Going Home
Isaiah 40:6-9, 27-31 November 30, 2003
(Following the Choir’s number, play a portion of “Every Valley.”)
How many of you recognized that piece of music? How many of you knew it came from Handel’s Messiah? Have any of you ever sung this piece? How many of you are absolutely sure as to the meaning of what you just heard? Where does this passage come from? What is the significance of valleys being exalted? If you can’t answer these questions don’t feel badly, in the next few weeks we will deal with these and others. I share this with you because we need to remember that being familiar with something, does not mean we understand it.
“In 1741, Handel, at the low ebb of his career and, as a consequence of a stroke, suffering partial paralysis on his left side, composed Messiah in the incredibly short period of time of 21 days. [Upon completion, is reported to have said, "I do believe I have seen all of Heaven before me, and the great God Himself." (http://morning-glow.com/holidays/xmas/messiah.html)]The composer had been invited to give a series of concerts in Dublin, some of which would benefit various charities. The premiere was met with considerable success and served to boost Handel's spirits for a return to London. While it is true that George II stood during the singing of the mighty "Hallelujah" Chorus at the second London performance, Messiah did not enjoy the popularity of many of Handel's other oratorios during the composer's lifetime. In fact, it was only through Handel's annual Eastertide performances to benefit his favorite charity, the Foundling Hospital, that Messiah was heard at all!
“Robert Manson Myers wrote that, in the case of Messiah, "for the first time in musical history the mighty drama of human redemption was treated as an epic poem." While narrative only in a general sense, the libretto prepared for Handel by Charles Jennens and taken from both the Old and New Testaments considers the whole of human experience - hope and fulfillment, suffering and death, resurrection and redemption.
“Across the span of 250 years, Messiah still holds its extraordinary grip on musician and audience member alike. It reaches us with its directness of expression and its infinite capacity for self-renewal. It bestows on us the special gift of aesthetic and spiritual grace.” http://www.hartfordchorale.org/Messiah.htm
Between now and Christmas, and then again during Lent, leading up to Easter, we will be studying the texts that Handel used when he wrote the music to the oratorio Messiah. We will also listen to some traditional as well as modern renditions of this music. It is my prayer that through this study you will understanding of the Bible will be enriched, and maybe changed; and that you will be drawn closer to the Messiah who alone offers comfort, hope and life.
Listen now for the word of the Lord from Isaiah 40
Comfort, O comfort my people declares God!
[6] A voice says, "Cry out."
And I said, "What shall I cry?"
"All men are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.
[7] The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the LORD blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
[8] The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God stands forever."
[9] You who bring good tidings to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem,
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
"Here is your God!"
[27] Why do you say, O Jacob,
and complain, O Israel,
"My way is hidden from the LORD;
my cause is disregarded by my God"?
[28] Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
[29] He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
[30] Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
[31] but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
CCI: Though we may experience the silence of God in our lives at times, even then, God extends to us comfort and an invitation to come home.
Intro: Have you ever been away from home for a long time? Think about what it was like for the service-personnel stationed in Bagdad on Thursday when President Bush suddenly walked onto the platform to greet them. These men and women are longing to go home. They miss their families, they miss friends, and they locked into a setting thousands of miles from home with no sign that things will get better. Suddenly, the commander in Chief appears and says, “Don’t worry, you are not here by accident, you will go home.” That is the kind of message Isaiah brought to the people.
This is a wonderful passage of comfort and personal renewal. We often read it in connection to Advent, when our commander-in-chief came into the world to tell us we would go home. It is a passage we that speaks to us as believers. The comfort, the good news and the strength that the Messiah offers is experienced by all those who have accepted Christ their savior. However, this morning I want us to begin by looking at the historical context.
Historical Context:
The message found in the book of Isaiah was written and proclaimed to three distinct audiences who lived at three very different times in Israel’s history. Here is a chart to help us get a picture of the history of God’s people.
We begin on this chart with Moses. . . (Go through all the events then move on with the sermon.)
