"The Promise of Salvation"

 

"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."

 

            Covenant Missionary Andy Larson writes, "When I sit long enough in prayer, my heart and vision become expansive again as I learn to trust God. There are struggles but also new resolution and resolve, built on the foundation of God's limitless love."

            We focus today on an expansive vision of Joy, based on faith in the salvation that God brings through Jesus Christ. Our tendency in the difficulty of life is to shrink our vision and protect our hearts. We do less and reduce our efforts to what is possible in our own strength. We absorb the bad news from the world and live in fear of what might happen.

 We reduce the vision, making it much smaller:

•  from the blooming of a desert . . . to decorating a Christmas tree;
•  from the fearful ones becoming strong . . . to finding a safe and secure place to live;
• from the blind gaining sight . . . to being sure we have good medical insurance;
• from the highway of gladness . . . to listening to joyful Christmas music.

 But Jesus does not reduce the vision found in Isaiah. He steps into the middle of it, with works of healing, and brings salvation through the cross and resurrection.

            The vision we find in Isaiah 35 is expansive, even wildly impossible in worldly terms. A Hymn entitled "When the King Shall Come Again" describes part of Isaiah's vision:

"Strengthen feeble hands and knees, fainting hearts be cheerful!

God who comes for such as these seeks and saves the fearful;

Now the deaf can hear the dumb sing away their weeping;

Blind eyes see the injured come walking, running, leaping."

            In the ancient world the desert was seen as a place of death, a place where God was absent, a place where one met the devil or evil in many forms. It was a place of unclean and dangerous animals, demoniacs and spirits. It was a place of chaos. In Isaiah's vision this desert not only bursts forth in bloom, but becomes the place where the glory of the Lord is seen. The wilderness becomes a garden of God's creation that shouts for joy.

            The people of Isaiah's time were characterized by fear, because of the ruthless power of the Assyrians, poised to attack. In chapter 36 that is exactly what happens: "In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah's reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them." No wonder hands were feeble and knees gave way. If you have ever been caught in a significant time of fear, you know that the way out is long and slow. It requires a spiritual healing to trust again, to feel safe, and to live with hope. In the vision, the fearful hearts are renewed in faith and the people believe God will come to save them.

            The diseases and chronic conditions that were most feared in that time were blindness, deafness or being injured so that a person was permanently lame. When I broke my ankle a few years ago, I wondered how my life would be if I had lived in a time before they knew how to put such things back together. I am thankful for metal plates and screws and a surgeon who allowed me to resume a normal life. "The lame leap like a deer," it says, "and the mute tongue shouts for joy."

            The way back from exile would be treacherous and dangerous. As the people walked back home, they would have to cross a desert, and they would be vulnerable to the attacks of enemies, and to wild animals at night. A secure highway with only the redeemed on it, walking with joy, was a grand, wildly impossible idea. But this part of Isaiah's vision speaks beyond return from exile. It speaks of salvation in Christ. This is the everlasting joy of heaven, for all who trust in Christ and know his redemption. This is an expansive vision, beyond human ability to manufacture, something from God alone.

            The church has chosen this song for Advent. We sing it with hope, with longing, with faith. We sing it in prayer.

"Strengthen feeble hands and knees, fainting hearts be cheerful!

God who comes for such as these seeks and saves the fearful;

Now the deaf can hear the dumb sing away their weeping;

Blind eyes see the injured come walking, running, leaping."

            Jesus, whose birth we celebrate, grows up to fulfill Isaiah's vision. He does not reduce the vision; rather he steps into the middle of it. He begins by healing the lame, giving sight to the blind, unstopping the ears of the deaf. But in that ministry of healing he keeps the whole vision. It will all be fulfilled. Jesus enters into our lives. He comes to us as Emmanuel, God with us. He heals, saves, forgives, renews at just the place of our need or longing. And as we learn to trust him, the saving grace of Jesus which touches our deepest need, expands throughout our lives.

            For many of us, it is the place of fear that Jesus enters with his healing grace. We carry a lot of fear. We are afraid of other people and what they think of us, what they say about us. We are afraid of failure and wonder what will happen if we do not succeed at school or in the business world or in relationships. We fear the dangerous world we live in: terrorists, or the people who roam the streets homeless or uncared for, thieves who break in at night, diseases that spread rapidly around the earth. We fear that the Republicans will come to power, or that the Democrats will get their way. We live with fear, and when it takes root in us we become hard, we protect ourselves, we lose the capacity for expansive vision. Jesus comes to us as love which casts out fear. We need to pray enough to feel that love, to trust Christ and his word more than the evening news or the hurtful message on facebook. We need the love of Christ to fill us.

            Jesus comes to our dry souls and makes them bloom, when we are empty or depleted. When we feel distant from the Lord, our prayers sound hollow. It is Jesus who plants the crocus in our souls, which blooms in time. On Friday the Mom to Mom group took time to care for the mothers of young children who came. In stressful pre-Christmas days, they offered back and hand massages, some Christmas goodies, conversation by the fire, a great program for the children. They met these women with practical expressions of love, and love invites Christ to renew a dry soul.

            Jesus ministers to our hands and knees, making them strong. Sometimes we hear the call of Christ on our lives, but feel so inadequate; we simply put it out of our minds. But I am very interested in learning about what churches are doing these days when people with renewed hearts also experience strengthened hands to do the Lord's work. There are so many interesting and creative ministries taking place as the church is reaching out to the community to meet needs in Christ's name. I try to keep track of ones I find on the Covenant Newswire, thinking that some of these ideas might work in our community. But it is not just trying to do what others have done. As the Lord himself strengthens hands because we are receiving his love and restoring grace, the ideas will come and the people will be there.

• In Dowagiac, Michigan, this Thanksgiving 50 members of the Covenant church got together at 8 in the morning and put together 300 Thanksgiving meals, and then delivered them to people in elderly and low income housing who had signed up previously.
• In Asheboro, North Carolina, the Covenant Church has held an annual pig roast for years as a fellowship event. This year they decided to hold it for the community and 400 people came for food, music and a Gospel presentation. Four people accepted Christ as Savior.
• In Toledo, Ohio, the Covenant Church bought an old city bus and turned it into a mobile medical clinic. They drive around on Saturday morning and give homeless or uninsured people general health screening, and check blood sugar and blood pressure levels and listen to hearts and lungs. Once a month they have doctors and medical students along, and a connection with a pharmacy, so they can prescribe medication. Strengthened hands to do God's will.

            Finally, the vision speaks of the highway, where the redeemed come to experience a joyous fellowship with God in Zion. John Oswalt writes that "Joy is always a by-product of the presence of God." The highway of gladness points to our ultimate hope in Christ. It is the vision of what it means to be in God's presence eternally. The baby Jesus, who came to earth to minister and teach us the ways of the Father, grows up and goes to the cross. He gives his life for the forgiveness of our sins. God raised him from the dead. He is the Highway of gladness. He is the way, the truth and the life. He is the way to the Father, the salvation of our souls. Only the redeemed will walk on that way.

            "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."

            Come to the Savior today. Let every heart prepare him room. Receive the Savior in faith wherever he is touching your life.

            Amen.