Preparing the Way
December 7, 2008
Isaiah 40:1-11
1 Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.
3 A voice cries out: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. 5 Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken." 6 A voice says, "Cry out!" And I said, "What shall I cry?" All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field. 7 The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the LORD blows upon it; surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever.
9 Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, "Here is your God!" 10 See, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep. (Isaiah 40:1-11)
Christmas is almost here. A time when our thoughts turn to smiling children, joyful carols, the smell of pies baking in the oven, the jingling bells and clanging coins of Salvation Army buckets, and snow. Whose heart didn't skip a beat on Monday morning as we watched the snow drift through the sky? There is something about the combination of Christmas and snow that appeals to even the most cold natured of us. And even those of us who prefer to avoid snow at all costs find ourselves dreaming along with Bing Crosby of a white Christmas-just like the ones we Southerners have seldom ever known.
A few years ago, I heard a fascinating report on National Public Radio about the enduring popularity of the song White Christmas. The song first became a hit during World War II because it reminded American soldiers of the comfort of home. Even those who could not relate to a white Christmas could relate to the longing to be home among their family and friends celebrating a merry and bright Christmas.
And while many, many artists-including Elvis-have recorded White Christmas, we really associate the song with only one voice-Bing Crosby-who sings it with a melancholy longing. He sings it like a man who might be near despair but has yet to give up hope. So the song resonated with soldiers living in the midst of the hell of war who could relate to the longing for something that seemed somehow out of their reach for now while holding tight to the hope that they might yet experience comfort and joy again.
So perhaps it is both fitting and ironic that the song that seems to encapsulate the meaning of Christmas for Americans was written by Irving Berlin, a poor Jewish Russian immigrant. A man who despite his fame became known as the "Howard Hughes of the music Industry" and died at age 101 still feeling very much like an outsider looking in on a dream he couldn't participate in.
In the movie, Citizen Kane, Orson Wells character, Charles Foster Kane, also dreamed of a White Christmas. Throughout the movie, Kane would continually look at a glass ball with a beautiful snow scene and remember his childhood and dream of a simpler and happier time in his life.
How many people stand outside the dream of Christmas looking in?
Irving Berlin stood outside the dream of Christmas as an outsider, an immigrant, and a religious minority. Charles Foster Kane stood outside the dream of Christmas because the more he had filled his life with money, things, and women, the less room he had for the things that truly mattered. And some people stand outside the dream because no one has ever told them that Christmas can be more than snow, shopping malls, dinner parties, and a mad rush to get things done.
All too many folks stand outside staring into a cold glass globe and despairing that the dream is beyond their grasp. There are homeless families living in run down hotel rooms in dangerous neighborhoods, who don't have a tree let alone presents to put under it and who no longer even allow themselves to dream. There are people who are grieving the loss of someone they love, who dread the holiday meal when they will sit at a table with that empty chair and the dream merely reminds them of what they have lost. There are people in the midst of divorce or estranged from those they love, who feel like the dream is beyond them because they no longer have the perfect Christian family. There are people who have experienced so much betrayal and disappointment in their lives that their only dreams are nightmares full of pain and so they can't even dream of hope anymore.
And it is for the sake of these lonely, despairing people, that the word of the Lord comes to us saying, "Comfort, comfort my people. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for. . . .Go up on a high mountain, You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, . . . say to the towns of Judah, 'Here is your God!' See the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and his arm rules for him. He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young."
In this passage from the book of Isaiah, the word of the Lord comes through the prophet to the people of Israel at a time when they were beginning to lose hope. They were in exile in Babylon. Jerusalem and the temple had been destroyed and they were finding it hard to sing the Lord's songs in a foreign land. For those who dreamed of returning, the dream was growing dim. Others had ceased to dream any more and had become accustomed to exile. Yet just as their hope begin to die, the word of the Lord came to them and it was a word of comfort and of joy. Despite their sinfulness and despite their inconsistency, God forgave them and God was providing a way for them to return home.