The first 39 chapters (back to chart) were written to the southern kingdom during the time of fall the Northern Kingdom. Here Isaiah calls upon Judah to repent or they will face a similar fate. The early part of Isaiah is filled with warnings of judgement. In 1:21 we read, “See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness used to dwell in her – but now murderers!” These words of judgement were spoken to Judah approximately 740 years before Jesus was born. They are harsh words for a city that had been dedicated to God. We also need to realize that these harsh words were written to a city that was quite prosperous, some have called it the beginning of the second golden age of Judah. Within a few years, the Northern Kingdom fell to Assyria. The people were scattered across the world and the Northern Kingdom never came back together. Despite their prosperity, deep fear filled the land of Judah. Jerusalem soon found herself under siege, famine threatened the residents. Then miraculously, God spared the city and then enemy army fled.
This miraculous saving of the city, led to the belief that Jerusalem was invincible because it was the home of the Temple. After all they had been on the verge of collapse, and God had spared the city. However, with the saving of the city, came pride. The people began to believed that somehow, they had saved the city, and their pride soon led to their return to sin. 136 years later, the Babylonians, under Nebuchadnezzar, took the city of Jerusalem, destroyed the temple and exiled the best and brightest. People were taken to Babylon, and scattered to other nations, then, the land was repopulated. The nation that God had called his own, appeared to be dead. Slowly the people adjusted to their new homes. They concluded God had abandoned them. It was during this time that Jeremiah prophesied to the nation. Their prayers were unanswered, their faith had been proven empty. The despair of the people can be heard in the cry of many of the Psalms. Psalm 143 reads, “My enemy has hunted me down and completely defeated me. He has put me a dark prison and I am like those died long ago. So I am ready to give up, I am in deep despair.” Psalm 80 says, “-How much longer, Lord God almighty, will you be angry with your people’s prayers, You have given us sorrow to eat, a large cup of tears to drink.”
This was the experience of the whole nation. God’s people were experiencing what St. John of the Cross had called, the “dark night of the soul.” They were lost in a fog of despair. Every human experiences these times. Many times this dark night is precipitated by loss. Perhaps you have experienced your own dark night when you have lost a spouse, or a job, a child, a parent or a lover. Perhaps it has been the loss of health or security that ushered you into what the psalmist called the valley of the shadow of death.
At these times our faith is severely tested. The psalms often speak of waterless places where we wander aimlessly. The prophet Jeremiah felt so alone in his ministry that he charged God with deceiving and abandoning him. Clergy and laity, scholars and peasants have all journeyed in these places. Even Jesus, on the night of his arrest, cried from his soul as he faced his own dark night. These are painful times, we long for them to end. For God’s people, this dark night of exile continued for an entire generation.
I want to invite you to spend a few minutes right now, reflecting on a time when you have been in a waterless place. Stop and remember what it was like at those times when you prayed and it seemed that your prayers were empty. If you can think of no times when you were there, try to imagine what God’s people may have been going through. Let that experience encompass you once again. It will not be pleasant, but remember what it was like. Remember thinking that God as punishing you. Remember that time when it seemed that God had abandoned you.
(After 2:30 of silence, fade in “Comfort Ye, My People.”)
How do the words of Isaiah feel now? For me, this message is like the light at the end of a tunnel. Comfort my people says your God, Speak kindly to Jerusalem, tell her that her warfare has ended and her iniquity has been forgiven. Declare to her, “HERE IS YOUR GOD!”
The day of going home is near!
[28] Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
[29] He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
[30] Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
[31] but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
And on this first Sunday of Advent, that is the message. Though we may experience the silence of God in our lives at times, even then, God extends to us comfort and an invitation to come home. Even if you are going through that dark night of the soul right now, Jesus offers words of comfort. Hear his gracious invitation: “Come unto me all who are weary and overburdened, and I will give you rest.” Rest in me, I will give you new strength. Find your strength in me, and you will soar on wings like eagles and run with the youth. Run with me, and I will fill the valleys with the mountains and make the rough roads smooth. Travel on my roads and we will go home together. President Bush promised the troops they would go home when the work is done, however Jesus words, promise that we can go home even while the work is being done. These words of comfort are spoken to you today. May you find in Jesus, the Messiah, comfort for your soul.
