For Joy

The Desert Will Bloom & Rejoice

[Isaiah 35] River of Life (3rd Sunday in Advent)

What’s the most beautiful place you have ever been? It’s not an easy question to answer. This world is filled with diverse and delightful ecosystems. Some, especially mountain ranges and thick forests, are filled with stunning beauty and jaw-dropping vistas. 

Since we moved out here, my family and I have made it our habit to visit the national and regional parks. We haven’t hit them all, but we’ve seen our fair share. Yellowstone and Yosemite. The Rockies and the Tetons, the Grand Canyon and Zion’s Narrows. Big Bend and Joshua Tree. Sequoia and Saguaro and Sedona. With each visit, we did some research. We saw some pictures. We were somewhat prepared. Yet, again and again, we have been blown away by the beauty and majesty of these places. Somehow, all but one park has exceeded my expectations. Massive sequoias, towering waterfalls, steep sandstone canyons, colossal  mountains, it was all far more grand than we had expected. 

Locations like these are renowned for their beauty. But you don’t have to make a trip to a protected park to be amazed by God’s creation. Our world is filed with places of enchanting beauty. Forests that stretch beyond the horizon. Mountain ranges that seem to pierce the clouds. Hidden lakes that glint and shine like fine crystal. These are the kinds of places that people flock to. Spend years planning their trips to enjoy. Populate travel blogs and social media feeds. 

But not the desert. I know there are some deserts that defy the odds and draw crowds. White sand dunes, slot canyons, and craggy cliffs can be beautiful in their own right. But a lot of the desert isn’t like that. It’s flat. Empty. Barren. Upon first glance it looks like a lifeless, wasteland. 

Of course, that’s not true. The desert is teeming with life. But none of the life is cute or cuddly. Many desert plants feature thorns and barbs and toxins. Many desert creatures have sharp teeth, powerful claws, painful stings, and venomous bites. Because of intense heat and the scarcity of water in the desert, the desert can be a really hostile place. 

In Isaiah chapters 34 and 35, God’s prophet Isaiah speaks of a desert wilderness, with burning sands and ravenous beasts. It’s a hardscrabble place. Not the kind of location that anyone looks to dwell in. It’s the kind of place a person looks to get through and past. 

Only, what Isaiah is talking about isn’t so much a physical location as it is a description of the condition of the hearts and minds of humanity. By nature, our hearts and minds are hostile to the goodness of God and the righteousness found in his Word. By nature, we bear our teeth at anyone who exposes our slander, gossip, and lies. We flash our claws at anyone who implores us to forgive someone who has wronged us. We threaten a venomous bite to anyone who points out our hidden pride, lust, laziness, or our greed. By nature, we despise anyone who tells us we have not lived good enough lives. 

But our foolishness compounds our errors. Not only are we hostile to God’s view of goodness and righteousness, but we are blind to God’s mercy and kindness. When we prosper, we are quick to credit our ingenuity, hard work, and hustle. We think to ourselves: my mind and my hands made all this possible, as we stand back and admire all our accomplishments. When we run into hardships, we are quick to point out mitigating circumstances and impossible situations and crises outside our control. Without batting an eye, we make our excuses and deny any responsibility for the consequences of our choices. Though we may not possess their bravado or occupy their spotlight, we behave just like the gridiron giants. When we succeed, we pound our chest in the end zone. When we mess up and jump offsides, we point our finger at the guy across the line and hope the ref is none the wiser.

By nature, our hands are far more feeble and our hearts are far more fearful than we’re willing to admit. How many times do we sidestep chances to help and serve our neighbor because we’re afraid we can’t see it through? How many times do we stay silent when speaking the truth will result in conflict or because we might lose something we value?  

By nature, wicked desires burn deep within us. Think about how quickly we are overcome with jealousy, greed, anger, or lust. At times, we feel these powerful urges and depraved impulses and we have no idea where they came from. They originate in our own sinful nature. They come from within us. Left on our own, our hearts and minds would remain spiritual wastelands.  But the Lord has looked with favor upon foolish and prideful wilderness wanderers like us. Here’s what he promised through his prophet Isaiah: 

Isaiah 35:1 The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. 3 Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; 4 say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come…to save you.”

