JOURNEY
TO THE MANGER
First
Sunday of Advent: HOPE
Illustration: Way back A. J.
Gordon was the great Baptist pastor of the Clarendon Church in Boston. One day
he met a young boy in front of the sanctuary carrying a rusty cage in which
several birds fluttered nervously. Gordon inquired, "Son, where did you
get those birds?" The boy replied, "I trapped them out in the
field." "What are you going to do with them?" "I'm going to
play with them, and then I guess I'll just feed them to an old cat we have at
home." When Gordon
offered to buy them, the lad exclaimed, "Mister, you don't want them,
they're just little old wild birds and can't sing very well." Gordon
replied, "I'll give you $2 for the cage and the birds." "Okay,
it's a deal, but you're making a bad bargain." The exchange was made, and
the boy went away whistling, happy with his shiny coins.
Gordon
walked around to the back of the church property, opened the door of the small
wire coop, and let the struggling creatures soar into the blue. The next Sunday,
he took the empty cage into the pulpit and used it to illustrate his sermon
about Christ's coming to seek and to save the lost -- paying for them with His
precious blood. "That boy told me the birds were not songsters," said
Gordon, "but when I released them, and they winged their way heavenward,
it seemed to me they were singing, 'Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed!'"
In
701 B.C, a nation of broken and displaced people of Israel, longed, hoped and
looked expectantly for a Messiah who would come and redeem them from the
tyranny of their oppressors and restore them to their homeland again.
Advent is a beautiful season of contemplation
and preparation. The message of the First Sunday of Advent is the song of those
wild birds and the cry of every broken heart. It is the song of HOPE for a
Redeemer, sung in every carol around the world this season. That is what makes advent
so meaningful. Let us take time to pause and reflect and prepare ourselves for
Advent.
During
the next few Sundays leading up to Christmas Eve, we will be following a
wonderful tradition of lighting the candles in the Advent Wreath and reflecting
on scriptures. This is an attempt to understand our historical heritage by
retracing the prophetic trial that would lead us to the Messiah. I call these
series: “Journey To The Manger: HOPE”
I A LAND OF DEEP
DARKNESS
Isaiah 9:1-2, Nevertheless,
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. The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness,[c] a light will shine.”
In eighth
century, BC during the reign of Pekah, King Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria attacked
Israel again. The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali lay in the area of
Galilee astride a major highway through Israel from the north. They, therefore,
were among the first people to be attacked from the north. We read about it in
(2 Kings 15:29.)
He also
conquered the regions of Gilead and Galilee, plunging the nation of Israel into
a deep gloom of darkness. It was one of the darkest and the most depressive
times in the History of Israel. In such a hopeless condition, God raises a
prophet named Isaiah to bring forth a message of hope and redemption. He
encourages them to put their confidence and trust in God.
There will
come a day wherein the land of deep darkness, a light will shine. The people
who walk in darkness will see a great light. God’s glory will fill the land of
deep darkness. That was the advent of ancient Israel. In the 21st
century, like in days of the people of Israel, we too experience pervasive
darkness of sin and brokenness in our world. Many people are walking, living,
and dying in darkness without ever coming into the pure Light of Hope.
III. HOPE IN A HOPELESS WORLD
Let’s look at Hope. Why is Hope
necessary for humanity? What is hopelessness?
Hopelessness is a feeling of despair. It is an emotional state in which a
person sees no hope in his or her life and feels that life is not worth living
anymore. The person feels as if things will never improve and he will never
achieve what he wants in life. He considers himself a failure. The feeling of
hopelessness is present in every patient suffering from depression and certain
other mental disorders.” That brings us to the question, what is depression? Depression is a clinical entity in which the patient is perpetually in a state of low mood. He has an aversion to performing any activity or task that he may have liked previously. The condition affects the patient’s thoughts and social behavior. Depressed people feel sad, anxious, helpless, hopeless, worthless and restless.”1
Whether we know it or not, there is so much of hopelessness in this world, and it is only increasing. Here is an excerpt from the talk on global warming by activist Greta Thunberg’s speech at the recent UN gathering. “You have stolen my dreams, and my childhood with your empty words, and yet I am one of the lucky ones. People are suffering, and people are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are at the beginning of a mass extension, and all you can talk about is money and fairytales of eternal economic growth. How dare you?[2]
Greta is a feisty Swedish young lady. When I first heard her speech, I sensed her frustration, anger, and blame over growing hopelessness in the world. I began to wonder, is there a hopeful future? Who can genuinely fix the failing ecosystems in our society? Who can keep us safe? Hopelessness is one of the leading symptoms of depression. Here are other alarming statistics of depression, which are affecting so many people around the world.
In the year 2000, according to the World Health Organization’s project The Global burden of Disease, major depression is the fourth leading cause of disability for persons aged fifteen to forty-four. The same study predicted that by 2020, depression would be the second-leading cause of disability in the world, second only to heart disease.” [3]
There is much to be learned about depression. I hope to address this topic in the future, for now, let’s understand what hope is and what does the Bible say about Hope? Hope is a feeling or state of expectation and a desire for things to improve. It is a belief in the future occurrence of something good to happen.” In this world, hope has to do with the future based on certain uncertainties and unknowns. Whereas Biblical hope has to do with Jesus Christ, what he has done, and promised. Jesus knows our future better than anyone else as He alone is our Hope.
I understand it is hard to hold on to hope when you are chronically ill when finances continue to be a struggle; when your children take different directions in life than you had hoped, and when you have marital conflicts. Are you living in a land of deep darkness? If you do, wait! Don’t give up! Don’t Quit; There is Hope, help is on the Way. Coming back to our story.
II HOPE IN THE MESSIAH. (6-7)
The Prophet Isaiah prophesied to the nation of Israel about a future Davidic king who would rule the world in righteousness and establish his eternal kingdom of peace on the earth. Isaiah 9: 6-7, “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. 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 ancient prophecy must have given broken and desolate Israel, hope to look forward to the Messiah, the deliverer King, who would set them free from their enemies. Isaiah prophecies how the future Messiah would come into this world as an innocent child, grow to be a son, and eventually would become their ruler and king.
The prophet envisions certain distinct aspects of this future Messiah. He would counsel with wisdom. He would be the Mighty God himself; he would be our everlasting Father, who would give us His endless peace as he would rule with fairness and justice from David’s throne.
Around the same time, another prophet by name Micah prophesied where exactly this future Messiah would be born. Micah 5:3, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”
The Jews had been waiting and looking intently for thousands of years for that prophesy to be fulfilled, including their most powerful king David. King David envisioned who and what this Messiah would bring forth to all the people in the world. Psalm 65: 5, “You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds, O God our savior. You are the hope of everyone on earth, even those who sail on distant seas.”
The whole essence of
the first advent was the fulfillment of those two age-old prophecies. Who was
this God, Savior and the Hope of everyone on earth that king David was talking
about? We will find answers in the coming weeks. For now, if you are struggling
with hopelessness and depression, like King David, say to your soul, “Why are
you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God;
for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” Psalm 42:11. Amen!
[1] http://www.differencebetween.net/science/health/difference-between-hopelessness-and-depression/
[2] https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/read-climate-activist-greta-thunbergs-speech-to-the-un
[3]
David B. Biebel & Harold G Koenig, “New Light on Depression.” Page 20
