My sermon from November 28, 2021 at Park Hill Presbyterian Church, North Little Rock, AR.
A Hope is Given to Us
Isaiah 9:1-7
Our text today comes from one of the major prophetic books of the Hebrew Bible. Largely attributed to the prophet Isaiah ben Amoz, this book – or at least the first section of it – was written somewhere between 742 – 701 BCE. In other words, this text was originally composed over two thousand, seven hundred years ago. As we start this Advent season, the church will be reading a large number of texts from this prophetic book. It has been the history of our faith tradition to link Isaiah with the coming of Christ. After all, if we interpret Isaiah through a Christian lens, the chosen texts from the prophet lend greatly to the coming of a new savior. This interpretation absolutely makes sense for the church and our needs in the liturgical year. All the same, this beginning of the prophetic works of Isaiah start some seven hundred or more years before the time of Christ. And for the prophet who is responsible for the first thirty-nine chapters of this work, the world was going through drastic and chaotic changes.
The text we read today gives immediate clues as to the chaotic nature of the time. When Isaiah starts chapter nine, he mentions the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali being held in contempt. In 732 BCE, both areas had fallen to the Assyrians. They no longer belonged to Israel. Likewise, the areas referred to as, “way of the sea,” “the land beyond Jordan,” and “Galilee of the nations,” were Dur, Gal’azu, and Magidu, respectively, all of which had been lost to Assyria as well during this invasion. Isaiah is starting this chapter by lamenting the fact Israel is not what it once was. Foreign countries are coming in and taking it over – by force. This chapter starts off as a recognition of a changing world, lament for what it was, and hope for what it can still be. While recognizing the changing socio-political sphere of influence, Isaiah also starts chapter 9 by saying, “Nonetheless, those who were in distress won’t be exhausted.” This verse does come directly out of chapter 8, in which Isaiah is instructing the people to continue hoping, despite the surrounding darkness. If there is one message found throughout the entirety of the work of Isaiah, it is one of hope. Even as Isaiah recognizes the dark circumstances and conditions surrounding the people of Israel, the message of hope in a bright future is laced throughout the sixty-six chapters in this book.
Verses two through seven of today’s passage represent a royal song of thanksgiving, which answers the hopes of those who wait for God to act to restore righteous Davidic rule in Israel. Or, at least, this is what The New Oxford Annotated Bible tells us. Verses two and three seem to follow that same rhythm set up in verse one. “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. On those living in a pitch-dark land, light has dawned. You have made the nation great; you have increased its joy. They rejoiced before you as with joy at the harvest, as those who divide plunder rejoice.” Setting up a rhythm was important for the writers of the Hebrew Bible. They would write in a way where certain verses would link back to a previous passage in order to underline their point. In a poem, even verses might link back to the beginning exposition, while odd verses might link to the closing lines, underlining the prophet’s closing message. Here, in Isaiah, we see the author start by acknowledging the darkness in which the people live. Just like in verse one, Isaiah acknowledges the people are in a time of darkness. And, just like in verse one, there is a recognition of hope. The end of the gloom found in verse one is directly tied to a great light the people have now seen. The third verse continues the message, pointing out how the people rejoice in God’s message and will continue to do so. Using powerful images of the harvest and division of plunder, Isaiah tells the reader God is still present and working towards the greater glory of Israel. God is still working with and for the people. The structure of the writing can be taken or left. What is important, of course, is that Isaiah is not leaving the audience stuck in the realities of the world. Instead, the instruction is to look forward to what is coming. The importance of the message found in these verses is that God has not abandoned Israel, despite the current darkness. Instead, God will continue to work towards bringing that light to the people.
As we continue through this poem, we find the same pattern in verses four and five. Verse four acknowledges the realities of war: people stuck in the yoke of their burden, the staff on their shoulders, and the rod of the oppressor note the realities of military oppression. The people of Israel are under Assyrian rule. And yet, the next verse tells us all the signs of said oppressors will be fuel for the fire of God’s return to righteousness. Again, whether someone wants to spend time analyzing the rhythm of these verses and to which other parts of the text they point, is up to them. The most important part of these four verses in this poem is the acknowledgment of where the people of Israel currently are and how God is not done with them. Whatever the darkness looks like, there is always hope. Hope does not die because of a current situation. Hope lives on because we know God is still alive and we continue to hold that message in our hearts.
Now, verses six and seven change everything up just a bit. Obviously, for our Advent message, these tend to be the words that stick out most clearly when we read this text. “A child is born to us, a son is given to us, and authority will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be vast authority and endless peace for David’s throne and for his kingdom, establishing and sustaining it with justice and righteousness now and forever. The zeal of the Lord of heavenly forces will do this.” Of course, as Christians, we directly relate this message to Jesus’ coming to this world. For us, Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor. Jesus is the one linked to our Mighty God and Eternal Father. Christ is the Prince of Peace. This message works for us as we anticipate his arrival and our move into the Christmas season. For Isaiah, though, this child born was not the same messianic figure. Whether or not Isaiah was anticipating an actual Messiah is up for debate. Maybe he thought this child born to the nation of Israel was the Messiah. Maybe not. Likely, though, the prophet was referencing the birth of a new king. The message certainly was not about a savior who would be born in over seven hundred years. The people of Israel needed this aforementioned hope a more quickly. Isaiah was telling the people this new king, whomever it might be, was coming to bring the restoration of Davidic rule sooner, not later.
