The Old Testament Lesson
Isaiah 2: 1-5
THE word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.
The Epistle
Romans 13: 11 – end
AND that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
The Gospel
St Matthew 4: 36 – 44
BUT of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
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“Lord, let these words be not my words but your words. Use them in spite of me, and let them point always to Christ. Send your Spirit, that the people may hear your word in faith. Amen”
On this first Sunday of Advent – when the key characters in our Christmas story are just discovering the roles in which they have been cast, we start our preparations, looking forwards to the birth of Christ the King. Before the journey of the wise men starts or Mary and Joseph set out for Bethlehem (with Bayleaf who we are hoping to see next week), we have an opportunity to stand back from the excitement of the story unfolding and to reflect on god’s bigger plan. The Christmas story is one step as revealed in part to us through the words of the prophets, disciples and apostles in the scriptures. Today’s readings clearly take us beyond this impending moment of birth and lead our gaze through Isaiah’s prophecy, to the ‘Mountain of the Lord’s house’, the highest of the mountains. As we stand in awe at the nations streaming to, with curiosity and peace in their hearts, we are reminded of the glory to come when Christ returns at the end of days.
Reflecting on my relationship with Christ and readiness to meet him, in light of this morning’s readings has been both challenging and encouraging. Both Matthew and Paul refuse to pull their punches when it comes to complacency, compromise or cold-heartedness in our journey as Christians. However, they also encourage and equip us – to remain prepared, persevering and purposeful.
There are many aspects of this morning’s readings that are disturbing and uncomfortable. I struggle to reconcile the images in Matthew of the sudden flood sweeping through with no warning, or the instant disappearance of a co-worker from the field, with the loving and forgiving father described in the scriptures. I know I am not the first and have little expectation that I will ever truly comprehend. But like many who have gone before – and probably many who are here beside me today – I will continue to seek to comprehend and be thankful for the chance to understand a little more of gods will and wisdom as I proceed on my journey to discover my next role in gods plans.
Isaiah was called by God in 740BC, the year King Uzziah of Judah died. Judah by this time is a region in its own right, distinct from Israel. It was formed by the tribe of Judah – the descendants of Judah, Jacob’s 4th. Son. The tribe of Judah had become the most powerful of the 12 tribes of Israel and split from Israel following the death of King Solomon in about 1000 BC. Judah then is our modern day southern Israel, bordering the region of Gaza (then Philistia) to the north west and Israel to the north. Judah’s northern boundary included the city of Jerusalem. At this time the Assyrians were in their most powerful and expansive period, pressing in from all sides, although it wasn’t util the Babylonians in around 586 BC that Judah was completely conquered.
Clearly this context resonates with current tensions in that area and throughout the world at large which should reassure us of the continuing relevance of the scriptures both New and Old testament, to our present-day world.
We read in Isaiah ‘In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it.’ This is widely agreed by Christians to refer to the period of Christ’s glorious return at the end time, as also described by both Matthew and Paul in our other readings. To the people of Judah this could have been a description of their idea of heaven on earth. To have peace and a chance to learn from and walk with God.
One of my struggles in the past has been the idea of repentance as an act of fear – fear of judgement from God, fear of missing out, fear of hell. Perhaps for some people this is a clear step along their journey to knowing Christ. However, the picture Isaiah paints feels different and much more positive… A people that long for peace, the chance to walk and learn together, where no one is hungry, no one is persecuted or trodden down. As someone who would say they are a Christian, these values and ideas resonate and together with the recognition that despite my flaws, imperfections and frequently missed opportunities to demonstrate Christ’s love – I can walk forwards with confidence, knowing that I am forgiven and that every day represents a new start.
In our service this morning we will take time to reflect and recognise our ‘wrongdoings’. Whilst this is a vitally important part of the Eucharist, this is not our core focus. This is a chance to reflect, recognise, be sorry and clear our minds of any obstacles so that we may confidently approach God at the altar and leave renewed to continue our walk with him.
With that vision of the triumphant return of the king and raising up of Jerusalem in Isaiah, we are now challenged in the passages from Matthew’s Gospel and Paul’s letter to the Romans – exhorting us to be prepared for the return of the King on that day.
Matthew opens with ‘about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father’ – a clear warning that this return could be at any moment and will be unexpected. He goes on to say that ‘Then two will be in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. 41 Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken, and one will be left.’ We get a clear sense of the suddenness and finality of this moment, with no chance to reflect or repent. For a modern, cinematic portrayal of what this may feel like, I refer to you to Avengers : Infinity War. Thanos (the villain) diagnoses an unsustainable universe and decides to use god like powers to randomly eliminate half of all life in an instant. The immediate disappearance of 1 in 2 people clearly demonstrates any lack of time to prepare, act, say goodbye or sorry, or perform any last action and the long-lasting impact and reaction for those left behind is painful to watch. Whilst I am not holding this up a prophetic model of the moment of Christ’s return, it may help us understand the finality of this moment and underlines the need to be prepared now. Perhaps this advent season is the opportunity to address those nagging guilts, those unresolved regrets, or that put off phone call and most importantly, to ensure we are focused on developing a personal relationship with God.
Regardless of how literally we interpret such prophetic passages, this is a very clear warning followed by clear instructions as to how to prepare and not be taken by surprise. To be expectant and live as if the moment was imminent.
Earlier in this chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans, he has already reminded us what is expected ‘9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,”[a]and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbour as yourself.”[b] 10 Love does no harm to a neighbour. Therefore, love is the fulfilment of the law.’ Recall also the parable of the good Samaritan where Jesus teaches that our neighbour is anyone in need. These days we are unlikely to meet a beset upon Samaritan in need of help – but there are many around and among us that are in need. We must stay watchful and be compassionate in our actions.
And like Judah we are surrounded by a world that does not always share our convictions or values. Frequently through the scriptures, the challenge of living, as Christ would live, to show love to our neighbour, is compared to battle. Every day we face demands, distractions clamouring for our attention, images and stories of those around us in great need and the possibility of judgement or ridicule from others if we step outside the accepted social norms.
Thankfully, again we are not expected to face this challenge unequipped – we are reminded to put on the Armour of Light and even more literally, to ‘. put on the Lord Jesus Christ’. Paul will go on to describe in more detail, the armour of God in his letter to the Colossians. He finishes his description.. ‘In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God’.
And so, as our advent journey starts and we prepare to celebrate the wonder that God the Son became man for us, let us remember why. And let us head the warning and exhortations of this morning – to remain prepared for the return of the Messiah, to be persistent in our watchful and active waiting and to be purposeful in this world, demonstrating the love of Christ to our neighbours whereever we may meet them.
Thanks be to God.