Advent 3 – The Light of the World Brings Joy

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Rejoicing is Restoration

It came out of nowhere. Springtime where I grew up was a sudden time. You would have the dreary months of winter. Then, suddenly spring would come. The rain would come. The dry streams would fill up. The flowers would bloom. And then, a few short weeks later the streams were dry and the flowers were dead. But when the streams and flowers came, they were amazing. God’s word this morning starts out with that sort of picture: “¹ When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed. ² Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy.” (Psa. 126:1–2 NIV11-GKE)

The context given in this part of the bible is fascinating. Often, at this time of the year, we talk about how the Jewish people were sent into exile in Babylon. But we don’t talk too much about what happened after their exile. These words speak about that. There they were excluded and exiled away from the promised land. Then God acted suddenly and solely. They were allowed to return to Israel. It was so amazing to them that it seemed too good to be true. It seemed like a dream. But it was true and it was real. And that is emphasized by what followed: “² Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” ³ The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.” (Psa. 126:2–3 NIV11-GKE)

As they returned home, all the nations around them saw it and were amazed. And then, they, the Jewish exiles came home and they, themselves rejoiced. There was joy in their mouths and on their lips.

We today have an exile to speak of. And this exile was far worse than the one they went through. Long before the Israelites rebelled in Israel, Adam and Eve rebelled in the garden. And they were kicked out of that garden and its goodness. We too are heirs of that exile from the garden. The goodness they had, they lost. And we lost it along with them. We see it in our lives around us. Look at the ads on TV. For the world around us the best they have to offer and give is stuff. But all the stuff in the world will not bring us back to Eden. No, just as the Lord acted suddenly and solely to bring the exiles back to Israel, so also, the Lord acted suddenly and solely to bring us back to him. He suddenly and solely gave us forgiveness in a child and God born in Bethlehem. He suddenly and solely by giving us faith through the power of his word. Their return from exile came to them like the spring rain and rivers—suddenly and solely from their Lord. And the same is true with us when it comes to forgiveness and faith. But my dear friends that is not the end of the psalm. In fact, that is not even the main point of the psalm. The psalmist tells us: “⁴ Restore our fortunes, Lord, like streams in the Negev. ⁵ Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. ⁶ Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.” (Psa. 126:4–6 NIV11-GKE)

The psalmist prays that the Lord would restore their fortunes. Think this through. They had what they wanted. They were back in the promised land. But they soon found out that the longed-for promised land had thorns and thistles. The sins they committed and the sins others committed against them brought them sighing and crying. The picture here is the person who goes out day after day, sighing or crying, on the outside or on the inside because they have to go through the sighing and sadness of every day life.

My dear friends, the same is true of us. Our good and gracious God acted suddenly and solely. What we could not do for ourselves he did for us. He gave us forgiveness. He gave us faith. But we quickly realize that we still have to get up every day and deal with our lives in the world. We have to deal with our own unwholesome and unhealthy longings and desires. We have to deal with the fact that there is sickness and death. We have to deal with the fact that there is corruption out there in the world and here in our hearts. They prayed for restoration. And we too need to pray for the same. We too need to pray that our good and gracious Lord would give us a reason for rejoicing by giving us Eden back. Without that, our lives end up being a constant sighing and crying.

But my dear friends in Christ, our good and gracious Lord hears our prayer. And he answers it in three ways: First, our Savior Jesus let us know that he perceives our pain. There is this amazing comfort of knowing that those around us in the world do not know our pain. And sometimes even those in our families cannot perceive the depths of our longing and yearning back for what was lost in Eden. Our good and gracious Lord knows. He perceives. Second, he partners. Day by day we confess our sins. Day by day he forgives us. Day by day, we pray for strength to live for him. And day by day he partners together with us, strengthening this new person inside of us to go out sowing seed, toiling in our work. And finally, he makes a promise to us. He promises that there will be a day when he will once again act suddenly and solely. There will be a day when all that was lost by our first parents in Eden will be returned and restored.

And my dear friends in Christ, that’s why rejoicing is a prayer. In a very real way, our rejoicing here is a sort of pre-rejoicing and preparation. There is nothing wrong with eggnog and summer sausage at Christmas. There is nothing wrong with the smell of the Christmas tree and the joy of opening of the presents underneath that tree. But our prayer is that our good and gracious Lord would give us full, complete, lasting joy. And it is the fact that our Lord hears our prayer that gives us joy now. Since we know he perceives our pain, partners together with us, and promises to return suddenly and solely, we can begin to have joy now.

So let this day be a day of rejoicing. But remember what this rejoicing is based on. Rejoicing is based on restoration. What was lost in Eden will be restored in heaven. Amen.