But before they could return home, the road must be prepared for the coming of the Lord. And the purpose of this season that we call Advent is to remind us as God's called out people that it is our job to prepare the way for the Lord
When I was serving Epworth, I had the opportunity to observe that preparing a road is anything but an easy job. When they were expanding Highway 72 to become I-565, the church would rattle as explosives were set off to level the hills. We watched as rock was placed in valleys to build them up and as dirt was spread to make a level road bed. It was long, hard, arduous work.
So it is for us the church. We are called to help prepare the way for the Lord and the prophet makes it clear it won't be an easy job. There are mountains of troubles to be brought low and there are valleys of despair that need to be filled. The rough spots of people's lives have to be smoothed out and in order to do that we have to be willing to go where there the hurting people are to be found-in the wilderness!
To bring comfort to a lost and hurting world is keep Christ in Christmas. And to do that we have to do a whole lot more than erect nativity scenes on court house squares or say prayers in school. Telling the story is important and we should never cease to tell the world what we believe, but the best way to tell our story is to live as if we believe the story is true. And if it is true that the God whose way we are preparing is the sovereign Lord whose mighty power is revealed in tender care for the flock and who gathers lambs into his arms and gently leads us, then as God's people we need to tenderly care for the lost and the hurting and gently lead them back to God.
Now, we aren't talking cold comfort here. We aren't talking about feeling sorry for folks from a distance. We aren't talking about writing a check and sending it to needy folks far far away. Or the kind of comfort that is given with strings attached. We are talking about the warm, living comfort that comes from a presence in the midst of the pain and despair. We are talking about the comfort that comes from a hand reaching out to pick you up when you have fallen, to lead you when you are lost, to hug you when you feel unlovable. We are talking about gentle, warm, comfort that is given simply because the giver loves.
But in order for the church to provide that kind of comfort, we have to be willing to leave the comfort of our own warm homes, our own warm sanctuary and go out into the wilderness to reach out and touch those who need comforting and to declare to them the good news of God's comfort and joy.
Our scripture today commands that we "Go tell it on the mountain!" and how wonderful that we are already sitting on top of one. Elsewhere in Scripture we are reminded that we are God's people, a city on a hill. And here we sit on top of a hill. So we are in a wonderful position to prepare the way by telling the good news of Jesus Christ.
So go prepare the way for Christmas and shout it from the mountain top by taking time to listen to those who are grieving. Let them tell you their stories. Invite them to celebrate the holidays with you and your family. Give them a Christmas hug.
Prepare the way and shout it from the mountain top by visiting the sick and the lonely. Spend 30 minutes in a nursing home hearing the stories of Christmases past. Go with our youth to visit Tut Fann next Saturday. Hold the hand of someone who is sick or dying. Quit worrying about having the right words to say. Just be present for someone who needs to know someone cares.
Prepare the way and shout it from the mountain top by treating everyone with the dignity do a beloved child of God. Be patient with that overworked and overwhelmed department store cashier that can't seem to do anything right. Let that that harried young mom whose grocery cart is full of food and kids get in the grocery line ahead of you. Give food, clothing and toys to the poor but do it out of a sense of love rather than of obligation. Vote, write letters, and work for the institutions of public policies that bring both comfort and dignity to those on the margins of our society. Work with other communities of faith to end hunger, to educate the poor, to rehabilitate criminals, and to protect the environment.
Prepare the way and shout it from the mountain top by praying for and with those who do not have a community of faith and then live as if you believe those prayers will come true.
Irving Berlin made his last public appearance in 1968 and then retreated to his home. But in the late 1970's a group of his fans began a ritual of going to his home on Christmas and serenading him with their rendition of White Christmas. The maid invited them in and served them hot cocoa. Irving Berlin entered the kitchen in his pajamas hugged all the men and kissed all the women and told them that their singing was the loveliest Christmas present he had ever received. That night, those fans brought not cold comfort but a warm presence and that proclaims comfort much louder than any words ever could.
Let us also go now into God's world, not to bring cold comfort but to be a warm presence, as we shout the good news of Comfort and Joy from the top of Gunter mountain to a world that may not have truly heard the good news.
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