Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
One of my favorite novels in Charles Dickens “A Tale of Two Cities”. It is set in Paris and London during the time of the French Revolution. France was the center of much of Enlightenment thought about the universal rights of all human beings which challenged the privileges of the rich and powerful throughout the world.
Society was changing because of new ideas about human rights and freedom. The old world order which was dominated by the monarchy and the nobility was being questioned. Kings had ruled by what was called “Divine Right”. This phrase “Divine Right” meant that God had established the King to rule over the people in God’s own place. By the 18th century the King of France lived more like a God than a King. His palace was a showplace – vast, elaborate, and opulent. No expense was spared to flaunt his wealth and power. The nobles lived like mini Kings in great chateaus as well. At the bottom of the heap were the poor peasants who starved or who were drafted against their will to fight in the kings’ armies.
Conditions were ripe for change. Dickens wrote: “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times, it was the age of foolishness, it was the age of wisdom, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winder of despair.”
In the church the time is Advent
We wait for Christmas – the birth of the Savior. We anticipate the joy of Christmas morning and the delight in our children or grandchildren’s eyes. Yet we know that the darkest days of the year – the winter solstice is coming too.
We wait for the return of Jesus who will come to judge the world in righteousness. This Jesus will cast the wicked into the other darkness and being in the new age of peace.
We wait in hope.
We wait in fear.
Advent had two faces. It is the best of times; it is the worst of times.
Our lesson from Isaiah seems strangely appropriate. It speaks of Jerusalem as the highest of the mountains. All nations will stream to Jerusalem, drawn by the appeal of God’s righteous laws and commandments. The nations will be instructed by God in how to order their corporate lives together. They will learn from God what good government means and just what are the values that undergird such a government. The French decided in the 18th century that government should base itself on the values of liberty, equality and fraternity – that is brotherhood. In our land we say life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Western democracies, like the United States and the Republic of France stand as beacons of hope to the whole world. In New York’s harbor this hope is symbolized in the Statue of Liberty – holding a torch, a light to lead all the nations. Lady Liberty was given to us by France’s people as an enduring reminder that the blessing of liberty is our mutual hope and the hope of all the peoples of the earth.
This week the world community set down only miles from here in a state capital to make peace. Israel and Palestine’s unresolved conflict is everyone’s problem. The world is unstable and will be unstable until there is peace between these two feuding peoples. The peace must be based on justice. The Palestinians need to have land and a means to make a decent living. The Israelis need to be sure that they will not be attacked by suicide bombers. There is a way out but it requires that faith and trust be restored.
Isaiah’s words still have a haunting beauty. He says “God shall judge between the nations and arbitrate between peoples. Then Isaiah speaks of the potential that peace promises.
War is extremely costly.
Estimates vary but the US defense spending comprises between ¼ and 1/3 of our national income. The war in Iraq has cost more than 700 billion dollars! The price is staggering.
The US prison population is over 2 million and again estimates vary, but almost half of the inmates are there because of drug use and drug addition. Yet because we carry such a burden of debt we are reluctant to spend more money on drug treatment centers. We are caught in a vicious cycle.
The word of God elsewhere in Isaiah says, “My word when it is spoken will not come back to me empty, but shall accomplish the purpose for which it is set.” In other words, God’s Word will bring change. God will bring in a new order of justice.
Peace seems terribly far away at times. Yet if we look back over the past 50 years, we have had long periods of relative peace. Europe is united a never before, they co not even check passports at the frontiers anymore – it is like crossing from Pennsylvania to Maryland or Maryland to Virginia. The people of Europe prosper and grow fat and precious resources once used for swords are now devoted to the plowshares of universal medical care.
In 1990 the Cold War ended and many of those former East Bloc nations are in the European Economic Union. It is the best of times, it is the worst of times – war in Iraq and Afghanistan sill haunts us and siphon off the wealth that could feed millions.
It is Advent
We wait for the ultimate judge. We wait for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our lesson from Matthew makes his return sound scary.
Yet who is it who will judge us?
It is he who bore our sins, who breathed forgiving love into this dying world with his last breath.
At the depth of our souls we know in spite of the progress we see, that peace will not be achieved by our human effort alone.
Peace will come when God overwhelms us with his love.
So come, Lord Jesus, come. Amen.
Who We Are