Sermon -- 2nd Sunday after Epiphany (January 16, 2022)

ISAIAH 62:1-5

THE LORD DELIGHTS IN HIS BETROTHED.

In the name + of Jesus.

     The first miraculous sign Jesus performed was changing water into wine at a wedding feast.  It is worthwhile to ask the question: Why is that Jesus’ first miracle?  Certainly, there were more urgent needs in Galilee than bailing out a bride and groom who did not have enough wine for their guests.  Galilee had blind people, lame people, lepers, and so forth.  We can understand why Jesus would have tended to them.  Their problems had been endured for a long time, and life would be hard for them to continue living with their problems.  The bride and groom, however, would have to endure embarrassment for a while, but their guests would have gotten over it soon enough.  So, why this miracle, and why this occasion?

     Isaiah helps with that answer.  Isaiah repeated a theme in the Bible, declaring the Lord’s his love for Zion with the love and commitment a husband has for his bride.  The Lord’s covenant with Zion was a special union in which each was devoted to the other and faithful to each other.  Therefore, when Jesus first revealed his glory as the Messiah, he gave the sign at a wedding banquet.  The Lord delights in his betrothed and seeks her devotion and her glory.

     If you have been blessed with a happy marriage, you know what a blessing it is.  However, if your marriage is full of strain and strife, it can make life unbearable.  This is especially true if one spouse has been unfaithful to the other.  The one who has been sinned against feels betrayed, rejected, ashamed, and sometimes even as if it his or her fault.  No one wants his or her marriage to be a failure.  And while divorce has become very common, it is never okay.  There is no such thing as a sinless divorce.  Even if one spouse was innocent, the other was not.  Our Lord despises divorce—not just because it causes harm and instability for families and society, but also because our Lord likens his love for the Church as a groom for a bride.  He reveals his union to his Church as one which is timeless, cherished, and intimate.  The Lord delights in his betrothed.

     The Lord had bound himself to the people of Israel in a special covenant relationship, but it was not the blessed union the Lord intended.  Isaiah told the people of Israel, “You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate” (Isaiah 62:4).  If they were no longer to be called by those names, it means that these were the names they deserved.  The Lord, of course, was faithful to Israel, but Israel had not been faithful to him.  They chased after the gods of other nations because they craved the riches and pleasures that the other nations had.  They embraced Canaanite fertility gods, thinking they would grant bumper crops and, therefore, fatter cattle and fatter bank accounts.  They sought after the gods of Egypt and Syria.  More powerful nations surely must mean more powerful gods!  They even adopted the despicable practices of the Moabite god Molech and offered up their babies as burnt offerings to him.  Can you imagine a society that sacrifices their own children?  Sadly, we can.  The people of Israel looked at the world around them and said, “We want what they have!”  And they chased after it.  This is why the beginning of Isaiah’s prophecy met with bitter condemnation: “How the faithful city has become a whore, she who was full of justice” (Isaiah 1:18)!  Should we be surprised that Israel had earned the names “Forsaken” and “Desolate”?  The Lord was just in sending unfaithful Israel away with a certificate of divorce.

     These are harsh words, but they are a warning for us to take to heart.  People have not changed.  All are sinners.  It is easy to be seduced by suitors who say that they have something better to offer than our Lord.  Sin entices us to turn away from divine wisdom because it offers something attractive and alluring.  That is the way it is with temptation.  All temptations are attractive and alluring.  If they weren’t, they would be tempting.  Even when we know God forbids something, we are drawn in by the seductive voice which promises something fun, something appealing, something better.  When we chase after other things for our comfort, satisfaction, and happiness, we are unfaithful to our Lord.  Like the adulterer who has his affair, we think we can cheat on the Lord and still insist we are faithful to him.  It is a lie.  Repent.  Like the Israelites who turned away from the Lord, we, too, deserve the names “Forsaken” and “Desolate.”

     But Isaiah declares the amazing, faithful love of God.  God continues to woo people back to him.  He does not seek a divorce.  He desires a reconciliation.  He still delights in his betrothed.  This is what the Lord says, “You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married” (Isaiah 62:4).  The Lord would not remember Israel for her unfaithfulness.  He delights in his betrothed and reconciles her to himself. 

