God would come to save his people when Jesus suffered the vengeance of God for all the sins of all the people.  Instead of casting them out, He would come in strength to take away their fears.  The exiles would return on the “Way of Holiness.”  The ransomed and redeemed would return.

            God will restore our ruined world with new life.  When Jesus returns on the last day God will make a new heaven and a new earth.  A river of life will spring forth from the throne of the Lamb.  The life-giving waters of Holy Baptism are turning us into new men and women, forgiven, and redeemed by the blood of Jesus.  There will be no more death, disease, or pain in the renewed earth.

            This new life is a sign of God’s forgiveness and eternal presence in Christ.  The Lord will wipe every tear from our eyes.  We will enter the heavenly Jerusalem and walk the streets of gold.  Christians from all nations will enter the city whose gates are never shut.

            Most of us have seen a sports movie or two in our days.  What is the one thing they all have in common?  The pep talk.  Whether The Rookie or Hoosiers or Facing the Giants or The Mighty Ducks.  The team is losing and down in the dumps and here comes the coach or a father or even a girlfriend and they give some inspiring talk about courage and not giving up.  Then it happens.  The comeback, the determination seemingly out of nowhere and the sweet, sweet victory.  The underdogs win and somebody gets carried from the field or basketball court.

            Do you ever wish that could be your life?  Your world is up and then it’s down and you don’t want to face the next day.  But wait, here comes someone, yes, I believe it is your life pep talker.  Give it to me, pep talker!  And they do.  You are so inspired you that you ace that test you dreaded, you impress your co-workers with your jaw-dropping presentation or you throw your walker away and start skipping down the hallway.  Is it all a movie?

            The reality is we have a God who comes alongside us when the odds are against us, and by the power of His Word he gives us the strength and courage to keep going in life.  God gave this pep talk to the Jewish exiles in our text.  And it is the best kind of pep talk, because he is not telling them what they can do, how they can “win one for the Gipper.”  He is telling them what He will do for them.  It is the same message we hear today:  “Be strong; fear not…your God…will come and save you.” (v. 4)   The desert is restored and the world is renewed with new life.

                                                                                                                                    Amen.      

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.