Children of God Isaiah 63__7-14
Sun, Dec 30, 2007 First Sun. after. Christmas
First: Is. 63:7-14 : Gal 4:4-7 Gospel: Matt. 2:13-23 Psalm 111
Invocation: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
At the beginning of our Old Testament reading for today, the prophet Isaiah wrote: Isaiah 63:7 “I will tell of the kindnesses of the LORD, the deeds for which he is to be praised, according to all the LORD has done for us--yes, the many good things he has done for the house of Israel, according to his compassion and many kindnesses.”
Then Isaiah enumerates God’s good deeds. God has called Israel to be his people. He has become the Savior of Israel, since he has claimed them as his own. When his people were distressed, God was distressed. When they were in trouble, God sent the angel of his presence to save them. God broughtt them back from slavery in Egypt. In compassion and kindness he lifted them up and carried them through all the days of old. He would not do otherwise, for God had made the people of Israel his children.
What was true of Israel in her past, is true of Israel in her present. We, the Church of Jesus Christ, are God’s Israel. All these acts of kindness, God has done and continues to do for us. In his compassion and kindness God has called us to be his people. He has become our Savior, and he has claimed us as his own. When we are distressed, God is distressed right along with us. When we are in trouble, God sends the angel of his presence to save us. We, too, are Children of the Heavenly Father.
Again, what was true of Israel in the past, is also true of you and me, the Israel of today. Isaiah wrote [Isaiah 63:10]
Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he turned and became their enemy and he himself fought against them. :
Almost from the very beginning, Adam and Eve rebelled against God. They were disobedient and ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Throughout all history, God’s people have been no different. In Egypt, Moses killed a man and fled to avoid punishment. Once delivered from the Egyptians and across the Red Sea, Israel molded idols from their jewelry and bowed down to the golden calf. All through the desert Moses dealt with rebellion and sin. And so it is in our day as well.
. From the very beginning of our lives, we rebel against God. We cannot reach the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, yet in sin we strive to do so. We reach out for idols of our own making, trying desperately to find something to lead us into salvation of our own making. This is true of us all.
You and I, even though we are God’s children, we rebel and grieve the Holy Spirit.
. As sinners, we bring the wrath of God upon us, body and soul. Every time we sin, we make God our enemy. Because God hates sin.
God hates sin because he knows as well as we do where these sins will lead us if left unchecked. Sin is separation from God. In Romans, chapter 6, God tells us, Romans 6:23a . . . the wages of sin is death. God does not want his children, those who bear his image, to die.
Our sinful rebellion makes God our enemy. Our rebellion leads us to death. Our rebellion breaks the bond that makes us Israel, Children of the Heavenly Father.
But, praise be to God, (Galatians 4:4-7) . . . when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.
God himself has mended the breach and mades us his children. He has done so by sending his Son, Jesus, to be born of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Jesus Christ, the child in the manger is the Angel of God’s Presence, come to save us. Christ is the Angel of the Lord, come to redeem us in love and mercy. Christ is the Supreme Angel of God, who comes and lifts us up out of the pit of sin and carries into the kingdom of God. Just as in the days of old, God has become our Savior.
He has sent the Spirit which we grieved by our sin into our very hearts to move us to repentance. St. Paul testifies to this truth in [Romans 8:15-16]. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
The Holy Spirit makes us call out, "Abba. Father. Save us from our sins." The Holy Spirit cries out, "You are the children of God." By the working of his Holy Spirit in our hearts, we do cry out to God our Father, and by the same spirit we hear the Father’s response. He says to us all, "You are my holy children." In his grace, God saves us from our sinful act of rebellion and mends the bond of sonship we have broken by our sin.
At baptism we have see this miracle take place. In baptism, we symbolically walked through the Red Sea, left this Egypt and entered the Kingdom of God. As we were baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the spirit of rebellion fled from our soul. The spirit of sinful separation was driven out and the Holy Spirit of God breathed new life into our soul. In the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, God the Father made has made all of us his children and heirs in the Kingdom. By water and Word, God has redeemed us in love and mercy.
Where is he who brought Israel through the sea? He is in the manger, quietly sleeping beside his blessed mother.
Where is he who set his Holy Spirit among them? He is right here in the water and the Word of the Sacrament of Holy Baptism.
Where is he who sent his glorious arm of power to be at Moses’ right hand? He is here, in our midst, even in our own hands as we partake of his body and blood in the Sacrament of the Altar.
Where is he who divided the waters before them, to gain for himself everlasting renown? He is in heaven, at the right hand of God. He is ascended, glorified after his death on the cross and his resurrection from the tomb. He is here, in his Word, proclaiming his renown to generation after generation of those who are his children.
Where is he who led them through the depths? He is here, lifting us out of the depths of the waters of Holy Baptism, daily drowning the Old Sinner in us by his blood shed on the cross. He is here, cleansing every sinner in his midst by the power of his everlasting intercession before the Father in heaven. Christ is here, and in his grace, even this very moment he is raising us up to an everlasting life of blessedness and love.
Where is God? He is here in his Holy Word, leading us so we do not stumble. He is here, in his Son, Jesus Christ, the Angel of His presence, and he gives us rest for our weary souls in the Spirit of the Lord.
God has come in his kindness and compassion. He has come in flesh and blood, born of a woman, born under the law to redeem us who have been born under the law, so that we may receive the full rights of children of God. Simply put, Christ our God is here, and through his Word and Sacraments he makes us all children of the Heavenly Father. For this great and marvelous deed, our Lord Jesus Christ is to be praised. In his name. Amen.
Blessing: The peace of God, which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Charles Scott
Church of the Good Shepherd, Indianapolis
http://www.goodshepherdindy.org
