Isaiah 53:3-12
3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. 11 After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Matthew 1:18-24
18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God with us." 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.
“By the Light of Candles… We Can See!”
All four candles now stand lit. Each one… sheds its own light on the Christmas story. Three weeks ago… we had only one candle lighting our way; one candle… sharing its small message with us. Today, we have FOUR candle’s burning brightly! Separately… they are but small lights with only a part of the message to tell, but together… they are a beaming light… focusing our attention on their shared message, focusing their light… upon our savior Jesus Christ.
Look! The first candle glows… calling our attention. It speaks to us in that voice of prophecy. In its light… we see the nation of Israel… we see her prophets… calling for Israel’s salvation… and calling for the world’s salvation. Long Israel had suffered, long had it been in slavery, long had they been banished to a foreign land. Their savior is coming. He is coming soon! The same can be said of the entire world. Long have we all suffered, long have we been trapped in slavery to sin, long have we been banished to a world that is not our TRUE home. Our savior is coming. He is coming soon! And so now, in the light of this candle… we see wisemen… following a star… off to see the fulfillment of prophecy. They go… to Bethlehem… to see the king. And it is the voice of Bethlehem that we hear next today.
Look! The second candle burns… calling our attention. It speaks to us in the voice of Bethlehem… as we discussed two weeks ago. In its light we see the little town of Bethlehem. O little town of Bethlehem… you were not ready for a census. No room left in the inn… they say. O little town of Bethlehem… you are not ready for the arrival of a king! No stately room adorned with gold and silk… and no servants in wait. The king in your midst would be welcomed in a lowly stable… with the lowly and dirty animals; a trough… his bed. O little town of Bethlehem… you are not ready.
We need to learn our lesson from Bethlehem. On Wednesday night, we will gather here at Midnight, and with our candles lit… we will welcome our King. Hopefully, WE will be more prepared. Hopefully, we will remember why it is all so important. And so it is… now, here… in the light of the second candle… that we can see shepherds standing by our side… and together, with the shepherds… we will remember what it all means! It is the voice of those shepherds that speaks to us next.
Look! The third candle flickers… calling our attention. It speaks to us in the voice of the shepherds… as we discussed last week. In its light we see shepherds tending their flocks by night… we see an angel… (strangely resembling Arnold Schwarzzenegger.) And they all call us to remember what it used to be like… when the entire world lived in fear! But there is good news; good news of great joy! Unto us is born this day in the city of David… a Savior! 15 There is no more room for fear in the midst of the joy found in this small baby! All of our fears have been dispelled, chased off like shadows with the dawning light. In the light of this third candle… we see who speaks this message of joy… we see with stunning clarity angels proclaiming a message to go… to go and see! As it was with the shepherds, we feel compelled! "Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." All of this because of the message of the angels; which we hear next.
Look! The fourth candle stands the tallest of the four… calling our attention. It speaks to us in the voice of the angels. It reminds us… that it was an angel who spoke to Mary to set the stage for her arrival in Bethlehem, it was an angel who spoke to Joseph to prepare his heart for the journey, and it was an angel who spoke to the shepherds… and called them to go! It is that same message that the angels have for us today… it is time for us to go to Bethlehem… and see what waits for us there. In the light of this fourth candle… we begin to see a stable. We see Mary and Joseph, cows and sheep… shepherds on bended knee. And today… we can almost see inside the manger… but we will need one more candle lit Wednesday night to be able to see the baby that awaits us there.
Today, we can really begin to see it all coming together. Three weeks ago… we had only one candle… one light… one piece of the puzzle. Now… we have four candles…. four lights… each one burning brightly for us… lighting the way towards Christ. Each one… a small piece of the puzzle. Each one… a small part of the message. Each one… sheds its light on the real truth awaiting for us! In the light of all four candles… we begin to understand what the whole pictures means. They point to that center candle… and they point to Christ. That is what each candle has been leading to!
The prophecy candle left its hints for us… as we read in our text this morning… this child would be “pierced for our transgressions, he (would be) crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace (is) upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” “For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” It is what the Bethlehem has been leading to... from the line of David… he would be the new king! It is what the message of the shepherd candle led us to… that this child would bring great joy as he would release us from our bondage. And finally, it is the message of today’s candle… the angel candle… as we remember the scripture this morning… and the angel’s message to Joseph… “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
Each candle, with its message… points to this truth. This baby would be our king… would be our savior. Together… they not only point to the manger… but the shed light onto something much more important… in the light of these four candles… we can begin to see a cross! That is where the story leads, and that is where God’s glory shines brightest of all.
That is what we need to remember as we light these Advent candles, that is what we need to remember as we gather with family… eat our Christmas dinners… open our presents… that the reason behind it all… can be found in a manger! That the reason behind it all… can be found on the cross!
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior… who is Christ the king!”
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
