Presented to The Salvation Army: Alberni Valley Ministries, 05 Dec 2021, 10 Dec 2023, and 08 Dec 2024 by Major Michael Ramsay (and 614 Warehouse Mission in Toronto on 10 December 2017)
To see the 2023 version, click here: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2023/12/isaiah-401-8-28-31-luke-31-6-straight.html
To see the 2021 version, click here: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2021/12/luke-31-6-isaiah-401-8-straight-paths.html
To See the 2017 version, click here: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2017/12/isaiah-401-8-sometimes-buildings-need_9.html
It is
Christmas Season, there are so many great events going on. When we were
stationed in Toronto, we participated in the Santa Shuffle, an annual fun race
put on by The Salvation Army. When I lived in Vancouver, I faithfully ran every
second day. I lived about 5km from my office – I used to run there and back. In
Winnipeg I lived almost 10km from the College; a colleague and I ran there a few
times. In Toronto I would run past our current DC’s (Lt.-Col. Jamie Braund’s)
quarters regularly and here in Port Alberni I even ran a little bit. Running
can be fun – but when you get out of the habit and have to start again, it can
be a chore. And running here, sometimes those hills can feel like mountains and
those valleys, ravines. I can remember when I was first learning to
run, being near the end of my run and my energy... rounding a corner and
seeing... another hill to try to run up...I then understand Luke 3:4-6 and
Isaiah 40:3b-5:
“...make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
This
is a great verse to ponder when you are running up and down hills and around
curves, looking towards a time when obstacles will disappear. This is part of
the Good News of Luke 3 and Isaiah 40. This is the Good News that John the
Baptist proclaims: when Jesus returns with His Kingdom, obstacles will be
removed. As during Advent we commemorate waiting for Jesus’ birth, we also hope
for His return so our mountains of trouble will be levelled, and our valleys of
despair will be raised to abundance. The crookedness of our paths will be
straightened. That is our hope.
Last
week we lit the candle of hope. Today we lit the candle of peace. One of the
key things about hope and peace in the context of Isaiah and Luke is that both
are to and from God and an humbled people, a conquered people, an exiled
people. There is no hope when you are on top of the world...only fear that you
will fall – and where there is fear there is no peace.
Today,
the world is full of fear.
When
we lived in Swift Current Saskatchewan, I believe each Christmas we would raise
more money per capita for The Salvation Army than any other place. (It is why I
always try to raise $200 000 here – because I raised more than that there well over
a decade ago.) At first this was a victory – and then it was almost a fear for
me. What happens if we are not the best? What if someone beats us? What if I do
not beat my previous record? What if I fail?
It was
the same in university, I did achieve good grades and made the Dean’s list and
graduated with distinction – but I did become distracted by getting good marks
and once I became addicted to ‘A+’s, a ‘B’ was infuriating. There was no
inherent joy in achievement anymore only a fear of failure – and fear can stomp
out hope and it kills peace.
It was
not always like that though in school: I remember a time when I would hope and
pray and celebrate even a passing grade. I remember High School French. The
only French words I remember from that year we’re ‘ne lancer pas la papier’
which means ‘don’t throw the paper’. Apparently the teacher didn’t like that we
threw paper airplanes in class. Every time we made one, we could hear her say,
‘ne lancer pas la papier’.
I
don’t think I was her favourite student. One day I was in the counselling
alcove and I saw her and she asked me what I was doing. I told her I was
switching out of her class in 3rd period... ‘That is a very good idea to switch
out of my class’, she said. ‘...to your class in fourth period,’ I continued.
She was not impressed.
Don’t
we all have stories of a more carefree time? Look back on those times: these
are usually times when you didn’t have a lot except the love of a few good
friends and the hope that the future will be better. There is a lot of freedom
in not having much. Is it Janet Joplin who sang that freedom is just another
word for nothing left to lose?
Sometimes
this is right. Sometimes I think we get to a place of fearing loss so much that
we no longer have peace, we no longer have hope, and we no longer have love.
Sometimes when we do have enough to get by, we don’t share what is ours for
fear that we might not have something. This is reflected very much in tithing.
When a person who has tithed or knows they should tithe, does not tithe... this
is a sign that we are not doing well. This is a symptom that we are not free
and at peace but instead bound up in fear or pride or something else that keeps
us from tithing. I remember when we were Corps Officers in Tisdale, there was
Ralph. He had a limited income. As a guessed example, he only made $52.30 a
week and every week he tithed $5.23. This is an example of love. This is an
example of our hope in the Lord. I think of him when sometimes I fear for my
finances. I can choose peace and hope instead.
Fear
can rob us of hope. Fear can rob us of love. Fear does rob us of
peace. Our candle today is peace and peace is the opposite of fear.
Today the world is full of fear. Jesus is the Prince of Peace! And He is who we
are waiting for in Advent.
In
Advent we talk about the Good News of the Salvation of the world. Do you know
where in the Bible this Good News shows up for the first time? Genesis 12:1-3:
“All the nations of the earth will be blessed” and do you know what happens
just before... Genesis 11: the tower of Babel. God told the people to move and
fill the earth. The people said, ‘No. We are going to stay here, build a city
and a tower, and make a name for ourselves instead.’ God levelled their tower,
their city; their pride and their fear, in order to give them the hope of
salvation.
Isaiah
records how God’s temple was destroyed, the holy city Jerusalem, and the
independent nations of Israel and Judah were destroyed and, through this, God
provided them with hope. In Isaiah comes this hope of flattened mountains,
raised valleys, straight paths and the true peace that can only come from
trusting God.
There
are many things in our world, our country, our province, our time, and our life
that are coming crashing down all around us these days. We can still have peace
even in the midst of it all. God loves us. There have been quite some
troubles in the world recently – wars, some of which we are actively provoking,
promoting, pursuing, and engaging in – sending arms and (our allies) troops.
There are other things happening right here – in our very neighbourhood. For
those of us who are experiencing life tumbling down around us it can feel as if
we are in exile in our own lives, for those of us who are fearing or grieving,
for those of us who feel like all is lost, God is here. When the people were
scattered from the ruins of Babel, God was there with Terah and his son,
Abraham, offering salvation. When Israel was slave to Egypt, God was there with
Moses offering salvation; when Judah was exiled from her city, her temple, and
her life, God was there pointing her towards Salvation: Jesus’ Advent; Jesus,
whose imminent return we eagerly await today, when he returns all the
insurmountable mountains in our life will be levelled, all the impassable
valleys raised, and all our crooked paths made straight – and right up until
that time, right until the end of this age, He is here with us in the midst of
it all.
It is
Advent. Let us start and let us continue living our lives in hope, in peace and in love. Let us all walk
in God’s hope, God’s love and God’s peace, for we know He will see us through
and we know He is with us even as we look forward to the day of Christ’s return
when all those valleys will be raised, all those mountains will be levelled and
all our paths will straightened for ever more.
Let us
pray.
Posts