How has God brought life to the wilderness? How has given those with feeble hands and weak knees strength and reason to rejoice? God came to save his people.  

And he provides markers of that salvation in this text. The eyes of the blind will be opened. The ears of the deaf unstopped. The lame will leap like a deer and the mute tongue will shout for joy. 

We can almost look at these miracles as a Messianic checklist. Throughout the Gospels, we learn of Jesus opening the eyes of no less than seven blind people—including Blind Bartimaeus on the road to Jericho. At least two deaf people had their ears unstopped. In one instance, Jesus takes the man aside privately, put his fingers in his ears, touched his tongue with spit, and cried out to heaven Mk. 7:34 Ephphatha which means be opened. Twice, we hear of Jesus publicly healing a lame man, including one who had been paralyzed for 38 years. Three separate times, from any of those miracles, Jesus exorcised demons from people who also suffered with muteness. 

If those miracles were not enough, there are times in Jesus’ ministry when it just says Mt. 15:31 great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others and they laid them at Jesus’ feet and he healed them. Even on Palm Sunday, in the city that would demand his crucifixion, Mt. 21:14 the blind and the lame came to him at the Temple and he healed them. 

Why are these miracles important? These maladies are not just harmful; they are life-altering. Even today, with all our technological advances and our collective consideration, life is really hard when you’re blind or deaf, lame or mute. In Jesus’ day, the crowds considered these people to either be sinful or godforsaken. While they were sinful, they were no more sinful than anyone else. And they were certainly not godforsaken. God came and worked powerful in their bodies so that the glory of God might be displayed in them. 

These miracles are important for a second reason. When Jesus heals, he heals wholly, never halfway. There’s no recovery period. When we have eye problems that require surgery, we wear dark glasses and shields at night to protect our eyes as they adjust. Not those whom Jesus healed. When someone is paralyzed, it takes years of physical therapy to learn to walk again. Not those whom Jesus healed. They pick up their mats and walk right out. Mute people need years of speech therapy but the tongues Jesus loose sing and shout. 

These miracles are signs of God’s great power to renew and heal. If he can open physical eyes, he can open spiritual eyes. If he can make the deaf hear, he can make the stubborn listen and believe. If he can make the lame walk, he can strengthen sinners to walk in the way of righteousness. He can. He has. He does. And he will. 

And he has done even more. Not only has he restored those who were suffering, he has tasted death for us all and lived. The greatest miracle our Savior ever did was redeeming sinners. By his death on the cross, he took away our reasons to fear judgment. By rising from the dead, our sorrow and sighing has been chased away. The Lord has rescued us from our arrogance and pride. He has paid for all our iniquities and he has opened our eyes to his kindness, he has opened our ears to his goodness, he has strengthened our feeble hands and weak knees to walk in the way of holiness and he has put a song on our lips by crowning us with everlasting glory and joy. The wilderness has burst into bloom and rejoices in the splendor of our God. And God has given us proof in Christ’s miracles and evidence in our midst. 

Living in the Sonoran Desert, we get to see up-close and personal what a gentle rain can do to a barren wasteland. Almost unbelievably, the desert springs to life. The poppies pop, lavender litters the landscape, and the creosote! The smell of the creosote bushes after a gentle rain in the desert is an incredible experience, proof of God’s kindness to even the parched places. 

When that kindness appeared for sinners like you and me, God didn’t just stimulate some growth, he saved us. Not because of who we were or what we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the cleansing, refreshing, and renewing waters of Baptism, where he connects us with Christ. His death is for us. His life and his victory become ours, as well. All because God is kind to parched places. Because our God is kind and merciful, we bloom and blossom. His glory makes us glow. We radiate with his splendor. We are overcome with gladness and joy. And its the most beautiful sight our Creator has ever seen! Amen.