Are We There Yet? Matt Lorfeld
Psalm 130 Advent 4 - 12/23/2007

The Word of God which engages us this morning is from our Introit, which comes from Psalm 130 verses 5-8.

⁵ I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,

and in his word I hope;

⁶ my soul waits for the Lord

more than watchmen for the morning,

more than watchmen for the morning.

⁷ O Israel, hope in the Lord!

For with the Lord there is steadfast love,

and with him is plentiful redemption.

⁸ And he will redeem Israel

from all his iniquities.

Are we there yet?

After all, it has been 30/1 shopping days since Thanksgiving. We have been in Advent now for going on 4 weeks. And while this Advent season has sped by for some, we find ourselves here today still waiting. We wait with anticipation and with hope, in just two days we will celebrate our savior's birth.

For the people of Israel this waiting was unbearable. It had been 430 years since the last prophet had spoken. God was silent and all that the people were left with was a simple promise. There would be a messenger who would point the way to the promised one, the Messiah, the Savior of the Nations. And this Messiah would be a king whose reign would last forever and He would deliver God's people from their oppressors.

But that was 430 years ago. Israel had seen conqueror after conqueror. Alexander the Great, Pompey, Ptolemy, it seemed as if nothing had changed. They had also seen their fair share of tyrants. In their time they had seen Antiochus Epiphanies who desecrated the temple and ordered the Jews to worship him or die and they now, even one of their own, Herod the Great ruled as a tyrant puppet of Caesar Augustus who was more concerned with building palaces and cities for himself than he was for the welfare of his own people.

Each of our lives are filled with anticipation. How many of you are looking forward to opening those Christmas presents in a couple days? How many of you are looking forward to seeing loved ones once again?

This anticipation isn't just for the Christmas season, in each season of our lives we look forward to things. Young children look forward to the first day of school. Teens look forward to the day when they get their drivers license and not too far after that there is high school graduation then College or work, weddings, child births, buying that first house.

At other times we anticipate the day when certainty clears out uncertainty. We anticipate the results from the biopsy, we anticipate that call or letter from one of the 100 jobs we applied for, and we desperately want to hear from our loved ones who are serving overseas in the military. In cases like this, any news is good news. The news brings with it clarity.

On this last day of Advent we find ourselves listening in to the news that the angels bring to Joseph. As Pastor pointed out last Wednesday, Joseph must have been in what seemed to be an impossible predicament. His bride to be was pregnant, and he knew that he was not the father of this child. Yet because he was an honorable man, he decided not to have her cast out or stoned, but instead decided to divorce her quietly. But then that night came the news... The angel said to Joseph, "do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." Instead of uncertainty, Joseph found clarity in the words of the angel.

Clarity is a hard thing for us to find though. After all, it has been 1900 years since the last book in the Bible was written. The Advent season is one where we not only hear about the promised birth of the Messiah, but it is also a season in which we hear about His return. The hard thing is that we haven't heard anything new. No new prophets, no special revelation, no road to Damascus event such as Paul had. 1900 years is a long time to wait. Frankly, it makes even the longest trip to Aunt Judy's or Grandma's house seem short.

In the back of our heads we wonder, "are we there yet?" When will Jesus come again? The waiting is hard... But does it have to be?

Long road trips can be difficult, especially if we are told to just sit still, be quiet and keep our hands to ourselves. But often when traveling, parents will help the children occupy their time. Some play games with the alphabet or license plates, though that was before DVD players became almost standard in minivans. Some children read. Other children like myself just need a pillow, blanket or a rolled up sweatshirt and will sleep the entire way there.

So how are we passing our time? Are we sitting idly by? With a world that loves Christmas but not the Christ, sometimes the answer is yes. Sure we are supporting the local Hispanic mission and sending part of our offerings to places like Botswana so that people may have the word of God in their own language. These are great things and you should certainly be commended for them. While this is good, is your heart in it? Probably not, instead many of us dread our jobs, even though we obsess about them, and spend little if any time fixing our eyes on Jesus and digging into His Word.

Brothers and sisters, it does not have to be this way. We have been given new life in Christ. Because of this our jobs, as tedious as they may be can be ones in which we serve our neighbor in love. We can spend time in personal and family devotions fixing our eyes on Jesus and teaching our Children about the hope we have in Him. Our lives do not have to resemble sulking quietly in anger in the back seat hating every minute of the journey.

Going on a road trip from the back seat is a difficult task. You really can't control the speed of the car, or what roads are taken. You don't get to have the map like the navigator in the passenger seat does. You are just along for the ride, and yet every once in a while you get a glimpse of hope. One of those big green rectangular signs that tells you how many miles are left to go until you reach the city where your destination is. And as you approach that destination, on the horizon you see a familiar sight, maybe it's a water tower, or that skyline with skyscrapers.

There is a hope that we have as we await our Lord's return, our destination. Our hope is in the Word that He has given us. His Word shines out like a bright beacon, and it shines pointing us to Christ. Previously Israel hung onto this Word for 430 years as they waited for their Messiah. Now we have the Word of Christ himself. We can be sure that He will come through on His Word. Just look at the track record:

Look at the Old Testament reading for today:
Isaiah 7:14 "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."

And it happened just as it was promised, the virgin Mary conceived and bore a son.

Listen to what Isaiah says about this same Messiah
Isa 53:2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.
Isa 53:3 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Isa 53:4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
Isa 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.
Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Isa 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
Isa 53:8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?
Isa 53:9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Isa 53:10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
Isa 53:11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.

And it happened just as it was promised.

Listen to the very words of Jesus to his disciples in Matthew 17:22-23: "The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day."

And it happened just as it was promised.

Finally Jesus has promised you that you will not be alone, that He will be with us always. In water poured, in body eaten, in blood drank, in the Word as you hear it, He will come to you. He has promised that He will come again, and when He does your bodies will be raised in a glorious resurrection just like His.

It will be just as He promised.

And so a promise isn't so bad. We come back here and are reminded of that promise, a promise that gives us hope and a promise that gives us life. Look again at Psalm 130, O people of St. John's, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. And He will redeem you His people from all your iniquities.