Being Ready

Being ReadyFirst Sunday of Advent 2013

Let us walk in the light of the LORD! Isaiah 2:5

Advent is a time of preparation.• God will return to “Jerusalem.”• Will we be ready?

Isaiah 2 is written to provide hope for those who repent and turn back to God.

God will return to live in Jerusalem with his people, those who walk in the “light of the LORD.”

2 In the last days, the mountain of the LORD’s house will be the highest of all— the most important place on earth. It will be raised above the other hills, and people from all over the world will stream there to worship.

3 . . . For the LORD’s teaching will go out from Zion; his word will go out from Jerusalem.4 The LORD will mediate between nations and will settle international disputes.

They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore.5 Come, descendants of Jacob,let us walk in the light of the LORD!

The picture in Isaiah 2 can only be understood fully in the context of God’s charges against his people in Isaiah 1.

Jon Foreman – “Instead of a Show”(C) 2008 Credential Recordings

I hate all your show and pretense The hypocrisy of your praise 

The hypocrisy of your festivals I hate all your show 

Away with your noisy worship Away with your noisy hymns 

I stop up my earswhen you're singin' 'em 

I hate all your show 

Instead let there be a flood of justice An endless procession of righteous

living, living Instead let there be a flood of justice

 Instead of a show 

Your eyes are closedwhen you're prayin' 

You sing right along with the band You shine up your shoes for services 

There's blood on your hands 

You turned your back on the homeless And the ones that don't fit in your plan 

Quit playin' religion games There's blood on your hands

Instead let there be a flood of justice An endless procession of righteous

living, living Instead let there be a flood of justice 

Instead of a show I hate all your show

Let's argue this out If your sins are blood red 

Let's argue this out You’ll be white as the clouds

Let's argue this outQuit fooling around

Give love to the ones who can't love at all 

Give hope to the ones who've got no hope at all 

Stand up for the ones who can't stand at all 

I hate all your show . . .

Instead let there be a flood of justice An endless procession of righteous

living, living Instead let there be a flood of justice 

Instead of a show I hate all your show

Come, descendants of Jacob,let us walk in the light of the LORD!

Isaiah 2:5

More than 700 years after Isaiah, Jesus came and warned his disciples that God would return to Jerusalem to complete the purifying judgment foretold by Isaiah (e.g., Matthew 24).

This judgment happened in 70 A.D., within a generation of Jesus’ 1st Advent.

The Apostle John develops Isaiah’s vision of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21-22.

Jerusalem is not just a city, but God’s people, the bride of the Lamb.

And God’s people are formed and sustained by the light of God and the Lamb.

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared . . . 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.”

9 Then one of the seven angels . . . said to me, “Come with me! I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”10 So he took me in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. 

22 I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. . . . 24 The nations will walk in its light . . .

“Come, descendants of Jacob,let us walk in the light of the LORD!”Isaiah 2:5

“I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” John 8:12

We live in the time after God’s cleansing of Jerusalem, in anticipation of its (our) future restoration.

For us to “be ready” is to find our life fully in Jesus, who is the “Lamb of God” and the “light of the LORD.”It is also to learn to live as God’s representative people, displaying God’s character (e.g., justice) to the world.

Advent, then, is a time of discipline and reflection for us to recognize that we, like Israel, do not always live in accordance with God’s kingdom.

A “homeless” bishop . . .

Advent is a time of turning back to the Lord as we live together in anticipation of God’s restored world, seeking first God’s kingdom and righteousness, here and now.

May your Kingdom come soon.May your will be done on earth,as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10

12 So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. . . . 14 clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.Romans 13

Come, Harvest, let us walk in the light of the Lord!We will walk in Jesus, who is the light of the Lord.Let us throw off our dark deeds like dirty clothes.We will clothe ourselves with Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.Amen!