| The Rev. Catharine W. Montgomery | 2 Advent |
| Grace Memorial Episcopal Church | Year A |
| December 9, 2007 | RCL |
Isaiah said, A shoot shall come out of the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. Five or six years ago a wild weedy looking thing sprang up next to our garden space. It was right on the line between our lot and our neighbors. No one cut it down and after a few years it grew into a crooked bushy wild cherry tree. Eventually it leaned over the garden and began to shade the place where Bobby was going to plant tomatoes. Last spring Bobby and George decided to cut it off. They left this ugly stump sticking up by the garden. By the end of the summer shoots and branches had popped out all over the stump, reaching for the sky, and the tree was full and larger than before.
Family trees are like that too. They can branch out in the most amazing ways from surprising beginnings. In today’s lesson the prophet Isaiah painted a word picture of a family tree that would produce a savior of the world. He says it all started with Jesse of Bethlehem, the father of King David.
In the Advent Scriptures, both John the Baptist and Paul point back in time to Isaiah, one of the giants of the faith who kept hope alive in a world racked by war and terrorism. Prophets have a broader vision of the world and the human condition than we do. They look back at the past for signs of God’s work; they look at the present with critical and judgmental eyes, and they announce what is going to happen in the future all at the same time…presenting us with a running commentary about their observations.
In the year 742 BC Isaiah began his ministry in Israel. Isaiah was not rough and wild like John the Baptist. From what we can tell, Isaiah was educated, cultured and very acquainted with the ways of the Temple and the upper classes. His mission was to proclaim the fall of Israel and Judah as punishment for their unfaithfulness to God. It is hard to believe now but prior to that time Israel had had a long period of peace and prosperity. That should be a good thing, but Isaiah found that people get complacent, materialistic, and forget about God when times are prosperous. He railed out against moral corruption and social injustice.
Isaiah was also a prophet with great hope for the future. He said one day there will be a king - a messiah who will have a spirit of wisdom and all the virtues of the giants of the faith who came before. Humanity, nature and all of creation will live in harmony. It will be a return to Eden. God knows and we know, we are not there yet….This is not a peaceable kingdom where the wolf shall live with the lamb or a young child is safe in the company of a snake. It is hard to find peace in the world. John the Baptist calls for repentance and he too uses the image of a tree, but this is a tree that will be cut down and burn because it does not bear good fruit. Where do we find repentance for the war, hunger and disease that ravage the people of God?
And yet – we know that all is not lost. In Advent Christians look to Isaiah’s prophecy of a messiah and we find the promise of Jesus Christ. We listen again to John the Baptist’s cry that one is coming who is greater than he, and we know that Jesus did come and we are saved by his blood. And he will come again and bring a reign of peace and justice. But when? O Lord how long do we have to wait?
Right now we live in the in-between time. Are we supposed to just sit in our comfortable homes and wait for the Day of the Lord or are we supposed to be doing something? Last week I asked you to hold close in your heart Isaiah’s vision of a world where there is no need for weapons of war.
At creation God breathed into the human soul a deep longing for a peaceable kingdom like the one Isaiah pictures. Hold that vision of peace and safety close to your heart. The Holy Spirit of Christ has been breathed into us – given to us. Christians are called to keep hope alive in a world that is wracked by terrorism, war, and poverty.
Don’t think for one minute that we don’t count in the grand scheme of things. That would be an insult to the God who created us and to Jesus Christ who died and rose again for us. Do you remember the song “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me?” Is there someone who needs to hear a word of hope from you? What are the ways we as a church can provide hope and comfort and promote peace beyond our doors?
Isaiah said one day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal of hope to the people. I just know that wild cherry tree stump in our garden is going to keep springing back to life. Jesus Christ rose from death into life to be a light of hope for a broken world. We are his messengers. Amen