The Rev’d
Stephen E. Stults
St. Paul's Anglican Church
St. Paul's Anglican Church
Easter II
April 30, 2017
Isaiah
40:1-2: “Comfort
ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 2
Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare
is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received
of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins.”
Comfort.
What a wonderful word. What a warm, soft, beautiful word in all that
it conveys. I picture a snowy day in Illinois with a warm fire, a
soft blanket and a cup of delicious coffee at hand. Here in Texas, I
picture comfort as a nice cool bedroom at night, with the air
conditioning going when it is hot and sultry outside.
Yet,
comfort may be an unappreciated word in our all-too-comfortable
society. We really don’t tolerate discomfort very well, which is
both a glory of our modern society as well as its curse. Perhaps we
are too comfortable. Most modern Americans will tolerate nothing
else. Let me also issue a disclaimer here. The very fact that we
Americans have such manifold comfort available to us is a great
blessing from Almighty God; one for which we should be very thankful.
At the same time, we should keep in mind and pray for those who live
without daily comfort.
In
today's O.T. Reading, Isaiah, the great prophet of the coming
Messiah, speaks to the people of Israel. This was the Northern
Kingdom, who after many years of repeated warnings had been conquered
by the Assyrians and carried away captive. Some commentators tell us
that this particular passage occurs during the exile in Babylon.1
In their misery, Isaiah speaks “comfort” to them, telling them
that they have received double recompense at the Lord’s Hand for
all their sins.
Recall
that the majority of Isaiah’s ministry dealt with the apostasy of
Israel. Consider these lines from the very first verses of his
prophecy, Isaiah
1:3-4:
“The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but
Israel
doth not know, my people doth not consider. 4Ah
sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers,
children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have
provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away
backward.”
In
verse after verse, Isaiah rightly complains of the idol worship, the
lax morals, and the corrupt lifestyle of the Israelites. When God
saw there was no repentance, judgment occurred in the form of foreign
invasion and enslavement. Their punishment was so severe that even
Isaiah comments that they received “double” punishment for their
sins. Wesley terms it as this: “Double —
Not twice as much as her sins deserved, but abundantly enough to
answer God's design in this chastisement, which was to humble and
reform them, and to warn others by their example.”2
Yet
now, according to the prophecy, Israel was to receive comfort from
her vexations and punishments. She was to be assured that her
“warfare”or tribulation in the world, was completed and that her
iniquity was forgiven. The Hebrew word “ratsah” actually means
to be favorably disposed towards or kindly towards one. If one could
perceive God’s “mood” so to speak, it may be one of kindliness
or good favor. Even though God’s wrath had been kindled towards
His People, their punishment had expiated this.
How
then, does God visit retribution on His People, seeing that He
Himself is beyond emotion and thus beyond the feelings of anger,
jealousy, and rage? How can we even say, “the Wrath of God?”
While that topic is beyond the scope of this brief address, suffice
it to say that God’s absolute Holiness and absolute justice demand
that some recompense must occur to atone for sins against Him. Yet,
being the font of eternal love, God Himself paid the price for these
offenses in the person of Jesus Christ.
This
is exactly what Isaiah speaks about when he tells us that a Voice is
crying:”The
voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the
LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4
Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be
made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough
places plain:”3
This voice is God, telling us to prepare the way for His Son. In
language used later by John the Baptizer, it is a voice crying in the
wilderness.
Typical
with Isaiah is his ability to project his prophetic voice both near
and far. By that, we mean that he speaks both to the near-term
easing of Israel’s distress, which would eventually happen, and to
the long-term prophecy of the coming Christ. We see both in this
passage as the people receive a comfortable word in the present,
while at the same time Isaiah speaks prophetically of the Christ to
come. Although the presence of man fades, for we are but grass, the
word of God lasts forever.
Thus,
we clamber into the mountains and proclaim to the world, “Behold
your God!” He will come with a strong hand and a strong arm to do
his work.
What
work will this be? It is pastoral, natural and beautiful: He shall
feed his flock like a shepherd; he shall gather the lambs with his
arm, and carry them
in
his bosom, and
shall
gently lead those that are with young.”4
At
once we are propelled into the Gospel era as St. John relates how
Christ said, 11
I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the
sheep.”5
In fulfillment of the words of Isaiah, Christ proclaims Himself to be
what he is, the Bishop and Captain of our souls.
Note
what
the
Voice was crying in the wilderness: Jesus is the Good Shepherd, who
gives his life for the sheep. Not as a hired worker, who sees the
danger and flees, but rather as a courageous shepherd who knows his
sheep and is known by them. Interestingly, although sheep are easily
led, they do not follow just anybody. They know their shepherd’s
voice and follow only him. Conversely, the shepherd knows his sheep
and does everything he can to protect them, up to and including
giving his own life to protect them.
Thus,
to quote the old gospel hymn, “What a friend we have in Jesus, all
our sins and griefs to bear!”6
What a Friend indeed.
There
is only One who will save you from an uncertain eternal afterlife:
Jesus. There is only One who saves your soul from the piercing,
totally accurate justice of God and replaces it with mercy: Jesus.
There is only one Good Shepherd who is able to fill your soul with
the holy love and grace it so desperately wants: Jesus.
Jesus
reaffirms his relationship with God the Father as He tells us that in
the way that His sheep know Him, He is known of the Father. This is
a special relationship made perfect by perfect love in the community
of the Holy Trinity.
In
one last affirmation of hope and unity, Christ tells us that he has
other sheep that must join his flock. Although not of this fold, they
too must and will be brought along with Christ. This is most
glorious, for it foretells the wonderful day when all Christian
divisions will cease “and
there shall be one fold, and
one
shepherd.”7
With
our limited human vision, we can’t see any way that the gaping
divisions in the Church can be healed. Denominations tend to divide;
once divided, they tend to keep dividing. Some of the reasons for
our divisions are valid, others not so much. Yet, in the mystery of
God’s perfect vision, there will occur a day when all Christians
will worship the Holy Trinity in one church. What a glorious day
that will be! Imagine a church where unity of vision and unity of
purpose is the focus, rather than the disagreements that divide us.
It will be a miracle indeed. It will be one that only the Good
Shepherd can bring about.
One
last question remains to be asked: are you under the care of the Good
Shepherd?
Have
you entrusted your life, both here and forever, into the Hands of the
One who can see it safely to eternal pasture? If there is any area
of your soul where some “hold back” occurs, or where you are less
than enthusiastic about the Good Shepherd’s directions? If so, let
it go. Let it go and experience both the freedom from self and the
wonderful peace of God.
After
all, this is what Good Shepherd Sunday is all about. It is about
giving your soul what it so desperately needs, the sacred pasture of
Christ.
Amen.
3
Isaiah 40:3-4
4
Op. cit. 40:11
5
John 10:11
6
Hymn #422, The Hymnal, 1940
7
Op.cit. 10:16
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