We are all waiting eagerly for the Christmas Manger in Advent, but we must see the Word made flesh’s (strange the think about) final destination.
In the unit of Isaiah chapters 2-4, we see the contrast between the ideal Israel God wants and the historical reality of the Kingdom of Judah in Isaiah’s day. It seemed as if Isaiah was in the right place but at the wrong time. Isaiah sees God’s Word (strange thing to think about), and it is beautiful. Yet, what was around him was a stiff-necked people who think of themselves too highly and need to be brought down low in judgment.
It is a strange comparison. Isaiah sees a vision of a future day when all people will go up to the House of the Lord for all the right reasons. Yet, the people around Him go to the House of the Lord for all the wrong reasons. He sees a future where the nations come streaming to the mountain of the Lord, to the place where His glory dwells. It is a day He must wait for in the distant future. Isaiah’s vision is of the messianic age, the end times which was, as we know, inaugurated with Christ’s first coming at Bethlehem and continues until the last day at the end of all things when He appears in glory in the sky. What a perfect text to start the Advent of a new year!
We begin with the glorious vision of all the nations, tribes and peoples, streaming up a mountain to the Lord (2:2) to the place He has chosen to meet them (2:3) so they might hear His Word and learn of His peace (2:4). Those who have been living in the dark will now be able to “walk in the light of the Lord” (2:5).
A helpful truth for our people to consider as they are waiting for the Lord’s final arrival is to develop the truth that He has already come down and is present with us now whenever we gather in this place of worship. When we hear His Word (2:3) and receive the Sacrament for the forgiveness for our sins we receive His peace (2:4) now, even as we anticipate His final Advent. The House of the Lord is still the place we stream to and gather at to meet with God in His promises given to us freely in Christ. Comparing our time here with our time to come in Heaven can transform our hearer’s vision of what worship is as they begin to see how worship that happens on Sunday is a place on Earth that Heaven touches with grace.
Now, we have two options for a Gospel lesson, it is either Matthew 24:36-44 or 21:1-11. I would like to suggest that you go with the historic reading from 21:1-11, which is also the assigned reading for Palm Sunday. The reason for this choice is because Matthew 24 pairs thematically with the epistle reading while Matthew 21 fits nicely with Isaiah. Think about it, everything Zechariah (quoted in the Gospel lesson), David (the Introit from Psalm 118 for the day), and Isaiah (our Old Testament text) see coming is when Jesus Himself comes into Jerusalem, up Mount Zion, where He is bringing the messianic Kingdom in order to “save us” (Psalm 118 and Hosanna)! Jesus takes a crowd down the Mount of Olives and leads them up to the place where God will save us.
Comparing our time here with our time to come in Heaven can transform our hearer’s vision of what worship is as they begin to see how worship that happens on Sunday is a place on Earth that Heaven touches with grace.
We are all waiting eagerly for the Christmas Manger in Advent, but we must see the Word made flesh’s (strange the think about) final destination. Jesus the Messiah has come, will come, and is here with us every time we gather in this place around His Word preached and His Sacraments given. This first Sunday of Advent we are in the right place at the right time to hear about the day to come, the day He came, and the day of grace we have right here and right now because of Christ.
A compare and contrast structure would do nicely with a sermon on this Old Testament text. This is mostly because Isaiah himself sees a contrast between the day to come and the day he is in right now. Using that to connect with our hearers longing for the day to come and then comparing it to what we have now by grace in Christ will paint a powerful picture of God’s work in our lives as the Lord of all things and our coming King.
“This structure systematically explores relevant similarities and/or differences between two topics in order to accomplish a purpose for the hearer. In this sermon, the purpose of comparing/contrasting is crucial. While proverbial wisdom says that you cannot compare apples and oranges, the preacher responds that you most certainly can, depending upon what your purpose is. The sermon, thus, does more than simply inform hearers of similarities and/or differences. It uses that information for a purpose, and that purpose often makes a difference in their lives. For example, one could compare/contrast the teaching in an adult bible class with the teaching in the Sunday sermon for the purpose of encouraging hearers to attend both worship and bible class.
In presenting this information to the hearers, the preacher has a choice of two approaches. He can work whole-to-whole (in other words, offering all the individual items of one topic before proceeding to a listing of the individual items of another topic: A1, A2, A3 and B1, B2, B3). For example, the preacher may compare and contrast Mary and Martha or the Pharisee and the Publican. Or the preacher can work part-to-part (in other words, offering one item from each topic and then proceeding to the next item: A1/B1, A2/B2, A3/B3). In part to part, a larger theme will be present for the hearers that slowly unfolds through the comparison. For example, the preacher may articulate the theme of repentance by comparing and contrasting Peter and Judas or he may articulate the theme of preaching the Kingdom of God by comparing and contrasting John the Baptizer and Jesus.
The choice of approach is often based on the balance of information you have and what you desire your hearers to remember. Whole-to-whole encourages them to remember the topics (like, Mary and Martha); part-to-part encourages them to remember the items that compose the topics (like, the stages of temptation found in both the fall of Eve and the fall of David into sin).”[1]
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out out 1517’s resources on Isaiah 2:1–5.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching Isaiah 2:1–5.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
The Pastor’s Workshop-Check out all the great preaching resources from our friends at the Pastor’s Workshop!
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[1] https://concordiatheology.org/sermon-structs/thematic/comparisoncontrast/
