First Lutheran Church
December 4, 2022 + The Second Sunday in Advent (A)
Isaiah 2:1, 3-4 The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. … He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Isaiah 11:1, 6-10 1A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.. …6The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. 7The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den 9They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.10On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.
Matthew 3:1-31In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, 2“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’ ”
Sermon
“Visualizing the Kingdom”
Pastor Greg Ronning
Today’s appointed Gospel for the Second Sunday in Advent exhorts us to prepare for the coming of Christ! John the Baptist, that voice in the wilderness cries out, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”
So it is, we are called “to prepare.” I don’t know about you, but I don’t really get excited about preparing for things. I can be a little lazy at times, I can procrastinate, and I’m not really afraid of “flying by the seat of my pants.”Being disciplined is not really one of my strongest suites, and honestly, I just don’t find the work of preparation very exciting. Yet, I know it is important, even crucial, to taking advantage of the moments in life that come our way. As Thomas Edison once said, “Good fortune often happens when opportunity meets with preparation.”
So, how do we prepare for the coming of Christ at Christmas?
Well, the Christmas part is easy, - well at least easy to understand and define. To be ready for Christmas is to clean and decorate your house, buy presents for loved ones, bake Christmas treats, make travel plans, and keep your calendar with all your Christmas events clearly marked and up to date. That’s how you prepare for Christmas. But preparing for the coming of Christ is really - a wholly different thing!
To be ready for Christ means to prepare “our hearts, our minds, and our souls” for something that is life changing, even disruptive. Christ comes into this world with the Kingdom “to make all things new,” to give us an abundant life, and to inspire us in our divine calling in service to the Kingdom of God. To be ready for the coming of Christ is to engage in nothing less than the really big questions of life, the questions of meaning and purpose, the questions of peace and justice, the questions of love and ultimate concern. Something that’s just not as easy for which to prepare.
As I was reading last Sunday’s Old Testament reading from Isaiah, something jumped out and got my attention, something I read gave me a new insight into how one might prepare for the coming of Christ. Isaiah chapter two, verse one reads, “The word that Isaiah son of Amozsaw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.”Note that in this particular instance, the prophet Isaiah did not “hear” the word of God, but rather he “saw” it! Isaiah had a powerful “vision.” And as they say, “Seeing is believing.” And as the writer of proverbs tells us, “Where there is no vision, the people perish;…”(Proverbs 29:18 KJV)
It struck me in that moment, that one of the ways we prepare for the Coming of Christ, is by “seeing,”by “visualizing,” the coming of Christ, and the Kingdom of God. We prepare for Christmas in the season of Advent by engaging our Holy Imagination.As Pastor Jennifer proclaimed last week, “God gave us imaginations for a reason!” So it is, we are called to engage the wonderful “visions” of heaven described by the prophets, with our “own holy imaginations,” and in doing become active participants, ushering in the kingdom of God - right here, right now! Too often all we see is the overwhelming problems, the hopelessness of the times, and the limits of the human condition. We need to replace those fearful “visions” with a “faithful”“holy” vision, in order that we might have a clear picture of where God is leading us, and to what we have been called to do!
As some of you know, I like to golf. I really like to golf. And professional golfers, and their sports psychologists, will tell you that one of the most important parts of hitting a good golf shot, - is “visualizing” the shot. You need to clear your mind of every distraction and imagine the whole shot, from start to finish.There’s a great scene in the golf movie, “The Greatest Game Ever Played” that depicts this process. The scene takes us into the mind of the English golfing legend Harry Vardon, as he prepares to hit his tee shot, in the 1913 US Open.(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVpOhUo9DYk)
That’s how you do it! That’s how you prepare for a golf shot, you imagine away all the distractions, you “see” the perfect shot, and then you do it!
*One more time, this is how good golfers like Harry Vardon, Tiger Woods, and Bob Carver play golf. Before they swing, they prepare by visualizing the perfect shot. *They don’t see the tree that seems like it’s right in the way. *They don’t have any concern for the water,(because they are not trying to hit it in the water.)*They are not concerned about the road and the trees on the left. *All they see is the fairway, a big wide-open target.
Once again, “visualization”is the key to hitting a good shot, it’s critical.But even more important - is “what” you visualize!
Unfortunately, that’s my problem. I can visualize my golf shot, but not in a helpful way. My pre-shot routine, my preparationlooks more like this. I step up to the tee box and I immediately become fully aware of all the potential problems that exist. *I immediately see the tree. *I notice the water, and by thinking about it, I bring it into play. *And of course, I’m not going to let the road and trees on the left go unnoticed. And suddenly, I can’t even begin to see the middle of the fairway! I have only visualized all the problems, everything that might go wrong; and at this point, what will most likely - go wrong!
*The prophets of Advent, like great golfers, were able to confidently and correctly “visualize” the coming of Christ and the Kingdom of God. They did not see the limitations imposedby fear but rather the possibilities made possible by faith. And thankfully, for us, these visions were written down, preserved as gifts for us to open as we embark on the advent journey.
In last Sunday’s reading Isaiah invited us to imagine a day when swords would be bent into plowshares, and spears would be reshaped into pruning hooks; a day when the weapons of war would become tools for growing and harvesting, instruments of peace and prosperity. As we make the Advent journey, we are invited to set aside our fears, engage the vision; and reimagine, reform, and repurpose the things of war - into things that make for peace. Can you “envision” the tip of the sword tilling the soil?
In this Sunday’s readingIsaiah points out that the lifeless Stump of Jesse has come back to life. What once was thought dead is now springing up a new shoot, one that will bear the very fruit of our salvation, the life of Jesus. As we make our Advent journey, we are invited to look back at the things we thought were dead, the parts of our life that we thought were over, the things that we had given up on, and find in them – new life. We are invited to trust in the pattern of death and resurrection. Can you “visualize” that tender new shoot unexpectedly rising up out of that useless dead stump?
Today’s reading fromIsaiah concludes with the prophet painting an amazing picture of peace and harmony: the wolf and the lamb, the leopard and the kind, the lion and the fatling, the cow and the bear;all living together, peacefully, side by side, led by a little child. As we make our Advent journey we are invited to stop, even turn around, and to reconsider relationships that have been riddled with conflict, those who have been defined as enemies, those we fear will hurt us, those who are so different from us; and in doing so discover new relationships that will bring us closer and deeper into the kingdom of God. Can you “visualize” your enemy standing by your side, together doing the work of the Kingdom?
Today we are invited to set aside our distractions, our fears, and the limits of the human condition so often imposed upon our horizons; and insteadto “see” the word of God, to “visualize” the Kingdom of God that is coming even now. We are invited to engage the visions of the prophets of Advent with our own God gifted – inspired - holy imaginations; and in doing so prepare ourselves, - our hearts, our minds, and our souls, - for the coming of Christ.
May the “word” that Isaiah saw; swords being beaten into plowshares, spears reshaped into pruning hooks, new life emerging from what we thought were dead stumps, and peace and harmony replacing enmity and violence; May these words of God visualized, these words dared to be imagined anew, - fill our hearts with hope, engage us in the way of peace, fill us with the joy of the kingdom, and strengthen us with the love of God in Christ Jesus. Amen.