December 19, 2012 at Calvary
Evangelical Lutheran Church – Mechanicsburg, PA
“Lord Jesus Christ, we
implore You to hear our prayers and to lighten the darkness of our hearts by
Your gracious visitation.”
The heart of darkness had fallen
over Israel and Judah. Assyria was beginning its conquest of the Northern
Kingdom. Judah had fallen into rank idolatry and paganism, which would lead to
its own exile. Judah’s king, Ahaz, had allied himself with Assyria. Judah took
up arms against Syria and Israel. Ahaz adopted the worship practices of the
nations around him, even having taking the Lord’s
altar out of its prominent spot in the Temple and putting a new altar patterned
after one in Damascus in its place. The priests were complicit with Ahaz’s
plan.
But in the midst of this
darkness, the Lord sends his
prophet Isaiah. He comes with a great promise: “It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the
house of the Lord shall be
established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the
hills, and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and
say: ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us His ways and that we may
walk in His paths.’” The Lord
sends a message that Judah will be delivered, will be saved. That is, if they
place their trust in Him.
So Ahaz is instructed to ask for
a sign, a proof of this pledge that the Lord
makes: “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol
or high as heaven.” But Ahaz will not do so. He feigns piety: “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” But the real
reason that he cannot ask a sign of the Lord
is that his heart is darkened by idolatry and false belief. He does not have
the Lord as his god. So Ahaz will
not follow the instruction that comes from Him.
But the promise still stands.
The Lord will fulfill what His
words declared. And so Isaiah tells all to listen and believe: “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too
little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord
Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and shall call his name Immanuel.” The Lord
will not be left ignored and forgotten. He will not be cast aside forever, not
even by Judah’s kings. No, He will make Himself known as supreme: “For out of Zion shall go the Law, and the
word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning
hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn
war anymore.”
And so the actions in Nazareth
take place. The announcement is made to a virgin betrothed to a descendant of
David: “Behold, you will conceive in your
womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus. He will be great and
will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to Him the
throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever,
and of His kingdom there will be no end.” Here the promise is fulfilled.
Here the Immanuel—“God with us”—is seen. The gracious visitation of the Lord takes place to lighten darkened
hearts. Here is the beginning of a new era.
A new rule is established. It is
enacted as the Lord speaks. He
teaches His ways, so that you can walk in them. He is present with you to
illumine your hearts and minds, so that you know what is good and right. His
word goes out and calls you to belief. It promises a place in His kingdom for
you. He speaks powerfully, yet graciously, so that your sins are forgiven. His
salvation is near to all who fear Him.
This is what the Messiah
conceived in the Virgin’s womb brings to you in this world of idolatry and false
belief. The darkness of sin and death is all around. But the Word that becomes
flesh begins to dispel it. “In Him was
life, and that life was the light of men,” you will hear again in matter of
days at Christmastide. And so you are drawn to it, called to follow: “O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the
light of the Lord.”
Jesus’ gracious visitation is
here now. It is here in the Gospel words spoken for you to hear and believe. It
is here in the proofs of the pledge, in the signs of your salvation: baptism,
absolution, eucharist. His words of promise are made. His words of life are
given. They make you a part of His realm. You are among the nations and people
who have come to the mountain of the Lord
and the house of the God of Jacob. He has taught you His ways and set you as
disciples to walk in His paths. For the Lord
knows well the darkness of your hearts. He has watched it affect His people of
many times and places. But He has not stood idly by. He has acted for your
benefit. He has come and dwells among you, being Immanuel for you.
Your call is to receive this.
Your call is to listen to His fulfilled words of promise and believe them. The
sign given as the virgin conceived marks salvation for you: Jesus does indeed
save His people. When He speaks, you receive His benefits. So your desire is to
hear it: “Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for He will speak peace
to His people, to His saints; but let them not turn back to folly.” No more
folly like Ahaz, chasing after false promises and making himself a slave to
idols. Instead, you have the Lord’s
true wisdom that His words bring, the light that shines in the darkness of your
hearts. So may you say, “Behold, I am the
servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to Your word.”
+ In the Name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
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