The Hopeful Branch

Jer. 33:14-16

Albertville

11-29-09

 

We’ve entered the Advent season now. It’s time to start thinking about what you want for Christmas. For kids, it is often rather simple. The stores are kind enough to send out Christmas fliers with all the latest toys that are available. And there is a lot of cool stuff out there to be had.

We adults love to see them get excited over this or that particular toy. We remember what it felt like. And perhaps we wish that we could have some of that Christmas feeling too. There’s not much that excites us that much anymore. We still have our toys and they’re cool and everything, but if it were possible to plumb the depths of our minds, and make a list of things that we really want; toys would be somewhere near the bottom. It’s not toys that we want, it’s something else.

So what is that something else? We’re not sure, but still we long for it, we long for it as much as children long for Christmas morning. What we want cannot be found in any of the Christmas fliers. We’ve learned that. What we want cannot be found in family gatherings or in festive food and drink. We’ve learned that too. What we are looking for is not for sale; we cannot buy it, nor can we make it. We cannot work for it or earn it or hoard it. And our ever-expanding government cannot give it to us either, though they often make big promises that kind of sound like they can give it to us, we would be foolish and quite naive to think they could ever really deliver it in any lasting way.

So what am I talking about? I’m not going to tell you yet. But I will tell you that it runs through and through all the scripture lessons for today, though the word itself does not occur. I’d like to re-read the old Testament lesson which is the text for this message. Jeremiah 33:14-16:

“ ‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.

 “ ‘In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land.

 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety.   This is the name by which it will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.’

 

Figured it out yet? No? Stay with me and you will.

This was written by the prophet Jeremiah, who has been called, by some, the weeping prophet. In his book his personal life and struggle are made known to us in greater depth than any other Old Testament Prophet. He was the one who foretold the demise and the destruction of Jerusalem and in fact the whole land. He was the one later who would walk among the wreckage of Jerusalem and give us the book of Lamentations. And in this book he mentions “David’s line”. David’s line is a reference to the kings that came from David and ruled Israel, mostly in corrupt ways. It was the horrible unbelief and even idolatrous behavior of the the line of David that Israel had gotten is such trouble in the first place. They were a miraculous nation in the first place...they were able to take and keep the promised land only because of God’s mighty hand. But the line of David, rejected this hand. As a result, Israel was about to be captured and led away as captives.

The line of David was spiritually dead, and the nation it was supposed to lead was nearly dead too. But wait a a minute, Would you look at that! It’s not really dead! No, there’s a branch sprouting out of the rotten stump! Vibrant, green, and full of life! He will not do evil in the sight of the Lord, like so many of his ancestors before him, No no. “He will do what is just and right” . And, of course, we know, that This is Jesus, the Son of David. He is an injection of life into an otherwise dying race. He is the great second chance for Israel and thereby also humanity. He is the last, best, and real Hope for us all.

And there it is: Hope! That’s the thing that we are longing for. That’s what caused the people of Jerusalem to excitedly go out and meet the coming Savior by throwing their cloaks on the road. This is the point of Advent and Christmas. In the darkest time of the year, when all is dim and when everything outside looks quite dead , we find trees that are still evergreen and bring them inside, we more lively decorations and more lively family gatherings than any other time during the year. Why do we do this? Because we believe that all is not lost. There is Hope! Hope for the world, hope for humanity, hope for the future.

The tree is not dead! A righteous branch grows out of it. See how supple it’s leaves are, how vibrant it’s stems;! Life will go on despite the brokenness and sinfulness of humanity! For you see this branch, has life not only in himself, but for us as well, this branch has righteousness in himself but for us as well! This is why he is called “The Lord, Our righteousness”

You see that’s the problem, it’s the sinfulness of the human race and our sinfulness too. Virtually every problem that we face; everything that takes the wind out of our sails and can make life dismal and miserable is a direct or indirect result of human sinfulness. This is why true and lasting and comprehensive hope is impossible to find in the world. Everything has been tainted by sin, including us. This is why there is no perfect job. This is why love can be such a struggle. This is why government can often be so ham-handed and silly. This is why we, though we may have everything we might possibly ever want or need are never really satisfied. This why people who are blessed with the greatest of circumstances can still feel very dismal in heart and soul.

We look and look among the the things of the earth for hope, and we find none. Oh, we’ll find little blips of it here and there. There are hopeful things that happen every so often. But none of them are comprehensive; none of them are lasting; none of them are all-pervasive in our lives; none of then can transcend the finite. In other words what hope that we might find in the world is fleeting and will decay like anything else.

In Jesus we’ve got hope that is entirely different. We have hope that will never decay; Hope that is able to transcend the finite. When finite hopes are dashed to emerge like the phoenix from the ashes. Our hope is different because it is not tied to anything in the world, it’s tied to Jesus who overcame the world. (John 16:33); we have been tied to him by our baptism, by grace and through faith. The life he lived, he lived for us, we were not able to keep God’s law perfectly, but he did. He did it for us. The death he died, he died for us. We were not able to pay the price for our sins, but he did. He did it for us. And his resurrection? Because he lives, we too shall live. Jesus endured the worst of the worst that that world has to offer and he was victorious. He overcame. St. John writes in his first epistle (1John 5:4). “Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith”

So that mysterious thing that you want for Christmas, that thing that cannot be found in any advertisement from any store; that thing that seems to transcend any attempt of yours to discover, is something that is already in your possession. It has been given to you by that righteous branch name Jesus who you were connected to by your baptism. So this Advent, and Christmas, open your eyes and behold the branch that growing, for he abounds in real and lasting hope. Hear, once again, the story of his coming, but hear it anew. Look for the hope that it brings. For that is what you are looking for. AMEN