O Lord, you are our Father
Isaiah 64:1-9
1st Sunday in Advent
Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ amen. The sermon text for the first Sunday in Advent is the Old Testament reading Isaiah 64. Today we begin a new church year. The first season of the church year is Advent. The word Advent means coming. We look to the coming of the Lord. We get ready for Christmas and the celebration of the first coming of Christ who was born of the Virgin Mary and placed in a manger. We recognize that the Lord keeps coming to us in our life right now through His Word and Sacraments. And we wait for the Lord’s visible return on Judgment Day. The word Advent means coming and we certainly want the Lord to come into the world.
In our Old Testament reading Isaiah wanted the Lord to come into the world as well. He wanted the Lord to come in power and might. Isaiah wanted the Lord to come in power and might because the world was filled with so much evil and darkness. The Babylonians had sacked Jerusalem, destroyed the temple, and placed the Israelites in captivity. His people, the nation of Judah, was suffering. Isaiah wanted God to reveal Himself to the Babylonians and the other unbelieving nations. Isaiah wanted God to reveal Himself to these nations in fire, thunder, and earthquake. Isaiah wanted God to come into the world with power and might so that all of His enemies would fear Him. Listen to what he says in our text. “Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire cause water to boil to make your name know to your adversaries, and the nations might tremble at your presence”. Isaiah was begging God to come down to the world and use His power and His might so that every person would fear His Name and know that He is God. He wanted God to show His awesome might to the nations just like He did at Mt. Sinai.
There are times when we agree with Isaiah. There are times when we would like God to come into this world and shake it up. We would like God to come in power and wipe out all that is evil and wrong. We live in a time when people are in open rebellion against God. Church attendance is down, and fewer people are interesting in knowing God. We live in a culture that is increasingly becoming immoral. All you need to do is watch TV for a few minutes before you see something ungodly. We see people celebrating evil and opposing what is good. We all run into people who are selfish and rude and dishonest. We are entering a time of year where people seem more concerned with commercialism then they are about the birth of Jesus. Sometimes we agree with Isaiah. We want the Lord to come into this world in power and might. If the Lord came down from heaven than the earth would shake, and everyone would know that He is God.
But as we continue to read our text, we see that Isaiah realized that if God’s might and power came into the world it would also encompass his own people, the Israelites. It is true that the army that conquered Jerusalem did many evil things but so did the people of Israel. God’s chosen people turned away from the Lord and sinned against Him. They worshiped the false gods. They lived in sin. They lived as people of the world who cared more about their own wealth and status than doing God’s will. That is what Isaiah is talking about in verse six. “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away”.
When we take a closer look at our text we see that Isaiah is right. If we want God to do away with what is wrong with the world with His power and might then He would have to do away with us as well. We have all sinned against God every one of us. We have sinned against each other. We can be prideful, selfish and rude. We too can succumb to the weakness of the flesh. Because of our sin we lack compassion and patience and love. At times we place the things of this world over the things of God. We fail to be generous with the time and money that God gives to us. We hold grudges. We get lazy. We think success and wealth are more important than God’s Word. We love the world more than the church. Isaiah knew that no one could stand if God came in power and might and anger. Not the Israelites. Not him. Not me. Not you.
At the end of our text Isaiah still wants God to come into the world but he wants Him to come as his Heavenly Father. He said these words beginning with verse eight. “But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Be not so terribly angry, O Lord, and remember not iniquity forever. Behold, please look, we are all your people”. Indeed the Lord does come into the world but He comes as our heavenly Father. God never stopped coming to His people. He came to His people on Mount Sinai. He dwelt among them in the temple. He spoke to them through the prophets. Down through the centuries, God continued to be with the Old Testament believers.
Finally when the time was right God showed all of us that He is our Father because He sent His Son into the world to be our Savior. The Lord Jesus did not come in terrifying power but He came naked and helpless, as a tiny baby. His hands did not come down in wrath but His hands came into the world so that they could be nailed to a cross. Our Gospel reading describes Jesus coming into the city of Jerusalem. Mark is describing Palm Sunday. Christ came into the city in the most humble way riding on a donkey. He came into the city to sacrifice Himself for all of us. A few days after His arrival the Lord would be nailed to the cross. God did come into the world to reveal Himself. God did come into the world to deal with what is wrong with it and what is wrong with us. The Lord came into the world in the flesh to die on the cross and to atone for all our sins. The Lord did come into the world to deal with what is wrong with it and what is wrong with us when He defeated sin and death through His death and glorious resurrection.
We live in a fallen world that is filled with darkness. It is a world that needs the Lord to come and save it. That is exactly what He did. God’s wrath and anger came into the world when it was directed at Jesus. Jesus took the punishment for our sins. The Lord came into the world with love and mercy. Love and mercy that we see at the cross and in the resurrection of Jesus. For it is through Christ Jesus that we are forgiven and saved. The Lord came into the world and overcame sin and darkness by His love.
Advent is about the coming of the Lord. Christ now sits at the right hand of God and continues to come to us in Word and Sacrament. He comes to strengthen our faith in Him and sustain us to the end. He comes to us in grace. At some point He will visibly return. At that time all that is wrong with the world will come to an end. At that time we will see His full majesty and power. At that time we will stand in the presents of God in great glory. We most certainly want God to come into our lives. We want Him to come into the world. We want Him to come as our redeemer. Indeed He comes with forgiveness and grace. He comes with the gift of eternal life.
Consider the Lord and His coming into the world during this Advent season. Consider how He came into the world as a baby who was placed in a manger. Consider how He came to save us through His life, death, and resurrection. Consider how the Lord comes to us in the Gospel to strengthen us. Consider how He comes to His church to work through us to shine the light of His grace to the rest of the world. Consider how He will visibly come again to usher in a new heavens and a new earth. Consider the blessings that He once gave, that He now gives to us and what He will give to us when He comes again. We do want God to come into our lives as our loving Father and Redeemer and that is indeed how He comes to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. For it is through Christ that we are adopted into His family and our able to call Him our Father. Amen.