Sermon for December 23rd, 2018 - Revision history

Iraneal at 04:30, 23 December 2018

2018-12-23T04:30:33Z

Iraneal at 03:57, 23 December 2018

2018-12-23T03:57:29Z

Iraneal at 03:02, 23 December 2018

2018-12-23T03:02:38Z

Iraneal at 02:39, 23 December 2018

2018-12-23T02:39:20Z

Iraneal at 22:24, 22 December 2018

2018-12-22T22:24:37Z

Iraneal at 21:33, 30 November 2018

2018-11-30T21:33:05Z

Iraneal: Created page with "==Isaiah 9:1-7== ==Messiah: The Reign of the Righteous King=="

2018-11-30T21:24:16Z

Created page with "==Isaiah 9:1-7== ==Messiah: The Reign of the Righteous King=="

New page

==Isaiah 9:1-7==

==Messiah: The Reign of the Righteous King==

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 For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
 ==Messiah: The Reign of the Righteous King==
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 Notice that the light doesn't necessarily make the darkness go away.  It just shines IN the darkness.  In every generation, every age, there is darkness of some kind or another.  And in every age, every generation, if you look for it, you can also find the light.
 In the Christmas story, it's the light of one star, shining over the town of Bethlehem, a little brighter than the other ones.  Of the hundreds of thousands of people in the Middle East at that time, we read that only a handful (some shepherds, some wise men) saw the light and understood its significance.

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 To understand that, you have to understand the most important stabilizing factor in any ancient middle-eastern factor:  The monarchy.  The King.  If the prophet was considered to be God's spokesperson, then the King was considered to be God's anointed leader.  And the time when a country would be most vulnerable to attack would be when there was a weak or aging king, and no clear path of succession to the throne.  This has generally been true for monarchies in all times and places, but especially so in Judah in the 8th century.   And at this point, Judah has an aging king, Ahaz, whom we learned about last week.  But there's good news--and Isaiah is quick to point it out in verse 6 and 7:
-"For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this."
+"For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this."
 To the people of Israel and Judah in the time of Isaiah, there would be no doubt at all that he was referring to young Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, and the heir apparent to the throne of Judah.  Isaiah is saying to the refugees, you can settle here with confidence of everlasting peace, because we have a new king on the throne.
-“Light” is a metaphor suggestive of the presence of God, the approach of God’s grace, mercy, and peace. Isaiah refers to “a great light” (v. 2). The preacher may want to suggest that the light of Christ, while “great” indeed for those who have seen and welcomed it, was not “great” at its coming, in the sense of being a blazing or blinding light, and is not “great” in that sense now. It was and is now a gentle, modest light that Christ brings, so as not to overwhelm or coerce. Neither Isaiah nor the NT suggests that the light does away with the darkness. (See John 1:5.) Yet the light of Christ has proved to be tough and tenacious. So, however great the darkness—and sometimes it is very great indeed—the Christmas Eve congregation can be encouraged to trust that the light of God’s goodness and grace continues to shine, as well as to approach Christ with whatever darkness is within themselves.
+I think it's time to pivot again, to reinterpret the prophecy again.  In fact, I think this is one of the greatest, most amazing things about the Judeo-Christian faith--it's ability to evolve and adapt to new contexts and new situations, without completely losing sight of the old ones.

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 ==Messiah: The Reign of the Righteous King==
 A frog went to see a fortune teller one day.  He wanted to know what the future had in store for him, in particular for his love life.  The fortune teller, gazing deep into a crystal ball, told the frog "You are going to meet the most beautiful girl, who is going to be very interested in you and will want to know everything about you. She will want you to open up for her and you will give her your heart."
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 "The people who walked (literally--across the miles from Israel to Judah) in darkness have seen a great light (that would be Jerusalem, the shining city on a hill); those who lived in a land of deep darkness (Israel) — on them light (of Jerusalem) has shined. 3 You (Israel) have multiplied the nation (of Judah), you have increased its joy (and its population); they (the people of Judah) rejoice before you (the refugees from Israel) as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder."
-In other words, you're bringing a lot to the table.  We welcome you to our country.  Prior to this time, Judah was the smaller, lesser, illiterate, backwoods, younger sibling to a far more culturally and technologically advanced Israel.  But now all those skilled craftsmen, artisans, and tradesmen were bringing their talents and expertise to Judah, and this--as much as the peace Judah enjoyed--ushered in the golden age of Jerusalem and its greatest cultural achievements.  This is the period of time in which most of the Psalms were written.  This is the time when the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament, first emerges in recognizable form.
+In other words, you're bringing a lot to the table.  We welcome you to our country.  Prior to this time, Judah was the smaller, lesser, illiterate, backwoods, younger sibling to a far more culturally and technologically advanced Israel.  But now all those skilled craftsmen, artisans, and tradesmen were bringing their talents and expertise to Judah, and this--as much as the peace Judah enjoyed--ushered in the golden age of Jerusalem and its greatest cultural achievements.  This is the period of time in which most of the Psalms were written.  This is the time when the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament, emerges in recognizable form.

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 ==Isaiah 9:1-7==
 But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined. 3 You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder. 4 For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. 5 For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire.
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 ==Messiah: The Reign of the Righteous King==
-Joke about darkness?
+==Isaiah 9:1-7==
 “Light” is a metaphor suggestive of the presence of God, the approach of God’s grace, mercy, and peace. Isaiah refers to “a great light” (v. 2). The preacher may want to suggest that the light of Christ, while “great” indeed for those who have seen and welcomed it, was not “great” at its coming, in the sense of being a blazing or blinding light, and is not “great” in that sense now. It was and is now a gentle, modest light that Christ brings, so as not to overwhelm or coerce. Neither Isaiah nor the NT suggests that the light does away with the darkness. (See John 1:5.) Yet the light of Christ has proved to be tough and tenacious. So, however great the darkness—and sometimes it is very great indeed—the Christmas Eve congregation can be encouraged to trust that the light of God’s goodness and grace continues to shine, as well as to approach Christ with whatever darkness is within themselves.

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:24, 22 December 2018
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	==Messiah: The Reign of the Righteous King==		==Messiah: The Reign of the Righteous King==
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		+	Joke about darkness?
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		+	“Light” is a metaphor suggestive of the presence of God, the approach of God’s grace, mercy, and peace. Isaiah refers to “a great light” (v. 2). The preacher may want to suggest that the light of Christ, while “great” indeed for those who have seen and welcomed it, was not “great” at its coming, in the sense of being a blazing or blinding light, and is not “great” in that sense now. It was and is now a gentle, modest light that Christ brings, so as not to overwhelm or coerce. Neither Isaiah nor the NT suggests that the light does away with the darkness. (See John 1:5.) Yet the light of Christ has proved to be tough and tenacious. So, however great the darkness—and sometimes it is very great indeed—the Christmas Eve congregation can be encouraged to trust that the light of God’s goodness and grace continues to shine, as well as to approach Christ with whatever darkness is within themselves.

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:33, 30 November 2018
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	==Isaiah 9:1-7==		==Isaiah 9:1-7==
		+	9 But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
		+
		+	2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined. 3 You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder. 4 For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. 5 For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire.
		+
		+	6 For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
		+

	==Messiah: The Reign of the Righteous King==		==Messiah: The Reign of the Righteous King==