The Episcopal Church of the Incarnation
The Second Sunday of Advent (B)
Isaiah 40.1-11
Psalm 85.1-2, 8-13 2 Peter 3.8-15a Mark
1.1-8
May the Lord be in my mind, on my lips, and in my heart, that
I may rightly and truly proclaim His holy Word. Amen.
1) “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh
shall see it together ...” (Isa. 40.5).
a) The voice of the prophet
rings across these twenty-six centuries, rings out in a wilderness of sin and
despair.
i) This is no voice from
history only, but a voice which cries out now.
(1) And what does the prophet
cry?
(a) “’Behold your God!’ Behold, the Lord God comes with might ...” (Isa. 40.9-10).
b) And what is this might? That the Lord
“... will feed his flock like a shepherd” (Isa. 40.11), that “... he is
speaking peace to his faithful people and to those who turn their hearts to
him” (Ps. 85.8).
2) What is this might,
indeed? What is this glory?
a) The term that Isaiah uses is
kābôd, which can be translated as “glory,” “manifest presence,” the
reality of God’s presence manifested in His power, splendor and holiness as
supreme creator and ruler.
i) In other words, God’s
splendor and power are revealed in how He tends His flock.
(1) In how He is present with
us, filling our lives as His dwelling place.
3) And how does God do
this? How is that His glory and might,
His splendor and power are revealed?
a) That’s what we look to in
this season of Advent, in this season of expectation in which, praying in the
words of the psalm: “Mercy and truth
have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other” (Ps. 85.10).
b) How is God’s glory
revealed? What is it that we look
forward to, that the prophets proclaim?
i) It is a child born unto us,
a babe wrapped in swaddling clothing.
(1) A child born in an
out-of-the-way town in an out-of-the-way province of the empire.
(2) Born to die, to rise, to
ascend to heaven where He reigns on high.
(3) Born to “... stretch out
[His] arms on the hard wood of the cross, that everyone might come within the
reach of [His] saving embrace ...” (BCP 58).
4) I wish that this sanctuary
had a crucifix in it. There is a cross,
to be sure, but a crucifix embodies the words that our Lord’s arms are
stretched out, that all might come within the reach of His saving embrace.
a) For a fundamental component
of the Good News is that “we preach Christ crucified” (1 Cor. 1.23).
i) That a call to discipleship
is a call to the Cross, to share in the Passion of our Lord.
5) And this is the glory
of God!, the glory the revealing of which we await.
a) In the collect we pray that
having heeded the warnings of the prophets, having forsaken our sins, “...we
may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ ...”
b) You see, even in our prayer
we are looking forward to Christmas, when we may sing Joy to the world!
c) And so you may ask, “How is
it that the Passion involves joy? How is
it that God’s glory is revealed in a baby born to die on a cross?”
6) This seeming paradox gives
us a real hint that there is a difference between joy and happiness.
a) This difference is evident
at this time of year, when the world would have us scurry about buying things,
hoping that perhaps in the excitement of possession and even of giving we may
find happiness.
b) And we find that possession
is not happiness, and happiness is not joy.
i) Joy is fulfillment which is
not worldly. Joy is complete when we are
reconciled with God, when we turn our hearts to Him and He speaks peace to us.
7) How is this difference
evident in your life? How is
God’s glory manifested in your life?
a) One difference is that we
observe the season of Advent. It’s not
Christmas yet!
i) We don’t yet sing Christmas
carols, put up wreaths, and wear red and green.
ii) We do focus on penitence.
iii) We do recognize that the joy
of God coming to us is reached through repentance, through the fact that we do
turn our hearts to God.
b) Another difference is that
we recognize that when we turn to Him God calls us to do something.
i) We offer worship and praise.
ii) We serve His people, by
being His arms which reach out from the cross.
(1) His arms to embrace all in
His love.
(2) His arms to comfort the
afflicted.
(3) His ears to listen to the
woes of those who sorrow and are troubled.
(4) His eyes to share in tears.
(5) His voice to lift prayers
for those in need.
(6) His back to bear each other’s
burdens.
8) How is God’s glory
manifested? How does the kābôd,
the splendor and power of God shine in this world?
a) It shines in being something
given, something to be shared; given by the free grace of God.
b) It shines in resting upon us
although we are sinners; it shines in mercy when we repent and turn to God.
c) It shines in the holiness
and godliness that can be ours when we allow God to work in us and
through us.
i) In each little part of the
world where by God’s grace we may work to see that righteousness may dwell (cf.
2 Pet. 3.13).
9) Advent is a season when we
wait, but it is also a time when we focus again on the things that God calls us
to do.
a) It is a season of penitence,
but it is a season when we get little glimpses of God’s glory as we await the
fullness of His coming in majesty.
b) Glory be to God!
In
the Name of the Father, and of the Son,
and
of the Holy Spirit. Amen.