The Joy of Advent
Isaiah 61:1-22

Where do you find joy in this life? I dare say joy is a rather scarce commodity at the moment. The year 2020 has been like no other in recent memory. We have had multiple natural disasters. Twelve named storms, including six hurricanes, have struck the United States. Five of those storms hit Louisiana. There have been 9,639 wildfires in California that have burned 4.5 million acres. An El Derecho windstorm that spanned seven hundred miles from Nebraska to Indiana packing winds of 110-140 miles an hour left devastation in its path back in August. And, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic has been the worst natural disaster of all. There have been plenty of man-made disasters too. The roughly equal division of the nation into two hostile camps does not bode well. The peaceful protests in our urban centers that were exploited by bad actors and devolved into riots, looting, arson, and mayhem were alarming. And, of course, the ongoing saga of the presidential election is unsettling. When looking at the nation’s current situation, it is hard to find a lot to be joyful about.

Thankfully, there is joy to be found if we narrow our focus. Our families can be a source of joy. Watching my five-month-old grandson roll over and seeing how pleased he is with himself gives me joy. Reading children’s stories to my two-year-old granddaughter in Seattle via facetime gives me joy. A simple but flavorful meal enjoyed with my wife and sons in the evening is a source of joy. And my vocation is often a cause for joy. Visiting Larry Coleman, who is recovering after being at death’s door, gave me a lot of joy. I am sure you can think of similar experiences in your family, among your friends, with your family of faith, or in your workplace that bring you joy.

The great theme of the third Sunday in Advent is joy. But the cause of joy is something far different and greater than the joy we experience in family, among friends, or with co-workers. It is a joy that transcends any peace or prosperity enjoyed by a nation (something that is in short supply for us in the present moment).

The joy of Advent is discovered and experienced in the work and word of the Messiah, the one anointed by the spirit of the Lord to bring good news. Jesus used this text from Isaiah as the basis for the first sermon of his public ministry at the synagogue in Nazareth (see Luke 4). Jesus is the anointed one speaking in and through Isaiah 61. Jesus’ work and word are to bring good news, the gospel. His message is addressed to the oppressed, the brokenhearted, the captives and prisoners, and all who mourn. The momentary and often fleeting experiences of joy we so relish in this life do not exclude us from the company of the oppressed, the bound, or the mournful. These painful realities impinge upon our lives too. It is not hyperbole when the Bible describes this life as a vale of tears.

No! The Messiah’s words and work are for everyone, for all the sons of Adam and the daughters of Eve who inhabit the ancient ruins and former devastations of this fallen world. Jesus’ words and work are for all of us.

Jesus comes to proclaim the Year of Jubilee for the human race. This is what Isaiah means when he speaks of “the year of the Lord’s favor.” Leviticus 25 describes the year of Jubilee. The enslaved were set free. Debts were forgiven. Ancestral lands were restored. It was a time of liberation and celebration. Garlands, the oil of gladness, and the mantle of praise would reassure the penitent, comfort the mournful, and revive the faint hearted.

And this is exactly what Jesus has done for us through his sinless life, sacrificial death, and glorious resurrection. This is the everlasting covenant Isaiah speaks of. We have been liberated from sin, death, and evil. Now we have beauty for the ashes of sin, the oil of joy to ease the pain of death, and a garment of praise to combat evil’s spirit of heaviness. This is the heart of the joy of Advent, but there is more.

These causes for joy are not reserved only for spiritual or eternal things. They also translate into temporal blessing. Along with the liberation of the year of the Lord’s favor, along with the Jubilee of Jesus Christ, also comes a calling from God. “They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory” (vs. 3b).

We are called to a particular way of life. We are to be oaks of righteousness, strong, sturdy trees whose roots grow deep into God’s Word and Will. We are to walk in the way of the godly; we are to fear the LORD; we are to follow the path of the righteous; we are to be wise. Like our Lord, we are to love justice and hate wrongdoing. Like Job and Daniel, we are to be blameless and upright people who fear God and turn away from evil. We are to be priests of the Lord, ministers of our God.

And through this way of life, we will display God’s glory. It is not our own doing. We are planted by the Lord, but people will see our good works and glorify our God in heaven. “Their descendants shall be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed” (vs. 9).

We are also called to be builders and repairers of society. “They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations” (vs. 4).

We need to begin to think about and pray about what God is calling us to be and do once the pandemic and our political woes are in the past. We are living in the ancient ruins, the former devastations, the devastations of many generations, in a society that is far from God. It pains me to say it, but as a nation we have perverted ourselves and worshipped idols of our own making.

Part of our work will be to proclaim the good news of God’s Jubilee in Jesus Christ. But we will also need to come alongside other people outside the circle of faith, people of good will, and work with them to rebuild the moral and spiritual center of our society. Isaiah 61:5 reads, “Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, foreigners shall till your land and dress your vines.” Alec Motyer in his commentary on Isaiah says this about verse 5. “The picture is not of a slave-state or of second-class citizenship, but of glad cooperation, of former aliens taking their place in the life of the people of God.” There is real joy in this kind of meaningful and purposeful work.

Verses 10 and 11 are the Messiah, the Lord’s anointed, speaking, not the prophet Isaiah. They begin a second song that continues through chapter 62:12. Jesus has inaugurated a new start for the human race. There is a new beginning for us. Jesus is filled with joy by the work he has accomplished and the fruit it is producing. Righteousness and justice are springing up in the wake of his Jubilee, salvation for all the nations. It is the perennial year of Jubilee.

Brothers and sisters, friends, where can you find joy in this life? Certainly, there is joy in human love, brother, sister, parent, child, friends on earth, and friends above. But there is an even greater joy in the year of the Lord’s favor. Jesus Christ has set us free from sin and death and evil. It is the Jubilee of the crucifixion and resurrection of the Son of God. Now we have beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Now we are oaks of righteousness planted by God for his glory. Now we are priests of the Lord, ministers of our God. Now we can work together to rebuild the ancient ruins of a fallen world. And leading us is the King of Joy, clothed with the garments of salvation, dressed in a robe of righteousness. And in his path life and righteousness and praise spring up to God.

Thanks be to our great God for the joy of Advent. Alleluia! Amen.