Time is Coming: The Path of Hope

First Sunday of Advent

Scripture: Jeremiah 33:14-16

The prophet Jeremiah was delivering his message from prison. How did he get there? He told King Zedekiah that because of Judah’s idol worshipping, sinful ways they would be carried off as slaves, the land would be taken, and all they had would be lost. Imagine a guest preacher coming here today telling you that because America has lost its focus, become materialistic, given up on the right to freedom of speech and because of that God was going to give Osama Ben Laden the power to conquer our country, make us slaves and we would never be America again. You’d be a little ticked off. You might not even invite him to stay for snackies! If you were a King, you might put him in jail.

One of the reasons most people don’t read the whole book of Jeremiah is because he was so gloomy. While sitting in prison he comes up with something we need to hear on a day like today – a message of hope. Jeremiah is telling us things that give us hope in this holiday season and hope in our lives.

The Day Will Come – Jeremiah advises them the day will come when it will all change. When God is no longer willing to allow the slavery to continue and will bring God’s people back to their focus. The day will come for us when we lose the greed and oppression of this world. Its going to happen, Jeremiah says. It’s going to happen here too. We can continue to walk forward in confidence and surety. The day will come for our hope, and our future. The day will come for our healing, our relationships, our jobs, and our journey to move forward. The day will come when we will go to heaven, and the day will come when we will bring heaven to earth.

It Will Be Different – “I will create a branch from the line of David in those days”, God says through the gloomy profit. It’s not going to be one of the old branches. It’s not going to be the same leaves from the same tree. Its going to be a whole new branch, grafted in. God is going to change this Christmas for you. God is going to change your life for you. We all have our holiday routines and rituals – but not this year. This year we are doing something new. This year we are going forward in hope to see Christ’s birth through new eyes and ideas. This isn’t Christmas like Grandma used to make. This will be Christmas like God makes it.

It will be God – “A new name will be given”, Jeremiah continues. And what is the catchy new name of this project to save the people, and return them to the focus of their faith and life? The Lord Is Righteous. I have to admit, it’s not very catchy. I would have preferred something more marketable – like “Jehovah Jamboree” – but God’s not about marketing, or getting “buy-in”. God’s interested in coming to earth as a child who grows up to be a rabbi, dies to be a savior, and returns in spirit to be the bridge of connection. This Christmas will have a new name, and it will be God’s name, God’s time, God’s plan. God has enough space for candy canes, silver bells and Best Buy sales – but those will never take the place of the manger. This year, commit yourselves to remembering your focus, renewing your first love and name this season by a new name.