Sermon Tone Analysis

Second Sunday in Advent… three weeks until Christmas.

Are you ready?

Of course we’re not ready, this is a season of preparation.

What’s really cool though, is that In a sense, we’ve been preparing all through this autumn.

As we’ve looked together at our articles of faith… as we’ve considered The Trinity, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Holy Scripture, sin, atonement, prevenient grace, repentance, justification, regeneration, and adoption… we’ve been on a journey of holiness.

I know… we slipped that in on you, didn’t we?

A journey that prepared us to consider the hope that we have last week, and now… to talk about the peace we hope for… Not just any peace… Shalom - sometimes translated as wholeness or well-being.

The fullness of peace.

And, in my mind, we can’t talk about peace without talking about...

Introduction: Jesus and the other John

Wait, who is the “other” John?

*John the Baptist?

Yeah, we’ll get to him a little later.

But no.

*John Wayne?

Nope - there’s already a book about that...

*John the Apostle?

I mean, he is the beloved disciple right?

Also no, but I did enjoy this...

I’m actually talking about John Lennon.*

In 1966 John Lennon made a comment in an interview that many people may still remember… or at least, they think they do.

The “we’re more popular than Jesus” scandal caused about two weeks of uproar in the US between July and August 1966.

Here’s the original quote:*

“Christianity will go.

It will vanish and shrink.

I needn't argue about that; I'm right and I'll be proved right.

We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first – rock 'n' roll or Christianity.

Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary.

It's them twisting it that ruins it for me.”

Let’s start with the obvious… there’s part of his rhetoric that isn’t helpful, I think we can all agree on that.

Christianity is still here.

In this room we’re sure that it will carry on.

But it is the second part of the quote that I have to look at and consider… am I offended, or am I convicted?

We’re all generally pretty ok to pick on Peter as “thick and ordinary,” right?

I mean we did just laugh at that fake book cover...

What this quote made me start to question though… as a disciple of Jesus, do I have a tendency to be “thick and ordinary?”

Am I stubborn?

Hypocritical?

Do I give people the opportunity to think of me that way?

Do we twist Jesus’ words and actions to fit our ideals and desires?

How about our political motivations?

In my quest for peace, for my own shalom, for my own feeling of wholeness...

am I affecting someone else’s ability to have the same?

Am I preventing someone else from experiencing that same shalom?

Unfortunately, part of John’s feeling was right… And in part, his “prophecy” if we use that term loosely, robbed others of their shalom...

On December 8, 1980, Mark David Chapman, a man who claimed to be a Christian, killed John Lennon in cold blood outside his New York City apartment.

At one point, Chapman claimed that that 1966 statement made by Lennon was part of his motivation.

John Lennon, with his words, robbed people of their peace, and was in turn stripped not only of his peace, but his life...

Its an extreme case, but one that illustrates the importance of our words and their effect on others.

Do we seek a personal peace based more in justifying ourselves than we do in actually being like Jesus?

Is that really peace?

Is that Shalom?

Is that wholeness and well being?

Hang onto those rhetorical questions for a bit, we’ll come back to them… for now, let’s look at what Isaiah has to say about peace…*

A Priestly People?

(Gimme Some Truth)

We tend to take this text as Messianic prophecy.

For the sake of our discussion here today we will hold that line.

We’ll get to the messianic part in a minute, but for now, we need to also consider that in just the chapter before this one, Isaiah was pronouncing woe and judgement on Israel, Judah, and Assyria… no one was really safe.

There was a lack of Shalom in Isaiah’s time.

A lack of overarching peace.

And understand that this doesn’t mean that each and every Jew failed to worship God appropriately or live a holy life.

However, for the most part, the kingdoms failed to exhibit well their life in God and to make that life attractive to the other nations.

There was a lot of stealing others’ shalom happening.

So, we’re going to make this a bit of a musical journey this morning, at least in our minds… In my house every day is a musical, and we insert songs and lyrics right in the middle of everyday conversations.

It’s terribly distracting sometimes.

As we weave through this story today, we’re going to use some of John Lennon’s songs (again, just in our minds - you don’t want me singing them) to assist in making the point.

So if anyone writes a musical about Jesus and uses Beatles’ songs, you all are my witnesses - make sure I get some of those royalty checks...

John Lennon’s lyrics actually probably sum up what many of the righteous residents of Israel and Judah were thinking…*

I'm sick and tired of hearing things

From uptight, short-sighted, narrow-minded hypocrites

All I want is the truth

Just give me some truth

To be a priestly people means to convey God’s holiness to the world.

They were supposed to be the ones who made holiness contagious… to have other people see their example and want that kind of life.

Instead, they fell into this system of legalism that was neither sustainable or attractive!

God’s priestly people had pretty much failed in their mission.

And not only would Assyria, and later Babylon be the tools God used to punish his failed priestly people, but then he would turn around and punish the punishers… God’s love for his people truly knows no bounds.

It’s ok to be confused by it - it doesn’t always make sense… Sin makes everything complicated...

Isaiah, (really all of the prophets) weave this intricate tapestry of the story of God and God’s chosen people.

Yes, they were chosen, but also incredibly stubborn and rebellious.

There’s this constant tension in the story between the sinfulness of the people and the pull of God’s persistent and redemptive love.

Remember when God gave the people judges, but they wanted a king like everyone else?

Well, with the kings came the prophets, it was a sort of ancient near eastern system of checks and balances… the kings would get out of line, and the prophets would be God’s voice to try to bring them back into line… Prevenient grace… always working behind the scenes...

God’s vision for the earth was a garden where all our needs were provided.

It was a paradise.

It was peace.

It was shalom they they could see, hear, touch, taste and smell.

Then sin entered the picture.

As a result, this world in which Isaiah was writing was no rose garden.

There was a pretty serious lack of shalom.

All of the needs weren’t met.

But God isn’t done yet...

A Hopeful Prophecy (Imagine)

When we think of a shoot coming out of a stump, this is what we think, right?*

It’s quaint, cute even… It is a picture of hope.

New from the old...

Isaiah draws on the idyllic vision of a king… before the kingdoms split… the splendor of a David, or a Solomon...

Imagine this amazing, Godly, righteous king...

The one who will free us from bondage and oppression.