A Homily for the second sunday after Christmas

Lesson: Isaiah 61:1-3

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be always acceptable in thy sight, O Lord my strength and my redeemer. Amen

            In the lesson from Isaiah today we are introduced to a speaker who says that the spirit of the Lord is upon him. If we look at it as an isolated unit it is unclear who the speaker is in this verse. For it is not the writer and it is not God, but rather some other voice.

            So when we look at it in the grand scheme of scripture we come to realize that the voice is non-other than Christ’s voice. For we may recognize these words better from St.Luke’s Gospel when Jesus is speaking in the synagogue at his home in Nazareth. For it is there in the early part of his ministry that we start to get a glimpse of who He is, and it is there that He receives no honor; for it is very difficult for someone to return home and not be remembered from all the other stages of his life because of his previous experiences and relationships there.  Even though He was the perfect Lord, He was still completely human, which meant that He cried and like all children probably got in trouble once or twice. (We might remember a certain incident at the temple when he was only 12).

            We begin to see how Christ fulfills the prophecy in this lesson. Yet despite the actualization of this prophecy, he was not the Lord the people of his time expected, for the jails did not burst open and the captives were not released on account of him; neither were the poor suddenly wealthy; nor were the people set free from the Roman occupation.  Indeed, this passage does not speak of temporal blessings but rather of spiritual ones.

            Christ has come to make wealthy the poor in spirit, to allow them to experience an intimate relationship with God. For without His grace we could not be in a relationship with God.  During the past few weeks we have talked a good deal about the first curse brought on by Adam’s fall in choosing sin, and how Christ restores that first relationship with God.

            Christ frees those who are captive to their sin, frees them to be able to worship God as we are able to now; frees us to approach the otherwise unapproachable throne. He heals the broken hearted, and draws them into his presence, comforting those who cry with the firm promises of life with him.

            However, it is easy to over spiritualize a passage such as this. For even though this is very much a real part of the ministry of Christ, the church is to be His body and we are to be intently interested in serving the poor and the needy and to love the imprisoned. We cannot merely say that we now love God and walk away from all other things in the world. For the church now has a responsibility to the poor, to the needy, to the broken hearted, the imprisoned and to those who are held in captivity, whether it be those who are held captive to their addictions and sins or those who are in held in very real captivity, such as the American pastor who has been held captive for some time now in Iran or the bishops and nuns held hostage by the Syrian rebels.  While we enjoy freedom we must be their voice.

With this in mind we cannot forget that the church is filled with these people too.  We are to love those who are in need of God’s amazing grace and meet them in both their temporal and spiritual needs. It is easy to forget that we must do this. I watched a short and rather cheesy video put together by a bible church that reminded me of this. The young man walks out of his house and immediately every thing in the world starts to annoy him. Finally, while waiting for his coffee at a coffee shop a man walks up to him and gives him a magical pair of glasses that helps him to see all the problems of the people around him, he realizes that the guy who cut in line recently lost his job and wanted to give his child something to smile about, or that the scary punky looking man just longs for love, or that the barista is struggling with addiction. Finally he sees the kid that he starts his day with and realizes the kid just needs someone to care. The point is this: we may not be able to make a huge difference in someone’s life, but can extend to those around us the same astounding grace that we’ve been given by Christ. We can avoid being quick to be frustrated, and we can greet even strangers with a smile, a hello and even a prayer in our heart for them. For we do not know how far a gentle smile from a stranger may go in someone’s life. And let us not be so foolish as to believe that even in our little church that there aren’t some people who might just need a hug or a simple –“ hello dear friend – how are you today? “

This is a part of what it is to be the Church, to be beacons of hope in a dark and dying world. We are not to be our own lights but little mirrors of Christ’s hope and love. We are to reflect his love, by living in relationship with Him and his people. Over time we learn how it is to shine our light, which comes from Christ and subsequently show the world His love, which resides in us.

