Isaiah 35:1-10
Joy Born at Christmas
We concluded last week’s service with the great carol, “Joy to the World.” Joy is a distinctly Christian trait. It goes beyond happiness. Someone once said, “Happiness comes from happenings, but joy comes from Jesus.” Your happiness may fluctuate up and down, depending on how your day is going. But joy is more deep-seated. It is an inner contentment, a fulfillment that says life is going to be ok no matter what, because God’s got me. That’s why the Apostle Paul could write from a jail cell, “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4).
The first word in this verse, “rejoice,” is the Latin word “Gaudete,” from which we get the designation, “Gaudete Sunday,” Joy Sunday, which is today, the third Sunday of Advent. That’s why we have a rose-colored candle lit today in our Advent wreath. A.W. Tozer said, “The people of God ought to be the happiest in the world. People should be coming to us and asking the source of our joy and delight.” However, it’s not always easy to be joyful, and sometimes not even appropriate to be happy. The “most wonderful time of the year” [air quotes here] can seem to usher in a blue Christmas, particular for those who have been through loss or pain or sadness, perhaps missing a loved one. The joy candle reminds us to pursue joy, born at Christmas.
Today’s poem is all about joy! It was crafted by the ancient prophet Isaiah some 700 years before Jesus’ birth. In the chapter before, Isaiah had been writing about a time of judgment, but in chapter 35 he writes about a time of joy. It’s a beautiful picture of a barren desert that suddenly springs to life. Some of his original readers would see in it their longing to return to their homeland to rebuild their capital city from ruin. Today we long for Jesus’ return, as God will someday rebuild his heavenly city right here on earth, bringing an eternal fulfillment to all our joy.
I’d like to highlight from today’s reading three actions we can take to enhance and build our joy. First, we can...
1. Encourage joy in others (vv. 3-4)
Isaiah really starts off the bat by shifting the focus away from us and onto others who need our help. He gives us a job to do! Listen to verses 3 and 4:
3 Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;
4 say to those with fearful hearts,
“Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you.”
Here we have a three-fold task: we are to “strengthen,” to “steady,” and to “say.” In other words, we need to reach out to others in word and deed, and encourage them toward joy. This really begins with the family of God, our fellow Christians. When you know someone is down, offer them encouragement. Let them know God has not forgotten about them. Tell them God will bring them justice in the end. Tell them they don’t have to be afraid, whether they’re fighting the enemy of poor health, or a broken relationship, or financial adversity, or loneliness or depression. God is on their side. God will help them. God will save them.
Joy is one of those things that the more you give it away, the more you have. It doesn’t make sense, but there you go. Researchers in depression have found that an almost immediate mood lifter is to go out and help someone in need. Spread some joy around, and you might just find that some makes its way back to you!
Encourage joy in others, and #2,
2. Receive joy’s healing (vv. 5-6)
The scripture here speaks of radical physical healing. Right after Isaiah tells us to spread joy to others, he shares some incredible results in verses 5-6:
5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
6 Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
These people have received a complete physical healing: the blind can see, the deaf can hear, the lame can leap like a deer, and the mute can shout for joy. I don’t know if you’ll see this radical of a change, but I will tell you this: our mood impacts our health. You work on submitting your mood to God to receive his joy, and you’ll see your overall satisfaction in life go up. You’ll become a more positive and generous person, and your overall health will improve.
I remember sitting in a meeting with our chief psychiatrist at the VA, a medical doctor who has chosen to specialize her practice on matters of the mind. She was complaining about a recent law of Congress that provided six months of free VA mental health care for all Veterans, regardless of discharge. She didn’t mind Veterans receiving free care. Her complaint was that the only care provided to those with questionable discharges was mental health care, and not primary medical care. Her argument was, “How can you separate mental health from physical health? They are intrinsically connected!” And that’s what we see here: joyful people are healthier people.
Encourage joy in others, receive joy’s healing, and lastly...
