This evening, I will be preaching on Isaiah 62:6 – 12 as a Christmas Eve passage. This is a little different sitz im leben for this passage than I have used before. It is in the lectionary list for the Christmas services, and this seems to be the right passage for this evening.
While most Christmas sermons try to travel from the what (the story of Christmas, or the prophecies about Jesus) to the lives of the parishioners, this passage will have to travel from the why (the promises of God for the restoration of his people and, indeed, the entire creation) to a place of prophetic action and response.
In vv. 6 – 7, the prophet speaks of his own actions and desires. He has posted watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem. They are to keep watch for the coming of the Lord. They call back and forth to see whether the others have seen the Lord coming. Therefore, all day and all night they shall not be silent. This prophetic action could indeed have taken place: Isaiah could have done this in reality, not just in writing.
Then he speaks to the intercessors – who could also be the watchmen, it is not clear – those who call upon the Lord (YHWH) - who remind the Lord (YHWH) of his promises. They are to take no rest (like the watchmen, if they are not actually the watchmen in mixed metaphor or extended analogy) until the Lord establishes Jerusalem. They are supposed to keep up their call and cry and reminder to the Lord (YHWH) and not give him any rest until he follows through. In this way, they engage in a holy nagging of the Holy One of Israel.
Vv. 8 – 9 are the recounting of the promise YHWH has made to his people, a promise secured with an oath sworn upon his own strength. God promises that the grain the people have sown, and the vineyard work they have engaged in will not go to waste or be stolen. Those who have labored for it and gathered the fruit will praise YHWH and partake of it in his temple.
We do this prophetic action in communion through the offerings and the participation in the bread and cup at the table. They are all connected. We praise God in his temple and praise God for his salvation in that bread and cup by offering up to him that which he has given to us, that which he has restored to us.
Our worship is the reminder to God – especially our prayers – that God has promised to us to do certain things, and that we desire him to do those things he has promised.
Our labor is not to continue in vain – both our physical labor and our spiritual labor. Over and over again, our finances have gone to waste. Our jobs have disappeared, going to others who hate us. Some of this has been our own fault, other of this has been the responsibility of others. The scriptures affirm that no person has clean hands in this world. We live in a world full of broken promises – which are a form of theft, in this case. “Til Death Do Us Part” is only one of the many. Some have been promised retirement incomes. Some have been promised jobs. Others have been promised other things, and they have not received them.
God’s promise is that he will restore all things and we will no longer have to experience that kind of privation. But we can also take this spiritually. Our spiritual seeds we sow will not be taken by our enemies, or by the Enemy. Our spiritual fruit of our labors will not be taken by others. Instead, our seed will become our grain; our grapes will become our wine, and it will be something for which we praise God at all times and in all places because we are the Temple of the Lord. When we talk to others about Jesus, that’s a seed. When we do something in the name of Christ for someone else, that’s a seed. And as we see the fruit, God will continue to bless us – as long as we continue to praise him for providing it.
We, therefore, are the ones keeping watch and the ones reminding the Lord to fulfill his promises. We keep watch through worship and prayer primarily. We should not skimp on either of them. Our prophetic actions tonight are through the light in darkness, providing food for the poor, celebrating in tithes offerings and communion at the table, and taking our light out into the world.
V. 10 invites the people to action, to do what must be done for the coming of the Lord (YHWH). But it is not just YHWH they are expecting. They are expecting those who have been scattered to return, and for all peoples to come worship the Lord with them. Therefore, the people are supposed to go prepare the way, with the assumption that they will be having a lot of traffic soon.
Building up the highway keeps it from getting muddy and slowing down the traffic. In fact, it keeps the road from being basically impassible. Clearing it of stones means that there will be no impediment to people who are coming into the city.
Banners are more than just festivity – they are a sign of the king’s rule over the city. They welcome people, but they also declare that the King is on his way.
Vv. 11 – 12 are a continuation of God’s promise: salvation is coming, his reward and his payback (or repayment) are with him. The people once called so unholy that they had to go into exile are now called “holy and redeemed of the Lord” and the city shall be a city that others seek to be in, not forsaken and left behind.
This is a huge promise for our area, if this does apply: our city has been known for economic depression and government corruption. It has been known as an area depleted of population because people are leaving. Instead of forsaking the city, God’s promise is restoration, that others seek to be a part of. This is the Word of the Lord.
How is this Christmas? This baby whose coming we celebrate is the Lord who has done this and is doing this and will do this. His cross and resurrection have saved us and it is he who will do the rest of his promises to us, his people. Let us confess our unholiness and our forsakenness and receive his forgiveness, holiness and restoration.