“Isaiah: A Child is Born”

Isaiah 9:1-7

(sermon note: 11-16 sermon note)

¹Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory.

² The people who walk in darkness
will see a great light.
For those who live in a land of deep darkness,
a light will shine.
³ You will enlarge the nation of Israel,
and its people will rejoice.
They will rejoice before you
as people rejoice at the harvest
and like warriors dividing the plunder.
⁴ For you will break the yoke of their slavery
and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders.
You will break the oppressor’s rod,
just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian.
⁵ The boots of the warrior
and the uniforms bloodstained by war
will all be burned.
They will be fuel for the fire.

⁶ For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
⁷ His government and its peace
will never end.
He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David
for all eternity.
The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
will make this happen!

This morning’s reading reminds me of the one about a Catholic priest announced at church one day, “I will be in Rome next week. If any of you have a wish, I will light a candle in Rome so that the wish will come true.” A woman sitting in the pews cried out, “My husband and I have been married for several years but have never borne any children. Can you light a candle so that we can have children?” “I will most certainly do that,” answered the priest. Five years later, the woman came to the priest and said, “Since you went to Rome and lit that candle, I have given birth to two pairs of twins and a set of triplets, and now I am pregnant with quadruplets!” She then gave the priest a plane ticket to Rome. “You are too kind,” responded the priest. “You don’t need to thank me.” “I’m not thanking you,” said the woman. “I just want you to blow out that candle!”

Yikes! Can you imagine being “blessed” with 9 kids in five years?! My 4 kids in four years were crazy enough. I can’t even imagine the chaos of that poor woman’s house! Some kids running around, some kids still contained in their baby seats or playpen, some kids crawling…not doubt all of them making some kind of noise! For a guy who appreciates his quiet time and lots of it, that sounds like a complete nightmare! But hey, she did kind of ask for it by inviting the light of Christ into her marriage. That light is a strong light that brings nothing but life and love and goodness. It’s no wonder she and her husband were blessed with such an abundance! I mean, come on…they should have known what to expect as faithful Catholics. You invite Christ into your life, and you better be prepared for the abundance that comes with him…

This week we’re shifting from the minor prophet, Amos, to the major prophet, Isaiah, who has equally powerful words of wisdom and hope. Recall from last week’s reflection how Amos simplified our choices in this world down to two simple choices: to love good or to love evil. They’re simple choices yet difficult to make sometimes. Sometimes we’re tempted to do the opposite, to love evil instead of good, and that temptation can overwhelm us. We give in to the temptation and do what we know we’re not supposed to do. As Paul so boldly admits, “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate…I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.” (Romans 7:15, 18, 19) And of course, he attributes his powerlessness to the sin within him. The sin within us is indeed powerful but not all-powerful. Each of us has the power to resist sin through sheer willpower and determination. And as Christians we have even more than that—we have Christ, the sinless one, who reveals there can be life without sin. We simply have to follow his example, allow HIM to lead us in our decision-making. Because he isn’t influenced by sin and death, we can be assured that his choices will always lead to life and an abundance of it. So really when presented with the choice to either love good or love evil, we’re really presented with the choice of wanting to live or wanting to die. Do we want to live, or do we want to die? Sin most certainly leads to death but goodness leads to life.

Now then, we shift to the wisdom of Isaiah, and the same choices are presented to us but packaged differently. We are called to choose between light and dark and the light is represented by Jesus himself. “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine” as the prophet tells us. There is no doubt about it, we live in a land of deep darkness. Just turn on the news and there is an abundance of pain and suffering in this world. A lot of it can be attributed to the sin within us. But a lot of it is beyond even our sin. A lot of it is simply chaos behaving the way it’s supposed to behave—chaotically. God brings order into our world through the light…through the Son. The light is order. How does our creation narrative begin? “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” (Genesis 1:1-3) In the beginning there was nothing but chaos and God began to order it with light. Of course, this is echoed by the opening verses of John’s gospel, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.” (1:5) The light brings order which in turn brings life, an abundance of life. It all makes sense, yes?

Well, I appreciate the latter part of John’s verse: “the darkness can never extinguish it.” Darkness is powerful. Darkness can be all-consuming. In the darkness there is chaos and chaos is like a disease. It wants to take over everything. But guess what? God doesn’t allow it to. God gave us the light, his Son, as the ultimate protection against darkness and death and chaos. Why? BECAUSE GOD LOVES US!! Because God wants us to live and thrive and know joy in this world! We simply have to choose the good, the light…the Son! (and no, not the “sun” in the sky!) Again, two choices: to live in the light or live in the darkness. And I can’t make that choice for you. We all have to make that choice on our own. Why? Because each of us has to take ownership of our own lives and be held accountable. That said, I can strongly encourage you to choose the light over the darkness. And I am again supported by the wisdom of Scripture in my encouragement. In John’s first letter, he writes, “But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.” (1:7) When we live in the light, not only are we cleansed but we have fellowship with each other. We’re not alone! What a great gift to have fellowship with others, especially with God! When we live in the light, when we welcome the light of Jesus in our lives, it influences others in a good way. Jesus says, “in the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” (Matthew 5:16) When Christ’s light shines within us and through us, others give praise to God which greatly please God.

Choices…live in the light that Isaiah spoke of or live in the darkness. Let us choose the former and rejoice in it. Thanks be to God!

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.