Many people don’t like this time of year. It gets dark so early. It’s hard for us to keep our spirits high when we are used to a lot more sunshine. It’s called Seasonal Affective Disorder.

All of us suffer from some form of this condition at times in our lives. We have personal disappointments or tragedies that take the wind out of our sails and leave us stuck in the mud. These experiences rob us of our joy, especially at Christmastime. They leave us wondering if we’re walking around in darkness.

Even in our darkness, we have hope that the sun will come up soon and it will be light again. We light up the Christmas tree and we light up our houses. Light gives us hope in the midst of a dark world. Isaiah gives us that kind of hope. He spoke of the returning Messiah, one who would come to lighten our burdens, to right the wrongs, to restore all things to the way they were meant to be. This Messiah would be for everyone-Jews and Gentiles.

It has been said that the main duty of Old Testament prophets was to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted, and Isaiah 11:1-10 is an example of the latter. Isaiah speaks of the Messiah coming from the stem of Jesse; that is, He will be of the house and lineage of David, the son of Jesse. The word stem refers to a “root stock” or “stump.” The image of a stump indicates hope, for out of the stump will come a shoot or branch, the Messiah. That shoot will be fragile yet tenacious and stubborn. It will grow like a plant out of dry ground. It will push back the stone from the rock-hard tomb.

Isaiah is recalling God’s promise to David in 2 Samuel 7:16 that his descendant would rule over his kingdom. The coming King will be endowed with the Spirit of the Lord, who provides the wisdom, ability, and allegiance to God that are necessary to accomplish a challenging task.

The coming King will not just transform the social order. The earth will be extraordinarily wicked when He comes to judge and reign. He will come to strike a blow that will decide His claim to the kingdom. Nature will be restored to paradise. This peace in the animal kingdom will mirror the relief from oppressive injustice within human society. You can put people down and put obstacles in their way, but they will break through all barriers.

Wouldn’t we like to have a greater sense of peace? All of us have that God-given longing that there would be a greater sense of peace within ourselves, within our families, within our nation, and between nations. Isaiah felt the same way, and he knew how to get peace. He told the Israelites how to live at peace with each other, but they didn’t have eyes to see it, ears to hear it, or minds to understand it. The result was 700 years of fighting with each other until the Prince of Peace came to earth and walked in the paths of peace.

There is a recipe for peace:

1. We need to be filled with the Spirit of the Prince of Peace. We need to have the very Spirt of God, alive, full, and vibrant.
2. Any time the Spirit of the Prince of Peace lives inside of us, it results in righteousness-right relationships between two people or nations, treating others with gentleness, kindness, and forgiveness.
3. Anytime the Spirit of the Prince of Peace lives inside of us, it results in justice. We can’t have peace without justice, fairness, or equity. It makes us want to work for justice for the poor, the oppressed, the hungry, and those who don’t have clean drinking water or gainful employment.

The little child who leads the former eaters and the former eaten, the nursing child who is playing around the hole of a poisonous snake, that weaned child who is sticking his hand into the home of the most deadly serpent, is the one we hope for at Christmas. A child who can live and thrive among the most dangerous creatures can become a man who can live his life solely in justice and righteousness, dedicated to those who live their lives on the margins of society, who find themselves on the outside of the potential goodness of life.

We can’t give up on the reality of Isaiah’s dream. The promise of God is more powerful than the destructiveness of humanity. It is this conviction, this certainty of God’s desire for the cosmos that lures us onward into joining the journey toward that reality. This is the reason for Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter and Christianity. God has plans for us, and we are asked to join in. The new king is coming, and he will usher in a new cosmos. May we hope for it, work for it, and pray for it.

Paul quotes Isaiah 11:10 in Romans 15:12 to show that salvation is for Gentiles as well as Jews. The Messiah’s rule will be over all nations. Christianity will pervade every recess of the earth. God’s spirit will alight upon the world.

Jesus’s earthly ministry is not finished. He could not leave the world as it is, with evil running rampant and the poor still in the dust. Isaiah allows us to celebrate Jesus’ ministry in the past and in the present, but he also urges us to pray and intercede on behalf of our world, where we long for creation’s promised destiny-a place where peace, justice, and grace have the final word.

I want to close this message with a prayer I found when I was doing my research. It expresses the hope we have during this season of Advent when we prepare our hearts, minds and souls to remember not only Christ’s birth in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago, but His return in the future. Let us pray:

Lord, you know all too well that to be human-to be able to feel joy and delight-is also to be able to feel pain and sadness. So come to us all this Advent, O God, bringing glad tidings and good cheer, comfort and hope, for we celebrate that marvelous mystery we call incarnation—when you became one of us, born a baby, who grew up and lived and breathed, seated and cried, ate and drank, lived and died.

Through him, bring us hope, bring us joy, bring us healing and wholeness, bring us a sure refuge in the darkness as we await for something new to be born in us, something small and bright, a tiny flame that will carry us into the future. In the name of that light which came to save us, even Jesus the Christ, Amen

An audio version of this message can be found at https://www.spreaker.com/episode/isaiah-11-verses-1-10-the-light-of-christ-brings-hope-to-the-world–68899819

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013, pp. 893-894)
2. Jamieson Fawcett Brown Commentary. Part of Wordsearch 11 Bible software package.
3. Michael J. Chan, “Commentary on Isaiah 11:1-10.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org
4. Barbara Lundblad, “Commentary on Isaiah 11:1-10.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org
5. The Rev. Dr. Alan Brehm, “Light in the Darkness.” Retrieved from www.thewakingdreamer.com
6. John C. Holbert, “Wolves and Lambs and Leopards, Oh My! Reflections on Isaiah 11:1-10 (Advent 2).” Retrieved from https://www.patheos,com/progressive-christian/2-13/12/wolves-lambs-leopards-john-holbert-12-03-2013?p=1
7. Ron Hansen, “The Peaceable Kingdom.” Retrieved from www.journeywithjesus.net
8. John C. Holbert, “The Hope of Peace: Advent Reflections on Isaiah 11:1-9.” Retrieved from https://www.patheos.com/resources/additional-resources/2010/11/hope-of-peace?p=1
9. The Rev. Dr. Stephen R. Montgomery, “Not Much but Enough for Me.” Retrieved from www.day1.org
10. The Rev. Edward Markquart, “Visions for Peace: No Short Cuts” Retrieved from www.sermonsfromseattle.com