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The Character of The Saviour
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9:2-7 (New International Version)
2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. 3 You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder. 4 For as in the day of Midian's defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. 5 Every warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.
The Character of The Saviour
This has been a fascinating year in politics, not only here in Toronto, but nationally and, of course, in the United States, where the first African-American president was sworn in with such high expectations it appears to be almost inevitable that some people will be disappointed.
In the city, the mayor announced this fall that he would not run in the election to be held next November. What then is David Miller? Will he be a lame-duck leader for the next year? Or now that he is freed from worrying how his popularity will enhance or hinder his chances of re-election, will he have a year of unprecedented effectiveness?
Canada’s House of Commons is headed by a prime minister, who being ten seats short of a majority, depends on one of the other parties if a motion of non-confidence is to be defeated. Early this year it was the Liberals who voted with the government on several occasions. But then Mr. Ignatiaff and his advisors sensed a victory might be possible if they sent us back to the polls and it was the NDP who held their noses and propped up the minority government.
Three weeks ago Mr. Harper made a well-publicized trip to India, where the cynics among us could not help but notice he had photo ops at just about every spot which could identify him with one ethnic group or another. One night on the CBC a former Liberal strategist spoke about how he admired the Conservative’s ability to stay focussed on their target of doing what was necessary to win a majority next time out. One assumes then, next spring may bring such a piece of legislation the opposition has little choice but to turf out the Tories and the Governor General will dissolve this parliament.
There are two things amazing to me. One is the relentless march of technology which makes our world and the ancient world appear as if they are not even part of the same planet. The other is how little human nature and expectations have changed over the centuries. I see this remarkably displayed in our text for today from Isaiah 9.
Some background would be helpful. Isaiah did not start out to be a prophet. He was a scribe in the royal palace in Jerusalem, in the kingdom of Judah. As you may know, God’s people are only united under three of their kings, Saul, David and Solomon. Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, ignored the counsel of his experienced advisors refusing to lower the heavy burden of taxes that his father had imposed on the northern tribes. They revolted and Israel, the northern kingdom, was divided from Judah, the southern kingdom.
These kingdoms, in conflict with one another as well as nations around them, were never as strong separately as they had been when united. In Isaiah 7 we are told King Pekah of Israel aligned himself with King Rezin of Aram in order to attack Ahaz of Judah. Ahaz believed he was helpless to defend himself and began to look around for alliances of his own. Isaiah predicts the break-up of the northern alliance and tells Ahaz to put his trust in God. Instead Ahaz seeks the help of the Assyrians.
In Isaiah 8, the prophet predicts this alliance with Assyrians will lead not only to the downfall of Israel but ultimately also to the demise of Judah. It is as if God says to Ahaz, “you think you can put your trust in the Assyrians; they will not protect you, they will destroy you.”
However, breaking into the doom and gloom is a word about a ruler who is to come. As you are able, please stand with me and we will read together our text from Isaiah 9:2–7.
What is this proclamation? According to Old Testament scholar, Walter Brueggemann, there are two schools of thought regarding the origin of this announcement. It could either be the birth announcement of a new heir to the throne or a coronation announcement when the prince succeeds his father on the throne (Texts for Preaching—Year A, 38). Either way, what the prophet has done is taken an existing form and given it new meaning within the prophesy. I wonder if Isaiah, as a scribe, had at some point used this form to announce the birth of a prince and was now transforming the words into something that would point forward to God’s Messiah.
This insight reaches out and grabs hold of me. Last November when Barak Obama won the election for president south of the 49th parallel, it was hard to describe the emotions attached to the celebration. The president is a brilliant orator, and appears to be a capable administrator, but no one could meet the expectations with which he came to office. His presidency began with promises of a new era of bipartisan co-operation. Did that last for a matter of days or was it a full week? The New York Times ran an article about a month ago regarding the president’s advisors. He was criticized for surrounding himself with men. It even mentioned that no women are invited to join in the pick up basketball games held at the White House.
Now that David Miller has announced he will not be the mayor of Canada’s largest city after next November, candidates are free to begin the campaign. What do you hope for in your new mayor? Have you seen what you hope for in any of those who have so far declared their candidacy?
What of our federal leaders? There are such hopes attached to political leaders. Like most Canadians I have found it very difficult to feel a connection with our prime minister, except for one particular moment. I would guess that many of you know the moment to which I am referring—at the fund raising gala for the National Arts Centre, Mr. Harper sang and played the piano, accompanied by world famous cellist Yo Yo Ma in a rendition of The Beatles’ “With a little help from my friends.” There’s the person I want to connect with, someone with some emotion and a sense of fun. I haven’t seen him since.
Inspired by God, Isaiah says to Judah and to us. You have heard this stuff before. Our hopes for something new are trotted out every time there is a new prince or a new candidate. Those hopes are never met and can never be met by someone bound by the rules and realities of earth-bound politics. But some day God is going to meet our expectations.
It will be like light in the darkness. We will experience the same sort of joy that we have when the harvest is plentiful. No longer will we be held captive by fear. Not only will our oppressors be defeated, the implements and trappings of war will begotten rid of forever. There will be a new king. We are not being given some cold and sterile system. We are being given a person. A child will be born. A son will be given to us. Here are contours of his character. This is his name—Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Call this king Wonderful Counselor. Literally this phrase is “wonder of a counselor.” The word wonderful means marvelous, extraordinary, beyond the normal capacity to perform. I find it interesting that God’s people could identify one key negative moment in their history as being when Solomon’s son refused to follow the best counsel. This new king will be his own counselor because his plans are wonderfully right.
Call this king Mighty God. This new king will possess not only the right plans but also the strength to carry them out. He is not dependent upon alliances with Assyria or the skill of handlers and spin doctors. He has the ability to announce and achieve the perfect plan.
Call this king Everlasting Father. God is holy and righteous. We experience that holiness and righteousness through the grid of his being our Father who loves us and wants only what’s best for us,who wants to rescue us from the destruction that we would bring upon ourselves. This holy, righteous God is not some abstract thing, he’s our Father—wonderful, beautiful, protective, nurturing. So he’s not just some distant person who’s wise and powerful, he’s intimately connected to us as our loving Father.
Call this king Prince of Peace. The Hebrew word for peace is shalom. It does not mean just the absence of conflict but rather a whole catalogue of virtue and goodness—completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety, soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfection, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord. This will be done not through any sort of strong arm tactics but by winning me to his ways with grace and kindness and faith in who I can become.
Friends, I believe Christians need to take an active interest in politics, seeking those candidates who will put the best interests of the whole community ahead of self-interest and the seductive call of power. But, Christians are also those who know the one in whom our soul-deep expectations are met is the one given to us by God, our Saviour Jesus.
Let me finish up by drawing out just one implication of this truth. Most of us in the North American church drift back and forth between confusion and grief as it seems we are being pushed more and more to the fringe of our culture. I say, let’s set aside that grief and refuse to be confused because instead we are choosing to live as those who have welcomed to our lives the one who will give us wholeness by making us part of a family in which we are given the power to participate in the perfect plan.
We would love to follow a great leader. Guess what—we already have one. Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His name is Jesus!
B
