This past Sunday, November 30th, was the first Sunday of Advent, the first Sunday in the new Church year. Our theme this year at Concordia is based on four readings from the prophet Isaiah. The text for the first Sunday in Advent was Isaiah 64:1-9, The Light of Intervention.
Go ahead, and read our text for today.
It’s not really all that uplifting of a text is it? It’s actually quite rough to try to read through. I would invite you to read Isaiah 63, the passage just before our text today. Notice anything? It would seem that Isaiah isn’t really proclaiming the truth of God’s Word and promises in the most uplifting of situations either. In fact, it seems, Isaiah is talking to a people of God that has again doubted God, walked in the opposite direction, denied His commandments, and really questioned whether He is even God or not. So, it’s actually not all that surprising that our reading from Isaiah 64 isn’t the most uplifting either.
Let me ask you this: has anyone pointed out when you’ve been doing something wrong? How’d that go? Most of us get quite defensive and angry when somebody tries to point out that we are doing something wrong, we end up blaming them for going about the whole situation in the wrong way- even if they actually did it the right way. That’s the problem with an intervention. Even done to actually save somebody’s life, it always points out to us what’s wrong, in order to bring about redemption of the situation.
In Isaiah 64, the prophet is calling God to intervene in the situation…to stop the bad that is going on, to actually save His people. Isaiah knows its going to be painful, even for him. God’s absolute truth doesn’t play favorites, instead it levels the playing field- we’ve all failed. God’s intervention was going to affect all people, not just some. But, Isaiah, by the leading of the Holy Spirit, knew that was what needed to be done for redemption to take place.
So, how did God intervene? Well, He redeemed the people out of Babylon after 70 years in Exile. But, that wasn’t the ultimate intervention. That came in His Son Jesus Christ. That came as Jesus hung on the cross and breathed His last for our sinfulness, and it came when He burst open the tomb on Easter morning once and for all conquering sin, death and the devil. God’s intervention wasn’t to shame us or make us feel guilty, but to actually save our lives, both here and in eternity. After all, that is why you intervene right? To save somebody’s life. That’s exactly what God has done by intervening in our lives through His Son Jesus Christ.
In true intervention style, Jesus’ intervention does point out our sinfulness- if it wasn’t real, He wouldn’t have needed to die. But, it also show’s His amazing love for us- for Him to do what we could not do. Because of that, in God’s intervention in Jesus Christ, there is always hope.
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