Isaiah 40,1-11 0323
Gaudete : Advent 3 03
Damasus, Bishop of Rome † 384
Coptic Martyrs (29) by IS at St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo † 2016
11. December 2022
1. ℣ Rejoice in the Lord always:
℟ And again, I say, rejoice my God, I trust in Thee (Philippians 4,4-5).
O Almighty and Merciful God, enthroned upon the cherubim; shine forth, stir up Your might and draw near to save us, so that we may follow You, for You lead us to the green pastures and quiet waters of eternal life. Amen. (Psalm 80,1-2 Gradual).
2. »Comfort, comfort My people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from Yahweh’s hand double for all her sins. A Voice cries: „In the wilderness prepare the way of Yahweh; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground will become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of Yahweh will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together, for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.“ A Voice says: „Cry!“ And I said: „What shall I cry?“ All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of Yahweh blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God will stand forever. Get up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of gospel; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of gospel; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah: „Behold your God!“ Behold, the Lord who is Yahweh arrives with might, and His arm rules for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him. He will tend His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs in His arms; He will carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.«
3. Before the advent of the Christ, Yahweh sent His prophet to prepare the way. »In the year that King Uzziah died [740 bc] I saw Adonai; sitting upon a throne high and lifted up. And I hear the Voice of Adonai saying: „Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us“ Then I, Isaiah, said: „Here I am! Send me“« (Isaiah 6,1.8). Nearly 800 years later, Yahweh sent another prophet to prepare the way: »In those days John the Baptizer arrived preaching in the wilderness of Judea: „Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!“ For this is he who was spoken of by the Prophet Isaiah when he said: „The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord“« (Matthew 3,1-3; Isaiah 40,3).
4. Advent tells us that preparation for Jesus’ arrival involves repentance. The Apostle John tells us in his 1. Epistle: »If we say we have no sin, then we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, then He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.« (1. John 1,8-9). Each Sunday we begin with this preparation, and the gospel declaration of the Psalmist sounds forth once more: »O Israel, hope in Yahweh! For with Yahweh there is steadfast loving-kindness [חֶסֶד], and with Him there is plentiful redemption. And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities« (Psalm 130,7-8).
5. The forgiveness of sin is not an easy matter because sin is not an easy matter. Our sinfulness infects and afflicts everything on the Earth. Violence, discord and greed result from our sin. War, destruction and death are the effect of our sin. This sin cannot simply be forgotten; it must be atoned for and forgiven, and that requires the shedding of innocent blood. God’s Heilsgeschichte (salvation history) is centered upon the concept of propitiation: one who appeases God through a sacrifice. It is based on the Greek word ίλάσκομαι: to bring forgiveness, have mercy, propitiate an angry god. Jesus was our Propitiator on the cross, for there He became our sin offering and purchased our forgiveness. The payment was His own blood.
6. Isaiah prophesies about the Messiah being our Propitiator. Isaiah proclaimed: »Comfort, comfort My people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from Yahweh’s hand double for all her sins.« These verses are gospel promises. „The exile’s debt service is paid for by Yahweh, their Redeemer. The ‘warfare’ that Israel endures at the hands of Assyria and Babylon is also over. When Jesus announces the arrival of the kingdom of God, He is saying, ‘The exile of all sinners is ending’“ (Lessing 133).
7. Advent announces this Propitiator is arriving, has already arrived and He will one day return. Isaiah proclaimed Him. John the Baptizer proclaimed Him. Preachers proclaim Him. The cry goes out in the Church throughout the world: Prepare the way of Yahweh! Rejoice, for Yahweh is arriving! The Christ restores God’s relationship to us, has mercy upon us and makes payment for our sin. The gospel is preached to all the nations (Matthew 11,5).
8. When his son John was born, Zechariah proclaimed: »And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.« (Luke 1,76-79).
9. John prepared the way for the Messiah, proclaiming: »Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire« (Matthew 3,8.11-12).
10. »Stand firm thus in the Lord, and rejoice in the Lord always. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God« (Philippians 4,1c.4a.5b.6).
11. The night has advanced,
The day is not far off.
So let praise be sung
To the Bright Morningstar!
Even those who wept at night,
He happily agrees.
The Morningstar shines
Upon also your fear and pain (Die Nacht ist vorgedrungen elkg 322,1 2021 Jochen Klepper (1937) 1938).
This is most certainly true.
12. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4,7). Amen.
13. Let us pray. O Thou who hast foretold that Thou wilt return again to judgement in an hour that we are not aware of, grant us grace to watch and pray always that whether Thou shalt come at even or at midnight or at the cock-crowing or in the morning, Thou mayest find us in the number of those servants who shall be blessed for watching for their Lord; for Thy Name’s sake. Amen. (3. Advent, Vespers Collect 2. The Daily Office.)
To God alone be the Glory
Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm
✠
All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, Septuaginta, Vol. I and II 2. Revised Edition © 2006 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.
Evangelisch-Lutherisches Kirchengesangbuch. Copyright © 2021 Selbständige Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche, Hannover.
Lessing, R. Reed. Isaiah 40 – 55. Copyright © 2011 Concordia Publishing House.
The Daily Office. Copyright © 1965 Concordia Publishing House.
No comments:
Post a Comment