Isaiah 7: 10-16; Luke 2: 25-33 by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
December 18, 2015
Fourth Sunday of Advent
But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.
Then Isaiah said: ‘Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted. - Isaiah 7: 10-16
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,
‘Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.’
And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. - Luke 2: 25-33
The watch word for this fourth Sunday of Advent is LOVE. Today we draw ever closer to God’s promise that inaugurates God’s eternal kingdom. It was a promise of steadfast love in that the young woman (virgin) is with child and shall bear a son and shall name him Immanuel, meaning God with us (Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1: 31-33). Our texts today reveal Ahaz and Simeon gave two different responses to God’s promise. Their responses bear weight into our lives today.
Ahaz was Judah’s king and was in the line of David. He was to serve God and God’s people with faith and integrity. Isaiah’s first encounter with Ahaz was to reassure him. The king of Israel (Northern Kingdom) and the king of Aram conspired to remove Ahaz and end the Davidic dynasty; a threat to God's promise. Israel and Aram did not want any chance for Judah (Southern Kingdom) to prevail against them. This plan gripped Ahaz and the people with great fear (Isaiah 7:1-2).
Isaiah tried to guide Ahaz in trusting God, saying “If you do not stand firm in faith then you shall not stand at all” (Isaiah 7:9). God is the only one who can peel back the layers of our hearts to reveal what blocks the passages of faith to flow towards obedience to God. Fear and pride blocked Ahaz’s heart. And God saw the dire risk and affects this would pose to Ahaz’s ability to serve God and the people.
So God spoke to Ahaz. God wanted Ahaz to look to God for help. Ahaz would need it to navigate through this real threat to his life and the goodwill of the people. The Lord said, “Ask for a sign of the Lord your God; let it be as deep as Sheol or high as the heavens” (Isaiah 7:11).
Ask for God’s pledge or promise of what God will do. Ask for it to reach either deep into the fears that risk cutting you off, or ask for it to reach as high as the greatest hope and glory God may bring. But Ahaz refused. He hid behind pious rhetoric and empty words.
Simeon was a prophet and priest in the temple long after Isaiah’s words were proclaimed. But Simeon had the privilege of opening Isaiah’s scroll. Simeon heard God’s Spirit whisper words of reassurance that Simeon would indeed see this Messiah before he died (Luke 2: 26). He spent his entire life looking high and low for the Messiah – this pledge of God’s steadfast love – to come and console and ultimately deliver God’s people.
Simeon was willing to allow the promise of the Messiah to inform his life. And God honored Simeon’s faithfulness. Mary and Joseph walked into the temple and Simeon held this sweet little Jesus boy (8 days old). As Simeon cradled baby Jesus in his arms, he knew this was the promised One. What a gift to hold the culmination of God’s promise in your own arms!
But God did something amazing in Ahaz’s life as well. Even as Ahaz refused to ask for a sign of God’s steadfast love to help him and his people, God did not turn away from Ahaz. God gave the sign of his divine promise anyway. Ahaz heard the promise that claimed God’s people, that guided Simeon’s life and still illumines our lives today.
But even though Ahaz heard the promise, he did not see his need for God’s help. He missed the blessing. It is the most precious gift that you and I could ever receive and yet we are at risk of missing it too.
A few weeks ago twenty four year old Isaac McCord was helping in the clean-up efforts from the wildfires in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee. He and a coworker were raking up debris at one of the affected resorts. As Isaac was raking underneath a park bench, his eye caught a glimpse of a piece of paper in a puddle of water. He got down on the ground and noticed it was actually a page of the Bible. Curious to see what it said, he lifted the vulnerable page from the water. It was torn and the edges were singed black.
Isaac never considered himself a deeply religious person. He had not gone to church every Sunday nor had he read much of the Bible. But finding this Bible page did something within Isaac. It had moved him to tears. Isaac now has a desire to reflect upon the role of faith in his life. What a sign of God’s presence in the midst of turmoil. Isaac’s story has given many hope as this sign reveals God is with us, even in our darkest hour.
God’s gift is nothing less than extraordinary. God’s holy covenant love for humanity and creation is revealed in ordinary and even painful circumstances. In a time when fear, uncertainty, pride, injustice, and tragedy cast long shadows of dismay, the light of God’s hope shines the way forward. The glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all people shall see it together (Isaiah 40:5).
God’s gift of divine love is a miracle because we have the opportunity to experience it in unexpected places. Even as unexpected as finding baby Jesus in a manger. It was a feeding trough that cradled the King.
Listen to these words by Ann Weems:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
God’s mercies never come to an end.
They are new every morning.
The Lord gave the peoples of the earth a garden,
And the people said, “That’s very nice, God, but that’s not enough.
We’d like a little knowledge, please.”
The Lord gave them knowledge,
And the people said, “Now that we have knowledge, we’d like things.”
The Lord God gave the people things,
But they always said, “That’s not quite enough.”
So the Lord God gave them gifts unequaled:
The sun
Lightning and thunder
Rain and flowers
Animals and birds and fish
Trees and stars and the moon.
God gave them the rainbow.
God parted the Red Sea and gave them manna.
God gave them prophets
And children and each other,
But still the people said, “That’s not quite enough.”
God loved the people,
And out of ultimate merciful goodness
God gave them the Gift of Gifts,
A Christmas present never to be forgotten.
God gave them love
In the form of God’s Son,
Even Jesus Christ.
There are some that do not open their eyes or their ears
Or their hearts
And they still say, that’s not quite enough.
They wander through the stores looking for Christmas.
But others open their whole being to the Lord,
Bending their knees to praise God,
Carrying Christmas with them every day.
For these the whole world is a gift!
As we journey to the manger of Christmas Eve, may we remember our need for a Savior by asking God once again to reveal his pledge of steadfast love to us in new ways. It reaches as far down to the Sheols of our worst fears and deepest pain to bring comfort. It stretches as high as the glories of heaven to proclaim that God’s majesty is redeeming our stories. God pledges to be with us through it all!
And as you go - look for the promise of God’s love in the unexpected places, for you never know where the Messiah will cry out.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sources Referenced:
Advent Thematic Series title "The Holy Places of Advent: A Promise between Heaven and Sheol" adapted from "A Preacher's Guide to Lectionary Sermon Series", (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2016), p. 7, "Advent 4: Somewhere between Heaven and Hell."
Ann Weems, Kneeling in Bethlehem (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1980 ), p. 70.
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