Radiant
Isaiah 2:1-4, Titus 2:11-14[1]
The Christian faith has had its share of critics throughout the
ages. One of the most strident of those was a German philosopher named
Friedrich Nietzsche. Like many others, he called out the Christians of his day
for their hypocrisy. Unfortunately, Christians of all eras have been good at
doing “lip service” to the faith without actually putting it into practice in
their lives. And sadly, that is as true today as it ever was. Nietzsche had a
lot to say about this, but one of his more memorable lines was that for him to
believe in the Christian Savior, “his disciples would have to look more
redeemed!”[2]
I think this sentiment challenges us most deeply at this time of
the year. Family gatherings can be wonderful, but they can also be exhausting.
Then there’s the fact that it gets dark so early this time of year. Add to that
the “hustle and bustle” of getting everything done and getting everywhere we’re
supposed to go. And the sad truth is that the “holidays” can be “the most
difficult time of the year” for many of us. All of this put together can rob us
of the joy that we’re “supposed” to be celebrating in the midst of everything
we have going on. It can be especially hard to “look redeemed.”
I think that’s one of the reasons light plays such an important
role for us at this time of year. We light up the Christmas tree, and we light
up our houses. The lights can help to relieve the rather oppressive feeling the
darkness can bring on us. For a while. As much as decorating can help, I don’t
think it’s a real solution to our problem. For our faith to show in our lives
and on our faces as authentic joy, we have to takes steps that have deeper and
more lasting effects than just decorating our homes and stringing lights. If we
want our lives to be “radiant” with the joy of our faith, we have to find a
hope that cannot be shaken.
I think that was what the prophet Isaiah was trying to do for his
people. Despite the fact that they lived at a dangerous crossroads between
continents and empires, and despite the fact that even their leaders had
seemingly abandoned their faith, Isaiah held out a hope that God was not
finished with them. Rather, he believed in the vision that God was working to
make all things new. And the specific way in which he expresses that hope in
our lesson for today is that through the people of Israel, one day all the
nations of the earth would be drawn to the light of God’s truth, God’s peace,
and God’s justice.
Isaiah’s vision of salvation was one in which all the different
peoples of the world—even those who had been enemies of Judah—would “stream” to
Jerusalem as the “mountain of the Lord” (Isa. 2:2). And the reason they would
come was “that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths”
(Isa. 2:3). Isaiah explains that the reason for this attraction is that
Jerusalem would be a place where the word of the Lord would enlighten all the
nations to “walk in his ways.” And the result would be peace; not just peace as
the absence of conflict, but peace as that which transforms people so that they
can truly live with joy a life that could be called “radiant.”
This vision of the destiny of the human family is an ideal that
has inspired and fired the imaginations of people of faith throughout the
generations. Isaiah’s vision was that when God’s truth becomes the light by
which we all order our lives, then “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” (Isa. 2:4). It is one of the more powerful visions of the
destiny of humankind, and it has inspired people throughout history to find
hope and joy even in the midst of some of the most challenging times of life.
This hope can transform us into people who look “redeemed” because our lives
are radiant with joy.
It’s fine, however, to think of the great promises that inspire in
us hope for the future. But many of us would like to know what we have to help
us find joy here and now. I think the lesson from Titus can help us here. It
summarizes in a nutshell the good news that we are preparing to celebrate at
Christmas: “the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all” (Titus
2:11). Although that might seem self-evident, I’m afraid the language of grace
and salvation isn’t all that obvious. Grace here refers to God’s goodness,
kindness, and generosity by which he gives us the gift of love that we don’t
have to earn and we can’t forfeit. And while salvation can refer to several
aspects of our hope, I think that promise of a love that is unconditional and
irrevocable hits the spot for most of us. We can be radiant with hope and joy
here and now because of this amazing love God has given us.
Most of us have times in our lives when we don’t look very “redeemed.”
What better time than Advent for us to prepare our hearts and lives to truly
celebrate the coming of our Savior to bring us hope and joy. Interestingly,
both our lessons speak of that hope and joy as training us how to live. In
Isaiah it’s about learning God’s ways and walking in his paths. In Titus it’s
about God’s grace teaching us to “live lives that are self-controlled, upright,
and godly” (Titus 2:12). In other words, the love that is the essence of who
God is defines how we live, so that we now “take on a God-filled, God-honoring
life” (Titus 2:12, The Message). I
think this is a change that is deep and lasting, and one that can truly enable
us to “look more redeemed” because we are radiant with the hope and joy of
God’s love.
[1]
© 2019 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Alan Brehm on 12/1/2019 at
Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.
[2]
Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke
Zarathustra, Modern Library Edition, 92.
