Wait Upon the Lord With Hope

The Story of P.T. Barnum

It was the year 1820 A. D. Ten-year-old Phineas was about to see the island—his island! The day he was born, his grandfather presented newborn Phineas with a deed—a deed to some land in Connecticut called Ivy Island. Now, for the first time, Phineas was going to see and play on the island—his island!

After a long horse and buggy ride, Phineas jumped from the wagon and ran through a meadow. He raced to the row of trees and there he saw Ivy Island. When he saw the island, he stopped. His heart sank.

Ivy Island was five acres of snake-infested marshland. His grandfather had called it the most valuable land in Connecticut; but it was worthless. His father told him it was a generous gift; but it was not. It was a joke. It was all a cruel, heartless joke! Phineas stood there in disbelief and then uttered four words. Four of the most haunting words in the English language: “But I had hoped.” So much pain is packed into these four words. “But I had hoped.”

Because of what happened that day, Phineas became bitter for the rest of his life. In fact, Phineas made a career out of being bitter. He made a life out of fooling people—just as he had been fooled. You do not know him as Phineas. You know him as P. T.—P. T. Barnum of the Barnum and Bailey Circus. P. T. Barnum coined the phrase, “There’s a sucker born every minute.”

The Story of Isaiah

It was the year 697 B.C. Seventy-two year old Isaiah was about to honor the king he had served faithfully one last time. Hezekiah had died several days before, and now was the time of the state funeral. Already, things had changed in Judah. Like vultures, the wicked of the land had been waiting for their opportunity to reassert themselves. Hezekiah had a twelve-year old son, Manasseh; his wicked mother and her allies had groomed Manasseh for this day. Already, the order had gone out to reverse many of Hezekiah’s reforms. In time, Manasseh would led Judah into great idolatry and sin than it had even committed before!

Isaiah had seen this day coming, in fact, because he was a prophet; he had foreseen the exile and destruction of the nation at the hands of the Babylonians. A dark foreboding had gripped the hearts of Isaiah and the righteous remnant of Judah. They once had such hope. Isaiah reflected on some of his past prophecies. In Isaiah 2, he preached about all the nations streaming to Zion—beating their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. In Isaiah 7, Isaiah preached about a virgin conceiving and bearing a son, whose name will be Immanuel, God with us. Isaiah gave this son other names, “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).

I can almost hear Isaiah say to himself the same words of P. T. Barnum uttered, “But I had hoped.”

Comfort, Comfort My People, Says the Lord

Unlike P.T. Barnum, Isaiah did not become bitter. We do not know exactly when Isaiah received his second commissioning, perhaps it was that very night, but at some point, he received a new word from the Lord.

Isaiah 40:1–2 ESV

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

God was calling Isaiah to a new ministry, a ministry of speaking comfort to the righteous remnant of Israel and Judah. Unlike his first commission, which was a public preaching ministry, his second commission was probably conducted privately, perhaps through correspondence. A less public ministry would have been necessary because of the persecution of Manasseh. In Hebrews 11, the author refers to those who were “sawn in two”, Jewish tradition tells us that one of those people were Isaiah!

Just because Isaiah’s second ministry was not as public, does not mean it was not as powerful. Isaiah 40 and following are among the most comforting portions of all Scripture. It is in these chapters that we find those beloved words, “Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall soar on wings like eagles; they shall run and not grow weary; they shall walk and not grow faint” (Isaiah 40:31).

The word wait in this verse is also the Hebrew word for “hope.” Do you see the connection? Biblical waiting means waiting with hope. Biblical hope means hoping while we wait. Waiting and hope. They go together—like peanut butter and jelly!

Just what is this hope we are waiting for?

Isaiah tells us—he is the Suffering Servant, of whom he writes about in chapters 50-53.

Isaiah says that the Servant will grow up and one day give his back to those who strike him and his cheeks to those who will pull out his beard. He will not hide his face from mocking and spitting (Isaiah 50:6). The Servant will be pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities (Isaiah 53:5). He will even be led like a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep is silent before its shearers, he will not open his mouth (Isaiah 53:7). The Servant will give himself over to suffering and death, and why?

To give waiting and hope a name—Jesus!

This is what makes Advent so powerful. Advent is about waiting and hope because Advent is about Jesus!

Remember, in the Hebrew, waiting and hope go together, like peanut butter and jelly!

We light the Advent candle to remind us that as we heard from our Gospel reading today, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

But We Had Hoped

“But we had hoped.” Those are the words of the Emmaus disciples in Luke 24:21. “But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.” The two disciples are bitter. “But we had hoped!” The disciples are broken. “But we had hoped!” The two disciples are in so much despair that they did not recognize that Jesus was walking right beside them!

I totally get it! Hopelessness has blinded me from seeing the presence of Jesus as well, and I am sure many of you have experienced this as well. The righteous remnant felt this way under the reign of Manasseh and in Babylon years later. We know this because in our text today God asks them:

Isaiah 40:27 ESV

Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”?

This one verse sums up what it feels like to be hopeless. When we are hopeless, we feel as if either God does not see our pain or if He can see, He does not care.

When you think of it, these are very harsh accusations to make about God. If someone would make such accusation against us we would be offended, but not God. In our text from Isaiah and in the story of the road to Emmaus, the Lord answers our accusations with gentleness. For example, on the road to Emmaus, Jesus does not scold, berate, or dismiss the disciples’ pain; He gentle makes Himself know though the Scriptures and the breaking of the bread.

This is still the way the Lord responds to our hopelessness. Gently, through the Scriptures and the Sacraments that God renews our hope.

As Paul concludes his letter to the Romans, he writes:

Romans 15:4 ESV

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

Brothers and sisters, as “the whole of creation groans upon the sufferings of this present evil age” (Rom 8:18-22 and Gal 1:14), let us “eagerly await…in hope” (Rom 8:23-25). Advent reminds us that hope has a human face, the face of Jesus! In a few moments we will sing these words:

In Christ alone, my hope is found.

He is my light, my strength, my song.

Yes, as we wait upon Jesus, our strength is renewed; we will mount up with wings like eagles; we shall run and not be weary; we shall walk and not faint!

Let us pray.

O Lord, we wait upon you in faith and hope.

Help us to see beyond the darkness of our present circumstances, into the glory that is set before us.

This Advent season, give us the faith of Abraham, the hope of Isaiah, the joy of Elizabeth and the gratitude of Zechariah.

Amen.