Stand as a Signal

Introduction

I don’t know about you but this time of year is a mixture of rushing around and a time for family and friends. This time of year always is special in different ways. Maybe, you enjoy the Christmas light displays. Maybe, you enjoy the parties with friends and family gatherings. Maybe you enjoy a special church service. This time of year holds to the tradition of giving of gifts and sharing love with others.

In some households, you might have a tradition of singing Christmas carols or visiting people in nursing homes to show kindness and love to the stranger and lonely. In other households, you may have a tradition of adopting an angel from the angel tree every year to show kindness and love and generosity to a stranger in need of help.

Today’s message is titled stand as a signal. As Christians, God calls us to stand as a signal for hope that God is with us and working through us to bring hope to the broken and hopeless in the world.

Isaiah’s broken and hopeless world

Over the past several weeks, we have spent talking about different prophets and their hardships of the time they lived. This passage today is no exception in the sense that Isaiah lived in a world that seemed hopeless to improve, yet, in our passage today, God told Isaiah to present that beacon, that signal of hope that God was sending hope, God was sending the Messiah that would bring peace to the world. The messiah would bring wisdom and knowledge. The messiah would be clothed in righteousness and faithfulness. The message brought hope that all enemies would be humbled and live together peacefully without fear.

In some ways you could look at these animals as enemies of Israel. The predators could represent the nations who conquered and subdued Israel and Judah and the prey or children could represent those who have lived in fear from those who have hurt them in the past or oppress them.

Yet, here in this passage, on God’s holy mountain, their current situations of fear and devastation would pass into a new world filled with hope that the messiah would usher in. Isaiah and all God’s people anxiously looked forward to this hope to be ushered in. They found comfort in knowing their current suffering was temporary and that God still brought them hope by promising the messiah.

Our broken and hopeless world

The one drawback to this season in our time is that it is temporary. People become a little more friendly (or not) and a little more generous (or not) and share love to world (or not). When we look at this passage, what might our predators and prey situation look like. What about political parties, conservatives versus progressives? What about race and ethnicity, are we still struggling here? What about immigrants? When we look across our landscape, we are polarized in so many hot button issues where we may be divided with neighbors on.

How much energy and effort do we spend, frustrated and complaining about any number of issues? I am curious this advent season, do we lay aside any differences for the sake of peace with our neighbors for this time of the year? Are we capable of being a signal of hope for those around us who may have little to no hope?

It first requires us to take a step back and evaluate our words and actions in light of our discipleship journey. As I spoke last week, we are called to be peacemakers. This week I add to that challenge, we are called to be messengers of a hope found in the Messiah who came and began and perfected our salvation at the cross and proved hope by the resurrection. In Jesus’ kingdom, we may be different but we all have one Savior. We may look and think differently but we all have one source of salvation found in Christ.

Often when we talk about how Jesus chose his disciples based on them being rough or outcasts, we don’t consider how different they likely were from each other. Can you imagine a poor fisherman now having to work alongside that corrupt tax collector that kept the fisherman poor? What about Paul who persecuted believers, ones you knew and loved, yet now you must see him as an equal in God’s kingdom.

When we focus on a mission of ushering in peace, rather that strife and division, we share with others hope found in Christ and the ability of God to change our world today. Sometimes we look at this time of the year as temporary. We think it is just one time a year where we have to be civil towards others we may not like. We think it temporary because people will simply go back to their old ways next year so nothing has really changed. But I challenge you to be different than that attitude. I challenge you today to find hope that God is still with us, even in the midst of all of our messes and conflicts.

Do you believe this to be true? If so, how are you proclaiming that hope to others? To speak peace and make peace is to bring hope to others that they too can find peace in this world. Whether you help heal an old wound or whether you reach out to mend a relationship, or whether you reach out to someone much different than you and get to know them better, find a way to bring peace and become that signal of hope to the world.

This is how the wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard with the kid, the calf with the lion, the child with the snake. This is how we will see God’s kingdom coming into our reality today.

Today we celebrate communion. When we come to God’s table, we join with all others across time to sit at the same table God has made for all to enjoy and be part of the kingdom at. We are all at peace at God’s table when we partake of communion and take in that spiritual food that nourishes us to strengthen us for the work ahead of bringing peace and hope to the world around us through our message and actions.

Today we thank God that there is a table prepared for us where we find peace and hope. We ask forgiveness for our sins that cause harm to ourselves and others. We seek forgiveness that is offered freely by our Savior to redeem us and wash us clean from our words and actions that we sinned by. We ask for God to pour out the Holy Spirit on these gifts of bread and juice that they may become the spiritual food that nourishes us for the work Jesus has commissioned us to do. We thank God for the hope we find and share with others around us.

Amen