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