3. Pursue joy with others
After Isaiah has described this desert come to life with marshland and flowers, he pictures a superhighway right through the middle that leads toward home. This highway is filled with pilgrims headed to Zion, the City of God. Listen to what he writes, in the last part of verse 9 and then verse 10:
9b Only the redeemed will walk there,
10 and those the Lord has rescued will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
It’s a beautiful picture, isn’t it? The roads are crowded with believers, all walking together (remember, this was before cars!) and singing together. The image reminds me of youth group trips in the bus, when we would sing songs together on the way to camp. So exciting! So joyful! And here’s the truth: joy is meant to be pursued in...community. Joy is meant to be pursued with others. You build their joy and they build your joy! Don’t be a loner! There is no such thing as a Lone Ranger Christian. It is not good for man to be alone. We are designed to be in community. And it is there that we find our deepest joy.
You have that advantage built in, here at Blue Skies. You lose a spouse? You are not alone; you are surrounded by community who love you and care for you. You lose a friend? You are not alone. You support each other. You live in community with each other.
And that’s church at its best. Scripture describes church as a family, some older men and women, some younger men and women, all ages and backgrounds and ethnicities, yet linked together in their love for Jesus Christ.
Isaiah no doubt wrote today’s passage on joy as he envisioned his people finally able to head back home from exile. We read it today, envisioning traveling to the city of heaven, with Jesus our King ruling for a thousand years, ushering in a new age.
But joy doesn’t have to wait for heaven. Jesus brought joy at Christmas, so we can have joy every day. We can have a deep-seated contentment that our soul is good, that we know we belong to God, that we enjoy each day of life while also remembering we are just passing through, aliens here, headed home.
A few years ago Michael Bublé wrote a song that became very popular among the young military members deployed and their loved ones back home. The title was simply, “Home.” One part of the lyrics describes this painful separation from those we love with the words,
Let me go home
I'm just too far
From where you are
I wanna come home.
The song concludes with the certainty, “I’m coming back home.”
As we walk this adventure of life together, we know that every day brings us a little closer to the other side of eternity, when we will be with Jesus face-to-face, along with all those who love him. That’s our true home. We don’t rush our homecoming; we depend on God’s timing. Yet, because of the certainty of the life ahead, we can have an eternal joy, no matter what life brings our way here.
Let’s pray about it together: Thank you, Holy God, for your son Jesus being born at Christmas, to bring us true joy. “Joy to the world, the Lord is come!” As we contemplate that through his death on the cross, you forgave us for every one of our sins, and through his resurrection, you also bring us back to new eternal life, there is no other response but joy! We are so grateful. Our lives belong to you. And to each other, as we seek to live joyfully with others, encouraging those who are down, and watching for you to bring the healing wherever needed. Spring up blooms in our desert, O powerful and gracious God! Help us to live joyful lives day in and day out, as we await our glorious homecoming. We ask this in Jesus’ name, amen.
Isaiah 35
35 The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the Lord,
the splendor of our God.
3 Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;
4 say to those with fearful hearts,
“Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you.”
5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
6 Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert.
7 The burning sand will become a pool,
the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
8 And a highway will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness;
it will be for those who walk on that Way.
The unclean will not journey on it;
wicked fools will not go about on it.
9 No lion will be there,
nor any ravenous beast;
they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
10 and those the Lord has rescued will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
For welome time:
Reasons Santa Claus may be a woman:
• The vast majorities of men don’t even think about selecting gifts until Christmas Eve and only go for a last-minute shopping spree.
• A man would inevitably get lost up there in the snow and clouds and then refuse to stop and ask for directions.
• Men can’t pack a bag.
• Men would rather be dead than be caught wearing red velvet.
• Men would feel their masculinity is threatened…having to be seen with all those elves.
• Men don’t answer their mail.
• Men aren’t interested in stockings unless somebody’s wearing them.
• Finally, being responsible for Christmas would require a commitment.