            Christ came to make clear that a day will come when all will be made right, that in the end sin will be cast out of the world and we will be able to freely follow God and live in perfect communion with him. For though this process has been started, sin and the devil still roam this earth freely and it is best we not forget that fact; for we can see the tragic consequences of it in the world around us. In the poor, in the brokenhearted we see something missing. We see the utter devastation of sin.

            Though we find joy in Christ today, this is but a taste of the joy to come when the world is set right. Though we grieve our sin and the sin that causes pain and sorrow in the world we know that all these things will one day be set right.

            It once was that all churches faced east as a constant reminder that Christ will return, “as the lightning comes from the eastand shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” In the church facing east it acted as a constant reminder that we are to be looking for the coming of the son of man -- for all things in the liturgical church point towards something greater than the actual item or action. They point to the resurrection, or the coming deeper communion, or the preparation in our hearts by the Word for the deeper worship of God. The liturgical worship of God and his church are dim images of the beautiful truth that is found in his Gospel. Though these images are left over from a time when literacy was not a high priority, through them the Gospel became accessible and could be proclaimed to all people.

            Yet there are stories even today about these images being used to show men and women the truth and joy of life in Christ. I heard once of a soldier in a foreign country meeting a Christian priest. The priest asked the man why he didn’t follow Christ, the soldier was unsure of what this meant and so the priest took him around and showed him the icons in the church and explained the gospel to him. Though I do not know the end of the story, it seems from what I heard his life was transformed. For though a language barrier existed the images and icons in the church helped this man to understand.

            Likewise we are to be little images of Christ in the world around us. Being shining lights of the mercy and joy that is found in him, and ever waiting patiently for the coming days of justice. For we look forward to the day when we are no longer separated from God, we look forward to the day when the poor no longer want, and injustice is no longer allowed.

            It is in Christ that we have hope even in our mourning, perhaps especially in our mourning. For though we may follow him day in and day out, it is inevitable that there will be heartbreak in this world. There will be disappointment and discouragement even if we follow the Lord perfectly. For the world is still stained with sin, and sometimes we simply need to pass through these times and a life time may go by before we understand the greater glory we’ve experienced because of the times of tears.

            Even in the times of heartache and pain we have a sweet promise. The last verse today reminds us of this.  

to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
    to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
    the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.

 For instead of ashes we are promised joy.  Ashes are of course a sign of repentance. Ashes are a sign that the inevitable course of human existence is death, Death is what is promised when we do not repent.  But in this reading,  we are promised something beautiful instead of ashes.  The translation we use promises us beauty, but more literally, a beautiful headdress. This headdress is placed upon us, a sign of a glory greater than us.

These promises do not come from within ourselves; it is not of our creating, but rather, the joy and praise that comes from God placed upon us. We will be able to rejoice in Him and praise him with the right praise that we long so deeply to give him. For God is the source of all life and all things and from Him comes all things.

            Even in describing the people as oaks of righteousness we realize that they are planted and sustained by God – by Christ. Our righteousness does not come from within ourselves but from God. It is from our life in the Holy Spirit that righteousness flows. For God plants us in the right way and the spirit leads us on the right path. Not being given to being blown about and bent over like birch trees, but firm and upright and unwavering like oaks.

            Yet none of this is for our glory, though we receive the benefits of it. It is for God’s glory. For in making us rejoice and delight in His goodness, His mercy and His beauty, it is His glory that is reveled. It is his splendor that shines dimly through us.

            We are brought here by the sovereign will of the Lord. We are washed in His righteousness, brought into communion with Him in word and spirit. We are set on the right path, that we might do his will in the world. In all of this is His splendor shown forth. We are made beacons of his joyful and beautiful light. Though we may grow weary, though our hearts may ache because of the wages of sin, we have this great hope that is found in Christ, for HE is the one whom the spirit of the Lord resided upon. May our hearts take encouragement in this promise and may we learn what it is to be little lights reflecting the light of the hope and grace and love that we find in Christ.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, Amen.