Easter Sunrise
Thomas Van Hemert
Isaiah 25:6-9
Easter Sunrise
April 4, 2021
In the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit.
For forty years, the Israelites wandered in the desert. For forty years, they waited in longing expectation to enter into the land that God had promised to give them—a land flowing with milk and honey. For forty days we have been waiting and moving through the penitential season of Lent. We have confessed our sins, we have laid our hearts bare before the Lord and now Easter has finally come. But Isaiah would have us wait even still. He writes, “And in this mountain, the Lord of hosts will make for all people a feast of choice pieces, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of well-refined wines on the lees. And He will destroy, on this mountain, the surface of the covering cast over all nations. He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; the rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken. And it will be said in that day, ‘ Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.’”
Though it isn’t easy, Isaiah would have us continue to wait on the Lord. It isn’t easy. It is painful. Our desire is to reach the end. It is uncomfortable. It is certainly tiresome. We’ve already waited forty days. Surely we have reached the end of the road. Surely we have reached our goal. But still, we wait. Who is willing to receive this command with gladness? We desire the Day of the Lord.
Consider King David. His enemies are relentless in their pursuit to bring down attacks and destruction upon him and in this, David laments, “Save me, O God…For I am weary of my crying; my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God. They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty.” (Psalm 69:1a, 3-4a)
Consider also the Psalmist, who likewise prays, “Vindicate me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation; oh, deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man! Send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me.” (Psalm 43:1, 3a) Here, the Psalmist must trust in God and wait on Him for deliverance.
How would you respond to David or the Psalmist? Certainly it is an unchristian thing to say, “Wait on God. He helps those who help themselves.” or “Just pray harder. God will deliver you eventually.” Is there hope to be found in “waiting just a little while longer?” According to the Prophet Isaiah, when God has spoken of the good things to come, there is reason to rejoice—even if we must wait.
Shortly before our text for this morning, the Prophet Isaiah spoke of judgment, which God would bring upon the earth. For all who lived upon it had, “Defiled it, transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broke the everlasting covenant.” (Isaiah 24:5) And Isaiah continues, “Behold, the Lord makes the earth empty and makes it a waste. He distorts its surface and scatters abroad its inhabitants. They shall not drink wine with a song; Strong drink is bitter to those who drink it. There is a cry for wine in the streets, all joy is darkened. The mirth of the land is gone.” (Isaiah 24)
The Lord has spoken these words. They are words of judgment to those who have not kept God’s Law. And who among us has kept God’s Law perfectly? The world is cursed because it has turned against the Lord. Even those things which were created to bring joy—such as wine—has become bitter and scarce and misused. There is an outcry—all joy has been turned into misery. Misery outnumbers joy. All gladness has been cast far from the earth. Evil men do not wait on the Lord. They wait for their own blood; they set an ambush for their own lives. They don’t honor the Lord or His testimonies, or His Law. They don’t walk in his statutes or his just decrees. These words of the Lord, spoken through Isaiah are words of sorrow for those who will not be present at the rich feast of the Lord. Even still, they are a warning for us as well.
This feast of which Isaiah speaks, may be compared to the parable of the king who gives a wedding feast for his son. In the parable, the king sends out his servants to call those who are invited to the feast, but they don’t come. And again the king sends out other servants to bring in those who are invited, but they still don’t come. Then the king sends out his servants to invite all that they can find. So the wedding hall is filled. Those who come with their wedding garments were welcomed. But the one who comes without his wedding garment is thrown into the outer darkness. All those who reject the invitation no doubt join this man in the outer darkness.
The king’s invitation is, actually, our invitation. That invitation is God’s invitation to all of us that we would come to His Son’s wedding feast. The invitation has gone out and we are like the ten virgins who await the bridegrooms coming. We are to be ready for that day. We don’t want to be like the foolish virgins who are shut out because they aren’t prepared for the bridegroom. For us, waiting to be delivered from this desolate world, the wait would be endless if the Lord hadn’t spoken. There would be no reason to rejoice.
