Advent week 2

Psalm: Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19
Old Testament: Isaiah 11:1-10
Gospel: Matthew 3:1-12
Epistle: Romans 15:4-13

This week I want to focus on the theme of hope. This is a difficult place to get to in the midst of waiting. Last week, with my midweek Limerick, I focused on waiting. We all understand waiting, as I said, for things big and small. But how do we, in the middle of (to be honest) crappy times, still find hope? What hope do we have after 2,000 years in still waiting in expectation for Christ's return (another Advent theme)?

These are the type of questions Advent invites us into. Today, in our reading from Isaiah, we are invited into the story of Israel to explore some answers. Israel knew what it meant to wait, often with little to no hope on the horizon. Their history is full of times of expectation. In the Patriarchal times, Abram and Isaac waited for a child and Jacob worked 14 years before he could move back to the Promised Land with Rachel as his wife. As a nation, Israel waited centuries to take the Promised Land: 400 years in slavery in Egypt and then another 40 wandering around the wilderness. The nation went into exile for 70 years. And finally, for 400 years there was a time of waiting and longing for the Messiah between Malachi, the last prophet, and John the Baptist who ushered in Christ's ministery. In all of these events, generation came and went--sometimes with not much changing for the better.

What then provided hope to the Israelites, that we can also draw on? The answer I think is simple: the Israelites took a long view of history and so did the prophets. They new that God would win. He would accomplish his goals. His Messiah would come and set things right. It might not happen tomorrow or next week, but God still was in control of his people and indeed all of creation.

This is the vision Isaiah looks forward to in chapter 11. Isaiah did not minister during a pleasant time in Israel's history. In the north, Israel fell to the Assyrian empire in 722 B.C., roughly 18 years into Isaiah's ministry. And although Isaiah's ministry was focused on the southern kingdom of Judah, this would have still been a traumatic experience for his audience, not least of all because after the Assyrians took Israel, they turned their eyes towards Judah. Judah was repeatedly hassled by them and only a miracle from the Lord prevented the Assyrians from overcoming Jerusalem. (See 2 kings 19 for this account)

Digressing back to Is. 11, in the midst of hardship, Isaiah still sees a future hope. We have discussed this passage in years past, and the messianic message is well documented, but notice this: the future hope is not dictated by current circumstances. The hope of this new Messiah King is grounded in who God is. It is grounded in his attributes of covenant faithfulness, being true to his promises to His people and especially David. 

This is how we also find hope in our own dark times and circumstances. Our hope is not found in something we can do. It is found in the power of Christ and his resurrection. Isaiah's vision in chapter 11 was partially fulfilled at Jesus' birth and in his ministry. But this was all God's doing. The hope was fulfilled in God's timing. Likewise, Christ's return, the inauguration of his kingdom, and our ultimate hope, will be fulfilled in God's timing.

When times get hard and life isn't what we wanted, we can know that our hope is found in Christ. We know the end of the story and where creation is heading. And this is good and hopeful news indeed.

Let us bare witness to this hope during this Advent season.

Grace and peace.