     In the Old Testament covenant, the Lord had commanded that everyone who was caught as an adulterer should be stoned to death.  The Lord was very serious about chastity and faithfulness.  Although Zion was unfaithful, the Lord did not seek her death.  Rather, the Messiah came to die for Zion.  In betrothing himself to the Church, the Messiah took upon himself the responsibility for all her unfaithfulness.  It is a like a man who gets married to a woman who has accrued immense credit card debt and student debt.  He does not say, “That’s your problem.  I hope it works out.”  Instead, he assumes that debt as his own.  So, Jesus Christ has assumed the debt we owe.  He pays the price for our unfaithfulness.  He suffers the consequences and dies on our behalf.  This is the payment for all wickedness and unfaithfulness—for every divorce, every affair, every lustful thought, and every yearning to seek satisfaction from forbidden fruit.  This is what needed to be done to work out our reconciliation.  The demands of God’s Law were met by the Messiah who dies for us.  He dies for us because he does not want us to perish.  He does not want to divorce Zion.  He delights in his betrothed and wins her back all over again.  “As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you” (Isaiah 62:5).

     The Lord Jesus delights in his betrothed and does everything for her good.  St. Paul explains: “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:25-27).  In holy baptism, Jesus applies to you all that he has done for you.  He cleanses you from every stain of sin.  He wipes away every mark from your record.  He does not look at you to observe blemishes.  Rather, he covers them with his innocence.  He does not gaze upon our filthy garments or filthy thoughts.  The Lord says, “You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God” (Isaiah 62:3).  The Lord delights in his betrothed and makes Zion beautiful.

     The Lord is committed to you for your salvation.  He is ever-faithful to his promises.  He continues to speak words of comfort so that you do not forget who you are.  He continually assures you of his love so that you can be certain of whose you are.  This is what the Lord says, “For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch” (Isaiah 62:1).  The righteousness of Jerusalem is Jesus.  The salvation of Zion is the Christ.  He came to shine the goodness of God upon us. 

     Now, we don’t shine as bright as we should.  The Church is not as beautiful as we would hope.  Even God’s people become disenchanted with the Church because people are not always kind, because there is dissension, or because there is scandal among God’s people.  In other words, we still prove ourselves to be sinners.  This is a blemish that is ugly no matter how much we try to cover it up.  We ought to be honest and acknowledge that our beauty does not come from ourselves.

     What makes the Church beautiful?  Jesus does!  He declares, “You shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give” (Isaiah 62:2).  The name we bear is given by God; we are Christians, marked by the name of the one who saves us.  We are not perfect, but pardoned—purified by the blood of Christ which was shed for us.  Jesus does not forsake us despite our flaws, and he does not leave his Church desolate because it is filled with sinners.  Jesus continues to woo us and to cover our blemishes with his purity.  Jesus fills us his Holy Spirit so that we develop greater devotion to him and love for each other.  There is no reason or point in running after others.  Jesus is the only source of comfort, satisfaction, and happiness.  Our delight is in him because he calls his Church, “My Delight Is In Her.”  The Lord delights in his betrothed.

     When Jesus comes again in glory, he will present the Church before all the world as his most beautiful Bride.  He dresses us in garments of salvation.  He will perfect us so that we will be continually without blemish or flaw.  We will be the righteousness of Christ in appearance and in action.  The union of Christ and his Church will be perfect and permanent.  And we will rejoice eternally at the heavenly wedding feast.

     That brings us back to Jesus’ miracle at the wedding in Cana.  When the marriage feast was about to become desolate, Jesus acted to save it.  Jesus was revealing himself as the heavenly bridegroom who restores his bride to him so that the feast will endure.  Jesus has done all the work to reconcile us to himself.  He is the ever-faithful bridegroom.  He continues to delight in his betrothed so that Zion is never forsaken; the Church will never be desolate.  He has given you a new name—a name which is written in heaven.  The Lord delights in his betrothed.  Therefore, you will partake in the wedding feast of the Lamb, just as that heavenly banquet is served to you here and now.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.