Gearing Up Series

Slide 1 Introduction

For weeks already, some radio stations made the switch to 24-7 Christmas music. Slow but sure, we see the first signs of Christmas decorations going up along Pontaluna Road. Add to that the first lake effect snowstorm of the season just wrapped up. And with Thanksgiving just days away, are you geared up and ready for the feasting or maybe taking in some football or the gigantic character balloons of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade? And quickly following is the busy December calendar with dates and weekends reserved for Christmas gatherings and other festivities.

Or as I’ve heard from some of you and at times have felt myself, are you just tired before it starts? Not to the degree of Scrooge but still drained of Christmas Spirit all the same?

Slide 2 Trouble in the World

In his booklet, “The Four Emotions of Christmas”, Bob Lepine, host of the radio show, “Truth for Life” writes:

“Each year, we enter into Thanksgiving week and hope the Christmas season soon to follow works some kind of magic on us. We decorate the tree or drive the neighborhoods to look at their brilliant lights. We host guests or go to parties. We do so harboring hope that whatever hardships or heartaches we’ve been through this year, the lights and carols, the decorations and traditions will somehow snap us out of our funk. Then our hearts are realigned to bring peace on earth, goodwill to all and joy to the world. Or at least we hope so.”

But here’s the thing. Every year, despite with the recipes of old, the Christmas Card Lists, the Christmas Carols, and other family traditions, the Christmas emotions show themselves for what they are. That’s because compared to any other time, Christmas plays an oversized role in our culture and our lives.

Christian joys are deeper than other joys. So are Christmas sorrows. Right when the Advent Season begins next Sunday promising hope, peace, joy and love, many of us instead carry disappointment, stress, sadness and regret. Beyond personal loss there are other reasons - Some have talked about it being a leaner Christmas with inflation. Others have spoken to cutting back because retirement funds took a hit. Add to that just the general tension in our country… Whatever the reason - we look around at others who seem to be basking in holiday glows – and we are left wondering why the magic of the season isn’t working this year? Instead, we are left with an intangible void.

Slide 3 Trouble in the Text

In our Isaiah 40 text, Israel, God’s covenant people feel the same way about their future. Faith, hope, love and joy are absent as exile awaits them.

Today’s text was written during the time of Judah’s King Hezekiah. The Northern Kingdom of Israel had already fallen after failing to heed the warnings of God’s prophets Amos and Hosea. Terribly fearful for his kingdom’s future, King Hezekiah institutes all sorts of reforms beginning with a renewed focus on temple repairs and traditions of the past.

The king, poured enormous amounts of energy and resources into doing things right like we pour our energies into all the season’s activities, feasting, present buying and more. But so long as the people’s hearts weren’t into it, it was all a façade. A world of pretend. The very opposite of the Hallmark movies we might turn to to lift our emotions is captured in Lamentations-

Jerusalem once so full, lies deserted.

She sobs through the night; tears stream down her cheeks

The crowds no longer assemble to celebrate the joyous festivals

All the glow and majesty have been stripped away

That’s hitting bottom - the pit of despair

Slide 4

It is then, Isaiah references a common complaint murmured among Judah’s people - Verse 27 – Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by God? Yet Israel should have known from experience that nothing is hidden from God who sees and knows everything – Yet at the same time their complaint is relatable if we are honest with ourselves.

While the circumstances between our lives and theirs are different, we can at the same time relate – especially in those times when

Hope has been replaced by disappointment.

Faith is challenged by stress and an unsure future

Sadness fills the void left when joy vanished.

Where there once was amazing love is now filled with regret

Slide 5 Good News in the Text:

But it is from this complaint according to commentator Walter Bruggemann, that God through his prophet Isaiah turns this complaint as the launch pad for the good news that follows. Line after line, Isaiah contrasts the very essence of God by comparing God’s ongoing divine qualities and activity versus human limitations.