Peace on Earth

 

Peace on Earth

Isaiah 64:1-12

For some of us, the search for peace takes us no farther than our own family, our friends, our community of faith, and our home. For some of us peace is as close to us as our hearts. For others, the search for peace can be incredibly elusive. Especially this year, in this time of pandemic, political turmoil, and economic uncertainty. And for many of us, this time of year is anything but peaceful. When, for whatever reason, our lives have seemed to come to a standstill, it can leave us feeling left out and alone. Anything but joyful. Anything but peaceful. For many of us, this is a time of year not to celebrate, but to survive. The promise of “peace on earth” can seem hollow.

And yet the promise of a true and lasting peace is just what our lesson for this morning is talking about. The cry “Comfort, O comfort my people” introduces a major shift in the book of Isaiah.  Prior to this, the message of Isaiah mostly concerns a rebuke of the people’s sins and a call to repentance.  But now, there is something new at work. The God who gave the people over to the consequences of their sins and allowed them to go into exile now announces that he comes to bring peace to those who have suffered for so long.

As we saw last week, the prophet gives voice to the doubts and fears of a people who have struggled to endure the long years of their exile. He calls out, “All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the LORD blows upon it; surely the people are grass” (Isa. 40:6-7). In other words, they think they have about as much chance surviving the exile as the grass does surviving a severe drought. For a people who had lost everything and have had to put forth every ounce of effort just to survive in exile, the promise that God was coming to comfort them may have seemed an empty one. During their exile there were many false prophets who had gotten their hopes up for a speedy release. Now, when this prophet announces in the name of the Lord that the time for their restoration has finally come, they may have had no more faith to give to promises.

In response, one of the themes of this section of Isaiah is that God’s word does not fail. Here, the answer to the cry of despair, “surely the people are grass” is that, while grass may wither, “the word of our God will stand forever” (40:8). While some might apply this to Scripture in general, in this setting it is an assurance that God will not leave his promises of salvation, restoration, and renewal unfulfilled. In another passage, Isaiah puts it this way: “as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it. For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace” (Isa. 55:10-12). The prophet declared in the name of the Lord that “the word of God” accomplishes what it promises—to bring comfort, peace, and renewed faith to a weary people.

In Isaiah, the good news is that God comes to reconcile and to heal and to restore all people, along with all creation. That’s why Isaiah could speak of God’s coming like a shepherd who gently carries the lambs who are either too weak to make it back to safety or who perhaps have been injured (Isa. 40:11). And the message of restoration fills the whole book of Isaiah. Through the prophet the Lord promises to end violence and warfare (Isa. 2:4), suffering and oppression (Isa. 25:8). The Lord promises to set a rich feast for all peoples (Isa. 25:6), and to set right all the wrongs (Isa. 28:5-6). The Lord promises to restore and heal those are weak and injured (Isa. 35:3-6). And again, in case there is any doubt about these promises, the Lord affirms, “My purpose shall stand, and I will fulfill my intention” (Isa. 46:10).

As we discussed last week, the season of Advent is a time for examining our hearts and lives. But the season of Advent is also a time to lift up our hearts and look for the peace that God has promised to bring to his people. In our lesson for today, “preparing the way for the Lord” means that “Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain” (40:4) In other words, the return journey to Jerusalem would be much easier for the exiles than their forced march into Babylon. And the prophet promises that at that time “the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together” (40:5). The heart of that glorious display would be God’s restoration for all people, bringing us true peace at last. 

Advent is season when we’re called to look to God in faith. Part of that involves taking a hard look at ourselves. But the season of Advent also calls us to trust in the promises of our God, promises of salvation, restoration, and renewal. Promises that, like a shepherd gently and tenderly cares for sheep who have been injured (Isa. 40:11), God will bring peace to all those who are suffering. In these days, some of us may have no more faith left to give to promises of any kind. But even when we don’t see God’s promises fulfilled immediately, we can trust that God will fulfill them ultimately. When God promises to bring “peace on earth,” we can trust in those promises because what God promises, God accomplishes!

[1] © Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Alan Brehm, Ph. D. on 12/6/2020 for Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.