The end of last week got away from me, and so, I didn’t write up this reflection on time. I truly intend for these reflections to go out each Sunday, but sometimes I fall short.
The passage for this third week of Advent is from Isaiah:
The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God. Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.” Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow. And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, and those the LORD has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. - Isaiah 35:1-10
As I read this, I cannot help but think of the two tragedies that occurred over the weekend. One in the United States and the other on a beach in Australia.
- At Brown University, a man opened fire on campus, killing at least two students and leaving many injured. The shooter is still at large.
- In Australia, a father and son opened fire at a Hanukkah gathering on Bondi Beach. They killed at least fifteen people, including a ten-year-old girl and a Holocaust survivor who shielded his wife with his own body.
Sorrow and sighing are fully in our midst.
The world we find ourselves in is brutal, filled with heartache and pain. There seems to be a “ravenous beast” behind every corner. I deeply long for the day when gladness and joy will overtake us.
As we look around this broken world, saturated in pain and grief, what are we to do?
The Hope of the Gospel
For me, I return again and again to the hope we see in this passage: that someday there will be a time when gladness and joy completely replace sorrow and sighing.
We glimpsed this hope in the first coming of Christ. It was a foretaste of what we will one day experience forever. In that first coming, there was healing, there was joy, and yet grief and pain remained. What we saw was merely the trailer for the main attraction. Someday, Emmanuel will come and stay among us for eternity.
This is the great mystery and beauty of the gospel story. It is not about us being whisked away to heaven. No, it is about us longingly hoping for the day when Christ comes to be with us forever. This is the hope of the gospel: that someday the kingdom of God will truly be on Earth as it is in heaven. So, we hope and wait with expectation.
This hope is something that we must fight for every single day. It is a hope rooted in an expectation built upon the resurrection.
Our Charge
Until that day, we are to be the answer to the prayer, “Your kingdom come…”
- Who will be the ones to wipe away tears? We must.
- Who are the ones pursuing justice and righteousness? We must.
- Who are the ones to tell the fearful, “Be strong and be courageous”? We must!
We are called to be the people who demonstrate the joy rooted in the hope of the coming Christ.