Scripture: Jeremiah 33:14-16; Matthew 1:18-25

The whole thing seemed so strange . . . so bizzare.  For the first time in their history, Israel’s borders were secure.  King Zedekiah had not only proven to be a shrewd politician, he was also a brilliant strategist who had assembled, trained and equipped one of the most powerful armies of the time.  At least that was the way it appeared.

After making certain the military had all it needed, the king turned his attention inward.  He built a financial infrastructure that was incredible.  Unemployment was at an all time low.  Poverty was at an all time low – except, of course, among the chronically ill and the socially disadvantaged.  Thanks to an ingenious set of laws inherited from Moses and mandated by Zedekiah, even those folk were experiencing an improved quality of life!  Yes, life was good and, from all indications, it would only keep getting better.  At least that was the way it appeared.

That is why, when Jeremiah began to make his pronouncements of gloom and doom, the politicians and religious officials banned together in an effort to discredit him.  So, when Jeremiah announced that God was angry and if the nation didn’t repent they would fall into the hands of Babylon, it sounded ridiculous and seemed impossible!  How could God be angry when they were living so well?

Then it happened.  Babylon did attack.  It became one of the longest, bloodiest sieges ever known.  Before it was over, the entire city of Jerusalem lay in ruin.  Even the temple - God’s own dwelling place - had been looted and destroyed.  Everything . . . absolutely everything . . . was gone.  The devastation was more horrific than even Jeremiah had imagined.

Despite the horror of it all, however, the Babylonians were still not satisfied.  Before those who had survived had time to bury the dead, they were dragged from their homes, beaten, and forced from their land.  What had been one of the bloodiest sieges ever turned into one of the longest exiles of the ancient world.  There was nothing to go back to and little to live for.  At least that was the way it appeared.

As the people fell into despair, as their situation became increasingly hopeless, Jeremiah began to speak again.  The days are surely coming, he told the people, when God will fulfill the promise made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.  In those days and at that time God will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David.  Despite all the signs to the contrary – despite all the pain, the chaos, and broken dreams – the people were told to hold on and to believe because the days are surely coming when God’s promises would be fulfilled.  Despite the severity of their current situation, God was in the midst of them.  Even though the world as they knew it was gone, the future as only God could envision it was still before them.  All they had to do was hold on and believe.

Almost 600 years later, a man named Joseph discovered that, like his forbearers, the world as he knew it was crumbling.  He had just discovered the woman he was engaged to was pregnant.  In those long hours . . . perhaps even days . . . that followed, Joseph came to understand two things.  First, the child she was carrying was not his.  Second, the moral code handed down by Moses and enforced by the religious officials was clear.  Anyone caught in adultery would be killed.  So, Joseph was caught between that proverbial rock and a hard place.  If he refused to marry her, she would either be stoned or cast into the wilderness to die a slow and gruesome death.  But if he married her, according to the law, he would love Mary above God.

Just as he was about to give up – when the severity of the situation seemed overwhelming – an angel of the Lord appeared to him and said:  Do not be afraid, for the days are coming when God’s promise will be fulfilled. 

Jeremiah and Joseph – they are wonderful heroes whose faith allows them to preserve despite all the odds.  If only their stories could be confined to the pages of a book or frozen in time.  In only all the confusion, pain, and broken promises had died out with Joseph and Mary. 

But they didn’t because each of us sitting here today have stood in much the same place.  We have seen the horrors of war and may have experienced the devastation of poverty.  We have been forced to live with the chaos and consequences that come from making bad decisions.  And, yes, we have all been victims of the choices made for us by leaders who cared more for their personal comfort than our well being.

Yet despite all the bad choices – despite all the personal pain and chaos – the days are surely coming when God’s promises will be fulfilled.   And that future will come when people of faith stop making the best of all these bad situations and start trusting our lives to the creative, redemptive, and absolutely certain purposes of God.

The days are surely coming when all the world will come to know the one whom Jeremiah heralds and to whom Jesus will incarnate – a God who hears us when we cry, comforts us when we are afraid, and forgives us when we fail.  Yes, the days are surely coming when God’s mercy and justice will prevail.

So, on this first Sunday in Advent when one lone candle burns as Jeremiah reminds us of his own city burning and Joseph strains to hear the words of one lone angel whispering in the night, may we hold fast to our faith as we, like them, settle in and wait.  Things are not as they appear to be.  The days are surely coming when God’s dream will come true.

Joseph has said “Yes.”  Jesus is on his way!

To God be the Glory.  Amen.