The Joy of the Unexpected: Last Sunday's Sermon

The Readings

Old Testament

Isaiah 35:1-10

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,
the desert shall rejoice and blossom;

like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly,
and rejoice with joy and singing.

The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.

They shall see the glory of the Lord,
the majesty of our God.

Strengthen the weak hands,
and make firm the feeble knees.

Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
"Be strong, do not fear!

Here is your God.
He will come with vengeance,

with terrible recompense.
He will come and save you."

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

then the lame shall leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.

For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;

the burning sand shall become a pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of water;

the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp,
the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

A highway shall be there,
and it shall be called the Holy Way;

the unclean shall not travel on it,
but it shall be for God's people; no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray.

No lion shall be there,
nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;

they shall not be found there,
but the redeemed shall walk there.

And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
and come to Zion with singing;

everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain joy and gladness,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

The Epistle

James 5:7-10

Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

The Gospel

Matthew 11:2-11

When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”

As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written,

‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.’

“Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

The Sermon

The Joy of the Unexpected

In the first reading Isaiah paints a beautiful picture of how it's going to be. The desert shall rejoice and blossom. People who are weak shall be made strong. The eyes of the blind shall be opened. The lame will leap like a deer. The ears of the deaf will be unstopped. God's people will go down a holy highway and it shall be straight and true. The people will no longer go astray.

It all sounds so wonderful and we just have to patiently wait for it.

In the reading from James, he tells us to be patient for the Lord's coming just as the farmer waits for his crop to bear fruit. He tells us not to grumble against others lest we be judged ourselves.

The Jewish people have been waiting a long time and if the rumors are true then the wait is almost over. The messiah, the anointed one has arrived. But, there are those who still have their doubts and John the Baptist is one of them.

Somehow, from his jail cell he sends a messenger to Jesus and he asks him, are you truly the messiah? John may have his doubts. After all, he has been telling his own followers that the messiah would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. He would separate the wheat from the chaff and he would send the chaff into the fire. John was expecting a different kind of messiah.

Jesus sends a message back to John saying, “ Tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the poor have good news brought to them.”

Jesus goes on to say he is not the kind of king or messiah they were expecting. He doesn't wear flowing robes. He has no plans to live in a palace. He is otherworldly. He is not attached to the things of this world and they should not be either.

He is telling them they need to change their image of who a savior is and what a savior does.

We do that a lot throughout our lives. When has something like a vacation, turned out exactly the way you planned? When Sherry and I went on our honeymoon to Greece we had all of these wonderful plans. I bought a language tape to teach me the basics of speaking Greek. Sherry bought more luggage so that we could comfortably bring all our stuff. When the day came for the trip we were totally ready. At least we thought we were.

Then things didn't go exactly as planned. We quickly learned that hauling a trunk around Greece was not in anyone’s best interests. My practiced Greek didn't work out very well either. When I went to a ticket office to buy a ferry passage to the Greek Island of Paros. The agent misunderstood me and sold me a ticket to another Island named Poros. So we ended up on the wrong island. However, when life hands you lemons, make lemonade. It turned out Poros was a beautiful island with incredible food, beautiful lemon groves, and some of the nicest friendliest people.

Jesus was not the messiah that John and most other Jews had dreamed of. They were visioning someone quite different. They really did want a messiah who would be like a king and wear fancy robes. Someone who might even operate out of a palace.

But Jesus set John and the others straight. He said very clearly and very often that he had not come into the world to save the people from those worldly hardships they faced. He had come to save us for a heavenly and eternal kingdom.

Jesus is doing the same thing for us today. We will all face hardships in this world but Jesus and his saving grace is here for our eternal souls. Listen to him, Follow the path that Jesus has prepared for you and me. And, know that he is the messiah.

Amen