Sometime over summer, I came here to preach for and worship with y’all. And, at the time, I used the Lord of the Rings for a sermon illustration. Well, today we get to do it again. I do not exactly remember which part of the stories I used over summer, so I am going to run the risk of being redundant. All the same, my girlfriend and I are currently working our way through all three of the extended edition movies, so we have the joy of engaging Tolkien’s Middle-Earth once again.
Today, we are going to jump directly into the middle of the story. Particularly, we are going to talk about the end of the Two Towers, as represented in the movie versions. For those unfamiliar, this is the part of the trilogy where the story lines start to become incredibly dark. The fellowship, which was established in the first movie, has splintered and all of our protagonists are moving in different directions. Frodo and Sam continue their treacherous and tedious trek towards Mordor. They enlist the help of Gollum and encounter soldiers of Gondor. Merry and Pippin were captured by the enemy, freed, and subsequently find themselves trying to convince the Ents to engage in war. Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas start by trying to save Merry and Pippin, only to be diverted when they meet the newly resurrected Gandalf. At this point, they go to Rohan, where they save the king and help this kingdom prepare for its own military conflict with Saruman, the newly evil white wizard. Throughout each story line, the parties face daunting obstacles. They all face death at various times and first-time watchers might even believe characters parish on these journeys. Merry is barely conscious as he is being transported to the enemy. Frodo falls into a bog as he is enchanted by ancient spirits of a forgotten time. Aragorn is dragged off a cliff at the end of a battle. They are all intense story lines!
Suffice to say, all the characters survive these initial problems. Again, sorry if I am spoiling these movies for anyone. They did come out twenty years ago. You have had your chance to see them. The ultimate story lines of this particular film, though, come about as Rohan engages in the Battle for Helm’s Deep, Frodo and Sam make their way into Gondor, and Merry and Pippin meet with the Ents in Fangorn Forest. At Helm’s Deep, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli all directly engage with the hopelessness of the situation. They are with an army of a few hundred, going up against an army of at least ten thousand. Most of them with whom our heroes are fighting are farmers or stable boys. There are few warriors amongst them. Frodo and Sam have been captured by soldiers of Gondor who have discovered our heroes possess the One, True Ring. As the soldiers misunderstand the mission of the Hobbits and the need to rid the world of the ring, their desire to use it against the enemy grows. In this time, there is nothing the Hobbits can do to free themselves. They are overpowered and outmatched. Merry and Pippin try and convince the Ents to engage with the evil stemming from Saruman’s fortress, only to be told this is not the fight of the Ents. Instead, the Ents will mind their own business. In each and every one of these scenarios, the situation is hopeless. There is seemingly nothing any of our heroes can do to survive. Their missions are over, and they must accept their respective fates.
Only, in every scenario, our heroes find a way forward. As Merry and Pippin are being transported back to the edge of the forest, Pippin convinces their guide to take them a different way. This brings them to the edge of the forest that Saruman has destroyed. It breaks the heart of their Ent guide and suddenly, there is hope. The Ents march to war. As Aragorn sits in despair on the steps of Helm’s Deep, he talks to a young boy. This boy, far too young to be enlisted to fight, says there is no hope, and the people of Rohan will not live through the night. Aragorn takes the boy’s sword, affirms the worthiness of the weapon, puts his hand on the boy’s shoulder and says, “There is always hope.” He comes back to Legolas and Gimli. They all affirm their commitment to one another and how they will never give up. In Gondor, the enemy almost reclaims the Ring. As Frodo and Sam regain themselves from a momentary loss of identity, Frodo says he has lost hope. In this moment, Sam gives the most stirring speech of the entire trilogy.
“I know,” he says, “It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were, and sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy. How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad happened. But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something. Even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back only they didn’t. Because they were holding on to something.”
“What were they holding on to, Sam?” Frodo asks.
“That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for.”
Ultimately, the message of Isaiah and the messages of the protagonists of the Lord of the Rings are one in the same. No matter the situation, there is always hope. Despite Israel being conquered by the Assyrians, Isaiah told the people never to give up hope. Even if the temples had been destroyed and they were in exile under foreign rule, there is reason to believe God is still working. Even as darkness surrounds them, God is not done working in this world. Even when things were at their most dire for the heroes of the Tolkien world, there was always reason to keep moving forward. Whether it was faith in each other or some deep, moving desire to make the world better, the reason to keep putting one foot in front of the other is always there. Throughout the ages and times, these messages of hope continue to move through our lives and in our faith. As we move forward into this Advent season – into our new liturgical year – we find these messages of hope in the coming birth of Jesus. For us, the Wonderful Counselor is on his way. The Prince of Peace is coming to give us direction. God is bringing something new into this world. And even if we find ourselves in darkness as the world literally gets darker, we know this great hope is coming to us. The anticipation of something new is brought about again.
As Christians, we look to our messages of hope, found in the Old and New Testaments. We hear how God has called us into this great and wonderful journey over and over. We search through our texts and sermons and songs and find that, no matter what, God is there with this everlasting message. There is always great hope to find in this world. No matter the circumstances, God is never done working with, for, and through us. Even when it gets incredibly difficult and the world seems perilously dark around us, hope exists. Our hope in Jesus Christ exists eternally. And now, in this season of Advent, we practice the anticipation of hope and the coming of our savior. Amen.
Reformed Cam 