Advent 2020 (day 1 of 26)

November 29, 2020 (Sunday) 

     Today is the first day of “Advent.” It’s only 26 days before Christmas. Soon the nightmare known as 2020 will be over, and we will be starting the nightmare known as 2021. Doesn’t it just feel that way?

     Seriously, are you ready for it to end? Isaiah must have felt something like this when he cried out, “If only you would tear open the heavens and come down!” [Isaiah 64:1a CEB] The word translated “tear” carries several ideas. The two important ideas here are the unexpected suddenness of the action and the certainty of the violence.

     This is the Old Testament reading for this day on the liturgical calendar. It strikes me as prophetic. This world is desperate for solutions. We are tired of this virus. We are fed up with the threat of war. We are just exhausted from the reality that humans are incapable of understanding, let alone curing, our problems. Our fear and desperation should cause us to look outside our box (coffin) for answers.

     We need a savior. The cry of Isaiah is a prayer that God would show up and tear through our problems. We need God to shred, tear up into tiny pieces, and mulch the nonsense of this world. This virus is just one of many things needing solved. That happens when God shows up, personally, physically, and in power.

     Describing the human condition, Isaiah continues, “We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.” [Isaiah 64:6 NLT] I like-hate the image used in the NLT of “infected.”

     Sin is like a virus that has infected all of us to deadly consequences. Even our righteousness is nothing better than a “menstrual rag.” That’s the literal translation of “filthy rags.” Strange we should celebrate the merits of our righteous actions like they were awesome. Trouble is, from God’s perspective, they are nothing but gross, disgusting, and putrid examples of what humanity produces.

     Isaiah continues, “No one calls on your name; no one bothers to hold on to you, for you have hidden yourself from us, and have handed us over to our sin.” [Isaiah 64:7 CEB] In Romans 1, Paul says that God hands us over (abandons) us to our sinful desires, ways, and thinking. Ouch. We have our heads stuck so far up our self-importance we are blind to the truth, the answer, the only cure for what really makes us sick. His name is Jesus.

     The solution is to throw ourselves on the mercy of God. We are not the master of our own destiny. In fact, “We are the clay, and you are our potter.” [Isaiah 64:8b] Kind of hard to admit, eh? In verse 9, Isaiah pleads, “Do not be angry beyond measure, Lord; do not remember our sins forever.” [Isaiah 64:9a NIV] Our ONLY hope rests in the mercy, grace, and love of God. His name is Jesus.

     Advent is a time of expectation and preparation for Jesus. He’s already arrived in history. Jesus has promised to return. This will be a time of judgement, or as Paul put it, “For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.” [2 Corinthians 5:10 NLT] While salvation is always based on grace, judgement is always based on works.

     The question today is, has Jesus arrived in your heart?