By The Rev. Dr. Paul A. Leggett
Sunday, November 28, 2010 · First Sunday of Advent
Sermon Text: Isaiah 40:3-5
Sermon Theme
The Gospel of Mark opens with three Old testament quotes. The first is the promise of God sending his messenger or angel ahead of his people (Exodus 23:20). The second is also the promise of a messenger who will prepare the way for the Lord (Malachi 3:1). The third is from the fortieth chapter of Isaiah calling us to “Prepare the way of the Lord.” The abiding message of Advent and Christmas is “Do not be afraid” (Matthew 1:20; Luke 1:13, 30, 73-74, 2:10). This is a message found originally in the prophecy of Isaiah (Isaiah 41:10). The hope and assurance here is that the Lord is coming. The Lord comes in many ways leading up to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ continues to come into our lives through his abiding presence (Matthew 28:20) and through the Holy Spirit (John 15:26) until he finally comes again in power and glory (I Thessalonians 4:16-17). To prepare the way for him is to remove the obstacles in our lives that resist his coming. This is an urgent matter. We need to be ready.
Sermon Outline
- Seduction. The world contains much that is attractive. According to Scripture everything in the world is good in and of itself (Romans 14:14, I Timothy 4:4). Those who first received Isaiah’s prophecy were Jewish captives in Babylon. They were confronted with a whole way of life that dominated the world. The great deity of Babylon was Marduk who was “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” It was he, the Babylonians believed, who had saved them by destroying the great sea monster. The Israelites were told that Marduk was their god. His worship was accompanied by “wine and feasting and laughter”. Marduk guaranteed earthly prosperity yet the Lord God reveals to Israel that he alone is God (Isaiah 44:6-8). It was He, symbolically, who destroyed the monster, not Marduk (Isaiah 27:1, 51:9-10) . The Babylonians’ hopes were false (Isaiah 41:21-24). The first readers of Mark’s gospel were surrounded by the “glory of Rome” (Matthew 4:8). The first emperor Caesar Augustus had been deified and was being worshipped as the “son of a god.” Our world, like ancient Babylon and Rome, is full of false glory (Matthew 4:8). While false gods are presented to us daily, our greatest danger is putting our hope in anything in the created world (Romans 1: 24-25). We struggle with the temptation to wait for the true God when the false gods are already here.
- Sorrow. Often one of the greatest obstacles to being ready for God is the sorrow of life. The Lord promises to watch over, preserve, and protect us (Isaiah 41:10). Yet God does not guarantee us safety and comfort in this life. He reminds us that his power is made perfect in weakness (II Corinthians 12:8). Jesus tells us that we will be rejected just as he was (Matthew 10:24-25). Paul straightforwardly tells Timothy that “all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (II Timothy 3:12; John 16:33). This world is a place of sorrow (Jeremiah 20:18). Yet here we, like the ancient Israelites, find the worship of Marduk more appealing. Marduk claimed to rescue his people from every calamity. The followers of Marduk were promised “peace and a safe haven.” There was no mention of suffering or persecution. The literal worship of Marduk has passed into the sands of time. Yet his spirit lives on in the belief that we can be spared suffering and trouble in this life. The sorrows of this life can be one of the biggest obstacles to preparing ourselves for the Lord. Only the Lord can assure us that ultimately all tears will be wiped away (Revelation 21:4).
- Self. Perhaps the greatest obstacle to our being prepared for the Lord lies in our own sense of self. We are often a mystery to ourselves. We hunger for God (Psalm 42:1) yet we easily turn to idols (Exodus 32:1). Even in Christ we can have the will to do what is right but we don’t have the power to carry it out (Romans 7:18). We can alternate between pride and despair (Luke 18:11-12, 5:8). The real problem is that too often we are trying to find joy in ourselves rather than in the Lord. We are self preoccupied, how we look, what we wear, how much we have, what other people think of us, how much money we have. The list goes on and on. We live in a world that constantly tells us to look inward. We are continually reminded of our own needs and wants. This is never more so than in the Advent season. We are told to buy, to celebrate, to indulge. Yet all of this is tied to the things of this world and how they can benefit us. Marduk built the tower of Babel. It extended up to heaven. The cry was “Let men rejoice in Marduk.” Yet God in his word gives a very different account. The tower of Babel is a failure. The Lord leaves its builders in confusion (Genesis 11:9). We need to turn from ourselves and see that only in the Lord can we find “fullness of joy” and “pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11; Matthew 16:33).
Questions for Us
- Marduk was a temptation for the ancient Israelites because he offered “wine, feasting and laughter.” He represented power and security. What are the symbols of Marduk in our world today? How do they attract us?
- How does Marduk’s false promise of “present peace and a safe haven” keep us from relying on the true God whose ultimate promises will only be fulfilled when Christ returns?
- God tells us “do not fear”. How can we live this out in an uncertain and often threatening world?
