September 5, 2021                                  Text:  Isaiah 35:4-7a

Dear Friends in Christ,

    Are you afraid of leaves?  Pastor, what a dumb question!  Fair enough.  Probably none of us are.  We know leaves are good for trees and plants to help them store food and water.  We like the look of especially autumn leaves.  We don’t fear a leaf falling from a tree and knocking us over.  I grew up on Elm St. with two big elm trees in the front yard.  The leaves were so thick you couldn’t see the sidewalk.  It was great fun to jump in the leaves and back then you could then burn them in your yard.  There was no reason to be afraid of leaves.  

    Things were different for Adam and Eve.  Martin Luther wrote that once they fell into sin Adam and Eve would have been terrified by something as harmless as a leaf rustling in the breeze.  But then again who wants to see their pants blowin’ in the wind all day?  Once our first parents experienced fear the world changed.  Think of all the anxious moments they must have had as perfection left them behind?  

    We are on the cusp of a beautiful time of the year so let’s frame the sermon title this way . . . 

“FEAR NOT THE AUTUMN LEAVES”

    We confess in the First Article of the Apostle’s Creed meaning:  “I believe that God has made me and all creatures.”  But we also experience creation as a threat.  Anxious hearts abound.  Life in this world is marked by anxiety, for our sin is subject to creation.  Disease can enter a healthy body.  Hearing can deteriorate.  Eyesight can become limited.  Mobility can shrink or be lost.  Old age can make the sharpest minds a struggle to distinguish day from night.

    What else gives you an anxious heart?  Sex education in schools?  Mask wearing again?  Footage from Afghanistan?  How on edge everyone is in public?  The thought police?  It causes anxiety because in most of these cases we can do very little.  Think of it this way.  What if you went home today and your house was on fire?  Would a country halfway around the world or a virus threat or teaching a child how to wear a condom be on your mind?  I doubt it.  You see the closer the anxiety the more the fear.

    This is what were happening with Isaiah and his people.  The fear was close by.  The chapter preceding chapter 35, Isaiah 34 was all about judgment.  Now that will get your attention.   It is into this world God comes to save.  “Be strong; fear not!”  

    I am not sure why but I believe some people like to live in fear.  They like to buy in to all the talk and fluff being bandied about.  I am not going to live that way.  Want to join me?  Then listen up.  In both the Old and New Testaments God calms anxious hearts with words.  His words.  To Israel:  “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have you called you by name, you are mine.” (Is. 43:1b)  To Bethlehem’s astonished shepherds:  “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” (Lk. 2:10)  To terrified disciples in a rocking boat:  “Take heart; it is I.  Do not be afraid.” (Mk. 6:50)  The risen Lord to confused women on Easter:  “Do not be afraid.” (Mt. 28:10)

    The Lord has granted me many life opportunities where calm was needed in chaos.  The road of panic doesn’t help our children, or our family, or our neighbor, or our fellow citizen.  God has authorized this to you today:  “Be strong; fear not.”

    God in the flesh is the remedy for fear.  God’s vengeance was executed through Christ.  He bore your sins to the cross.  He answered them for you through His blood.  Raised from the dead, He speaks to you:  “Your sins are forgiven.”  Isaiah’s hope is not redemption from the world but the redemption of the world.

    God created you to live in creation with all its falling leaves.  It is His goodness and mercy that saves.  There is not merit or worthiness in you and I.  Jesus has reconciled all things in heaven and on earth to himself.

    The signs of redemption in our text are bodily.  The eyes of the blind are opened.  The lame leap like a deer.  And in a beautiful tie in to our Gospel this morning the ears of the deaf hear and the mute sing for joy.

    Through the atoning work of Jesus, we receive all good things from our Father.  Both in the body and in the soul.  Do you really appreciate all that you have?  We are so blessed.  So blessed.  Our response then – “For all this it is my duty to thank, praise, serve, and obey him.”

    The last blessing is for the thirsty to have ground springs of water.  Another gift we take for granted.  Israel can see the blessing of moisture more clearly.  They average only 20 inches of heavenly dew a year.  In contrast, we average 40 inches and 20 more inches of that inconvenient white powder.   Half the world struggles with water.  We think nothing of it.  We are so blessed.  So blessed.  The Lord is the living water that quenches are anxious thirst.  

    Breathe in some heavenly air.  “Be strong; fear not!  Behold, your God…will come and save you.”  

                Amen.