In the End, They Will Come (Nov. 27, 2022) Isaiah 2.1-5
Notes
Transcript
In 1989 a new movie was showing. It told the story of an Iowa farmer who plows under a large portion of his crop of corn to build a baseball field. Now, I am sure that you know the movie: Field of Dreams. At end of the movie the person who is promised to Ray does indeed come. But what I want to focus on with this movie is a part that is often missed. Toward the end of the movie the character played by James Earl Jones tells Ray that people will come to the field. They will come and remember. In fact, the memories will be so thick that they will have to wipe them away like cobwebs. And they will pay whatever price Ray asks just so they can have the experience of the “field of dreams.” And as the movie closes, the camera pans out and one sees cars lined up for what looks like miles to come and to be a part of the dream that they have longed for. It is a time where the people have come to be a part of something bigger than themselves.
Today begins the new Christian year. It is not the Christmas season yet, though to look at all our decorations one would be surprised by that announcement. No, the season that begins that new Church year is the season we know as Advent.
Advent is known as a season of waiting. A time when we look forward to something that will be coming to fruition. Now, currently we look forward to the coming of the baby Jesus which makes sense as this is the time before the Christmas season. But there is more to it than Jesus’ birth. One source says this: “Historically it is a period characterized by an attitude of repentance (though now downplayed) and anticipation, with preaching focused on the prophetic utterances of Scripture concerning both the first and second comings of Jesus Christ[1]” In the ancient church, the Advent that was anticipated was not the birth of Christ, but rather the second coming of Christ. It was a time of penance much like Lent which explains the color purple that we have on the vestments and the stole that I wear.
But the second coming of Christ has taken a backseat to the first coming in recent years. Why is that?
Well, when someone mentions the second coming there is a certain uneasy feeling. There is the thought that someone will start preaching from Daniel and/or Revelation and start calling out the signs and wonders that will occur. Then someone will want to know when these things will occur (because let’s face it, we are not good with uncertainty). And then someone will begin searching the scriptures for codes and signs that tell us, “Yes, it is going to be at this time” (sometimes even with dates and days of the week). Let me state first and foremost that when someone does this, do not listen to them. There have been many groups in the past who have pointed to specific times and places and wound up with egg on their faces. All through this we must watch and wait. And let’s face it, today we are not good with waiting. We have Amazon Prime and two-day shipping. We can overnight something if we need to have it sent in a hurry. Like Veruca Salt we want it now!
So it is with Christmas. How many of you already have Christmas decorations up? The stores have been stocked for months with Christmas items. The radio has been playing Christmas music since the first of this month. It would seem that we are in a rush to get to Christmas.
Don’t get me wrong. I love Christmas. I especially like the candy that comes out at only this time of the year (mint M&M’s are one of my favorites). But there is more to this time of year than Christmas. This is a time for us to slow down and contemplate what is coming. And since birth of Christ has already taken place, what we need to look for is the second coming, a time when Christ will return and bring all of creation to renewal.
Isaiah knew this. When we think of Isaiah in this season, we think of the texts that point to the birth of Jesus. But today’s text point to something further out. In the chapter prior to this one, Isaiah has been tearing into Jerusalem and Judah for not following the God of their ancestors. He told them of coming judgement and what to expect.
Now, in our text for today, he gives a different message. He tells them that the temple, not Jerusalem will be the focus of all that it to come. It will be raised above the hills and all nations, or peoples, shall stream to it. This gives an image of something flowing uphill, defying gravity. And why not defy gravity? People will be coming to a place where they would not have gone otherwise. They are coming to a place that is not very important in the world of empires except as a place to be conquered and as a spot on the way to fight other empires. But the people will come. They will be drawn to the place.
When they come, they will find that they want to be a part of the teaching of the God of Jacob. They will want to know the Torah or the teaching of this God who has blessed this people even when they have turned their backs on their God. They want to know what the teaching is and how they are to be affected by it. In fact, this is what they will say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.”[2] They are the nations that God told Abraham would be blessed because of him. They are the nations, or the Gentiles. Ones who should not be seeking after the God of Israel but are streaming to the Lord’s house.
And there, God will judge. God will be the arbitrator for the many peoples who are coming and God will hand out justice. Now this may not be something we understand. But this is known as the Day of the Lord and in most of the prophets it is not a day to be looked forward to in the lives of people. But this day of the Lord according to Isaiah will be one where there is teaching and arbitration. The Lord will be settling disputes between the peoples and they will come to know the teachings of God.
In all this there is a message of hope. We are told: “…they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”[3] The nations will put down their weapons of war and turn them into implements of peace. One commentator says this: “Breaking weapons and fashioning agricultural implements indicates a transition from fear and stress to peace and security.”[4]Because they know the teaching of God and the judgement of God, the people will no longer live in fear of one another, fear that causes them to build weapons and to train armies. There will be security that all will respect one another and give good things to those who are living among them. The Day of the Lord will indeed be one of peace and security.
This Advent let us look beyond the birth of Jesus or the first Advent. Let us look forward to the second Advent, the return of Christ to claim us as his own. In this Advent will be the unfolding of what was promised by Jesus, that all will be made right and that all will come to him.
As we journey through Advent this year let us not forget that the peoples will come. They will stream to the mountain of God like the cars coming to Ray’s baseball diamond in the middle of a cornfield. They will want to know God’s teaching and what it means for them in their lives. But most of all they will finally be secure enough to let down their guard and live in peace with one another. May we look forward to that time and may it come soon. Amen.
[1]Provance, Brett Scott. Pocket Dictionary of Liturgy & Worship 2009: 14. Print. The IVP Pocket Reference Series.
[2] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989. Print.
[3] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989. Print.
[4]Biblical Studies Press. The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible. Biblical Studies Press, 2005. Print.