But the Lord has spoken. He has not spoken only in judgment, but also peace. The Lord of Hosts both brings life into the world and destroys evil. The same Lord who commands legions of angels, who created the heavens and the earth, doesn’t desire that the gladness and rejoicing of the earth be banished or diminish. His desire is that we would be present at His feast. Thus, we hear His words spoken through the prophet, “In this mountain, the Lord of hosts will make for all people a feast of choice pieces, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of well-refined wines on the lees.” (Isaiah 25:6) The mountain that Isaiah speaks of is Mount Zion. This is where the Lord has promised to dwell among his people. His promise remains true.
Now of course, this mountain isn’t in Jerusalem in Israel. Zion refers to the Church. In the Church and for the Church, the Lord of hosts will prepare His feast and the gates of hell will not prevail over it. For his bride, the Church, the Lord makes a feast.
This gives us cause to rejoice. The feast that the Lord prepares is for us. Even in the midst of our enemies, the Lord sets the table before us as the Psalm beautifully says, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.” This verse comes from Psalm 23. Jesus spoke Psalm 22 on the cross. He spoke the words, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me,” so that we might be able to speak the beautiful words of Psalm 23, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.
This feast, prepared for us, is not only a future reality. It comes to the church even in our day—even every Sunday. The Lord’s feast is prepared wherever Christ is. Christ is Himself the host and the meal. Wherever his Word is proclaimed, wherever his Sacraments are rightly administered, wherever two or three are gathered in His name, there He is among them. He died. But He lives. There He is among them. Here, He is among us. He died. But He lives.
The Lord has spoken. He comes to us where we are and feeds us his Word in the forms of bread and wine. Even while we are still waiting, we have reason to rejoice. In the Lord’s feast, that is, whenever and wherever He feeds us his Word, which provides for us forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation, there will be no lack. Our cups overflow, and surely goodness and mercy will follow us all the days or our lives.
Yet, we still are waiting. We are waiting for the Lord to come again. We believe that Jesus Christ, who has died, yet He lives, will come again on the last day. The last enemy to be destroyed is death and this too, the Lord has promised to swallow up. He has promised that the covering which is cast over all the earth—the dark and gloomy veil that is spread over all nations—will be swallowed up. The covering which we have inherited from our first parents in the Garden of Eden will be destroyed. The veil blinds us from seeing God will be pulled back and is already pulled back. Who among us who is unclean can live in the presence of a perfect and holy God? This veil was too thick, too heavy for us to remove it ourselves. Therefore, the Lord Jesus Christ has removed it Himself. He takes away this veil. He destroys it. In place of it, He covers us with a wedding garment—white, washed in His own blood and He bids us to come to the feast. In Holy Baptism, we are given all that belongs to Christ. God’s name is written upon us, making us His own. Our seat at the great feast has been prepared.
It is true, we must still sojourn here on earth. We must suffer. And we will. We suffer the worlds indignities and the consequences of our sin. Friends and family die and pass away, there are natural disasters that befall us, terrorists and evil men prowl around seeking to take away the lives of Christians worldwide, and certainly the devil himself prowls around like a lion waiting to devour his prey. In all this, we are reminded that we are dust and to dust we shall return. We remember our sin. We remember that we will certainly die.
But our death is Christ’s death. He, who was raised from the dead on the third day—whose resurrection we celebrate especially this day and every Sunday—will also raise us, who await His glorious return. As we look forward to that day, we focus on the life that has been given to us in the Church. Even though, in this life, we must wait for Christ to make all things new, we experience a foretaste of that feast, which is to come. Isaiah says, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, that He might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for Him; let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation.” (Isaiah 25:9) Let us, therefore, share in Isaiah’s confession as we receive the very Lord who is both Himself priest and victim. Come and receive the Lord Jesus Christ’s very body and very blood. Behold, the bread and the chalice—this is your God. You have waited for Him. Rejoice in his salvation!
Alleluia, Christ is risen. He is risen indeed, Alleluia!
In +Jesus’ name.
