Be Strong, Do Not Fear! : Isaiah 35:3-7

Isaiah 35:3-7: "3 Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. 4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted, 'Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you.' 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. 7 The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water; In the habitation of jackals, where each lay, there shall be grass with reeds and rushes."

This Old Testament lesson for the Prophet Isaiah, which is appointed for Quinquagesima, ties in nicely with both the Epistle and the Gospel. For it talks about the acts of love, and about the blind being given their sight. It also talks about God coming to save us. This is fulfilled in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, who was born into our flesh, to fulfill the Law perfectly, and suffer our punishment for breaking the Law of God, by His suffering and death on the cross. We are even told about the gift that our Lord Jesus would give to us, in order to make disciples, that is, Holy Baptism, for out of the wilderness of sin and death, the waters of Holy Baptism have burst forth, and have filled the desert of this world with a living stream that produces life.

Strengthening weak hands and making firm feeble knees are acts of love, for they concern our neighbor. In this pericope, it is referring to the preached Word of God. For the hands and knees are shaking from trials and tribulations of this life. But through the preaching of the Word of God, faith in the One True God is created, and sustained, so that our weak hands, and feeble knees are strengthened through hearing about what our Lord God has done for us. It is through the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, that we have no fear, and are able to be strong in the midst of sin and death, and trouble and sorrow.

This pericope prepares us for Lent as well, which starts this Wednesday, for it reminds us that we live in a desert, a wilderness; the wilderness and desert of this world full of sin and hatred towards God and His Commandments. Life in the wilderness is hard. Not only do the elements burden us, but the "jackals" of the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh are always prowling around looking to devour us.

But we have the good news, which our Lord God promised, that He would take vengeance upon them. He takes His vengeance upon them in His very own Son. He sacrifices His Son, so that we might be rescued from the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh. He gives of Himself, so that we might be His through the water of Holy Baptism.

Holy Baptism, has created a pool in the parched land of this world. A place where we might find strength and comfort.Through it the eyes of spiritual blindness are opened, the ears that have been closed to the Word of God, are opened to hear the Gospel, those who are spiritually lame, unable to walk according to love, are healed so that they may walk in the commandments of God. And those who did not know how to confess their faith, or who were not able even to confess God, have their tongues healed, so that they might pray the liturgy, and sing hymns and psalms to God. Therefore, "Be strong; Do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you."

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

It Shall Not Return to Me Void: Isaiah 55:10-13

Isaiah 55:10-13: "10 For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. 12 For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; And it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."

Our Lord God through the Prophet Isaiah states that His Word shall not return to Him void, it shall accomplish the purpose for which He sent it. This is good news for us. For this Word is the Gospel, that is, the preaching that our sins have been forgiven on account of our Lord Jesus Christ's perfect fulfilling of the Law, and His sacrifice of death in our stead. This Gospel is for you, for all those who hear and believe.

And this Gospel shall encompass the whole earth. The mountains and hills, the trees of the field, everything will proclaim this good news. The Word of God produces trees, cypress trees and myrtle trees, not thorns and briers. This is the promise of our Lord God.

This is shown us in the Gospel reading for today, which is Sexagesima, or Exsurge, where we hear our Lord Jesus proclaim that the seed that falls on good soil will produce fruit of an hundredfold. Here the Prophet Isaiah also proclaims the same thing will happen. This pericope, appointed for this Sunday in The Lutheran Hymnal, adds to the Gospel reading, by proclaiming the good things that the Gospel does for all those hear.

We are told by the Lord God through the Prophet Isaiah, that this Word which comes down from Heaven, waters the soil, and gives bread to the eater. Here we see the elements for the two Blessed Sacraments of Holy Baptism and the Lord's Supper. These Sacraments also are the Word of God, they are the Word of God attached to a visible element. And it is through these Sacraments that the Holy Ghost works when and where He pleases to create and sustain faith in life in the believer.

