Here as we begin the season of Advent we are waiting. Our prayer is that our King would come to us. We are in an in between state, a time of waiting and watching. This is part of the Christian life, we live in a time where Jesus has already won the battle on the cross, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven- conquering sin death and the devil. But we are still waiting for Jesus to return to bring us to the full completion of God’s plan for us, life eternal in heaven. As we wait for our king to come, we are in a place of transition.
How often in life do we find ourselves waiting for the next thing. Waiting for Christmas, waiting for the Spring or summer time, waiting to get a new pet, waiting for your child’s wedding day. And of course, here and now as a congregation we are waiting on my decision in regards to the Call extended to me.
We are future oriented in this way for a reason- we know the best is yet to come. Although sometimes waiting is simply hard. Sometimes it feels just too much to keep waiting. But the waiting for God’s kingdom is different than just waiting for holidays and life events to come. This waiting is the way in which we trust in God, have faith in him and worship him. If we are not expecting, and waiting and hoping, then we are sleep walking through life.
Many of our hymns and songs for the season of Advent celebrate the end of waiting and the opening of gates and doors as our King comes. “O Savior rend the heavens wide; Come down come down with mighty stride, unlock the gates, the doors break down; unbar the way to heaven’s crown.”
“Lift up your heads, you everlasting doors, and weep no more! O Zion daughter sing, to greet your coming King: Now wave the victor’s palm and sing the ancient psalm, “Lift up your heads you everlasting gates! Your king awaits! God will now dwell with man- and never again be separated from us. After so much waiting Israel sees that Jesus’ reign as King has begun.
Psalm 24 provides to us this imagery of the king entering through opening of the everlasting gate: “Lift up your heads, o gates! And lift then up O ancient doors, that the king of glory may come in.”
The fact that doors are described as ancient and gates as everlasting implies that there has long been a chasm and division between Our God and His people, back to ancient times, back to the Fall into sin- when the entrance to the garden of Eden was so forcefully closed by angels. The fact that ancient gates and doors should open is also amazing.
This world is so full of imperfection and sin, and Heaven is perfect and full of the glory of God. How is it that the two can meet? How could it be that the ancient gates could swing wide open. How is it that Jesus our king can come to us? How can God come to us when there is a barrier and a chasm between heaven and earth?
Our Old Testament Reading from Isaiah calls for this divide to be broken wide open: “Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence.”
Gates and great doors to ancient cities kept control over who could come and go. The gates protected the city so that those who would bring harm would be kept out and those who would bring prosperity to the city could be let in.
The imagery in the scripture describes all of creation as the city, and in order for the renewal of creation to occur, the gate needs to be open to a visit from a realm beyond our creation, from heaven. Like opening the gates for a king, but with even more excitement and reverence than even a visit from a king would bring to a city.
One thing is abundantly clear, we cannot open the portal, we cannot raise the gates. We wait for God to come to us and bridge the divide.
We cannot raise the gates, but our Lord Jesus has come to burst open the chains that hold us down in sin, to open the way for God’s kingdom to come among us. Isaiah chapter 64 longs for this coming of the Savior: “Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence- as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil- to make your name known to your adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at your presence.”
We continue reading in Isaiah chapter 64 with the next verse, 3 “When you did awesome things that we did not look for, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.”
Nowhere in the world has it ever been heard of where a God who acts for those who wait on Him- except for the God of Israel. Who parted the Red Sea, who opened the flood gates of the waters to deliver His people from pharaoh’s army.
Remember when Jesus was in Capernaum it was discovered that he was at a home and many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And four men brought a paralytic to be healed by him, down through the roof. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “My Son, your sins are forgiven.”
The scribes questioned in their hearts: “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Indeed never since the beginning has anyone ever had the authority to forgive sins- to speak words and change someone’s standing from separation with God to peace, from condemnation to salvation.
“But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins- he said to the paralytic, “I say to you rise, pick up your bed and go home.” As he picked up his bed and walked before them all in plain sight, they said: “We never saw anything like this!” The heavens were opened and God’s kingdom was coming.
We all need this healing for our sins. The unbelieving world does not understand this healing. The world says, we never saw anything like this and never will. But you have seen.
You have seen the Lord’s work in your lives as the gates of heaven were opened to you in your baptism as the Triune name of God was placed upon your heart and your forehead. There the curse of sin was taken away from you, and every time you remember Your baptism you are reminded that heaven has been opened to you in Jesus.
You have the saving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ there in your own life story. You have been healed and forgiven by Jesus just like the man who was lowered through the roof in that house in Capernaum. You have seen the most amazing work in your own life and in the life of your brothers and sisters in Christ here in this church.
The reading from Isaiah continues: “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.” . As we recognize how unclean all of our deeds are we see that it is entirely in the mercy of the Lord that we put our hope.
Isaiah continues: “There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities.”
On account of our sin we are unable to actually call on God’s name, we cannot rouse ourselves to come to the Lord, instead we push away from God and turn toward ourselves.
But fortunately, we are not on our own, Jesus promised he would not leave us as orphans- but sent us the Holy Spirit. And Jesus told the disciples that when they face the trials of the last days, that they should lift up their heads because your redemption is near. And when this barrier is bridged, take your eyes off of anything else, lift up your heads for your redemption is near.
We are to lift up our heads because of the promise that Jesus will return to us in the same way that he ascended. At that time He will complete the transformation that he started in us, giving us renewed spiritual bodies without sin.
And in preparation for this day Jesus has already begun to shape us as His own and transform us. In this time of transition in our lives, we pray for faith to receive his shaping- faith to say Lord you are the potter, we are the clay. Even in this difficult time in our fallen world, even in this time of the summit of darkness Jesus creates us anew as vessels for His glory. We pray “Come to us in our time of waiting so that we see that even on the journey as we wait for the gate to open- you are already with us.”
Christmas decoration are a good thing and may bring joy to young and old alike. But the decorations are not just there to give us a sense of awe over the moment of the birth of Jesus. We need more than moments of feeling good and cheerful. We need the presence of Jesus with us, the presence of the Savior who rends down the heavens and comes down. Whose death on the cross brought the mountains and the whole earth to quake.
Open the gates we pray. And as we wait for the gates to open we do not give up, we do not grow weary if we shall be delivered- for we have a God who acts in love. We wait in hope for his coming. “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.”