It is our participation in these things, preaching and the Sacraments, where we are not only made into Christians, but the seed of faith that has been planted into us, is nurtured and sustained, so that it grows into a mighty tree, like a cypress or myrtle tree. Again, we have a tree, which draws us back to the cross of our dear Lord Jesus Christ. For those who believe on Him, have been crucified with Him, and all that dwells within them, has been buried in His grave. Therefore, we are made into trees, that is, trees of life. Trees can be seen from far away. Even if there is just one it can be distinguished as a tree. Not so with thorns and briers, the bushes of the enemy. But we are not thorns and briers, we are not under the oppression of sin and the slavery of death.

No, we live as trees of life, forgiven, redeemed, and from us, that is, from the Words of our lips as we share the Gospel in this world, all those who eat of our fruit of the Gospel, have the seed of the Word of God planted within them, and when they come into the holy house of God to hear the preaching and receive the Sacraments, the Holy Ghost creates and sustains faith and life in them, making them Christians, so that the cycle of Life continues onward.

May the fruit of eternal life go forth from our lips, and fill the hills and mountains, and produce fruit of an hundredfold, gathering all those who hear into the holy house of God.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

The Lord GOD Will Cause Righteousness and Praise to Spring Forth Before All the Nations: Isaiah 61:10-11

Isaiah 61:10-11: "10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth brings forth its bud, as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations."

Isaiah's prophecy is the words of our Lord Jesus about Himself. These words, recorded for us today as the Old Testament lesson for the Transfiguration of Our Lord, reveal who our Lord Jesus is. Our Lord Jesus is a bridegroom decked with ornaments. Those ornaments are his righteouness and salvation. One can clearly see the transfiguration in these words. For on the Mount of Transfiguration, our Lord shone like the sun, and His clothes became white like no fuller on earth could launder. His clothes were this type of white, because our Lord Jesus revealed His true righteousness.

In His earthly ministry our Lord hid His divine nature. One could say that he wore the garment of sin and shame, therefore it was dirty and dingy. However, our Lord shows His true nature by revealing His true righteousness to Sts. Peter, John and James the Elder. Isaiah foretells this event by likening the robe of righteousness of our Savior, and the garments of salvation which He wears, as the clothes of a bridegroom and bride.

We've all been to weddings, or are at least familiar with them, so we can relate to this image. Much is made about the dress of the bride. So much so that one would think it was the most important thing (next to the cake). Of course sinful man misplaces the important thing in a wedding, and by extension, in marriage as well, which is the unity that is made by our Lord God, and the agreement that those who are married in the Church, are asking our Heavenly Father's blessing upon their marriage, so that they might live united as one, even as He is One, and the Church is one.

But misplaced focus aside, we know how important it is to dress a certain way at a wedding, and there is nothing wrong with this, even Isaiah the prophet in Old Testament times, recognizes the importance of wedding garments. We can clearly see from the illustration, that wedding clothes are not our everyday clothes. They are special garments that reveal something about the event that will take place. And they reveal something about the person. As the saying goes, "clothes make the man."

Here is the key. Our Lord Jesus wears these special clothes, which we consider to be worn only on special occasions, all the time. His wedding garments are righteousness and salvation, and He is always wearing them. And in the transfiguration, we get a glimpse of His righteousness and our salvation. And the great news is that these special wedding clothes of our Lord, the garment of salvation and the robe of righteousness, have been given to us to wear all the time, by virtue of our Holy Baptism.

In Holy Baptism, we have put on Christ, that is, we have put on His robe of righteousness and His garment of salvation, so that our dirty and dingy clothes racked with sin and shame are covered over, or even better, have been removed, so that all our Heavenly Father only sees the righteousness of His Son Jesus. Our sins are no longer seen on account of our Holy Baptism. And every day that we remember our Holy Baptism, we once again put on that robe of righteousness that our Lord Jesus gave to us in Holy Baptism, and won for us on the cross of His death.

And in this, our Heavenly Father, cause to spring forth from the earth, the new bud of life and salvation. This bud is the Church, that is, all those who have been baptized with the water of life, and who cling to their Holy Baptism in faith. This holy water has gone over the whole earth, and flooded it with salvation, and the whole earth has been reborn in the righteousness and salvation of our Lord Jesus. And those who put on this righteousness by virtue of their baptisms, rejoice greatly in the Lord, and their soul is joyful in the Lord God. For it is He who has clothed them in righteousness. And for that we are eternally thankful.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas