Righteous Judge
Advent 2 – December 7,2025
Isaiah 11:1-10
Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19
Romans 15:4-13
Matthew 3:1-12
Our reading from Isaiah seems a bit far-fetched to the modern ear. That is when he tells us that all animals will live in peace and that children will play about poisonous snakes and remain unharmed. That is, in part, because of our modern understanding of the natural world. But it also is a reality that we cannot get people to live in harmony let alone animals. Any quick check in the news and you will see how difficult it is to get people to live in harmony. From individuals shooting each other to all-out war we see disharmony among peoples. That is not how God desires us to live and that was Isaiah’s message to the Israelites. Their identity was with God as God’s chosen people. Unfortunately they were not satisfied with what they had and tried to get more by waging war. Fighting in the world means that there are winners and losers and they lost by siding with the Egyptians. Isaiah warned them of the coming destruction and called for them to remain neutral. Instead they chose the losing side and ended up with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, and exile to Babylon. Isaiah did not preach all doom and destruction. Our text from him today promises a different time when God will deliver a new savior to the Israelites. That savior will be the one to bring about peace and harmony. He will be the righteous judge.
We have understood this prophecy to be one telling of the coming of Jesus. He is our righteous judge. Now we like to hear that Jesus will be righteous, we may not be so keen on the idea of being judged. But that does seem to be part of the message in our lessons today. We will be judged on our lives by Jesus. His example of the winnowing fork tells us that. While it is often interpreted that the wheat are the people who are good and the chaff are those who are evil, that may not be the true meaning of this text. If you know anything about wheat you know that the chaff and the wheat are parts of the same plant. Jesus’ winnowing fork may be one that sifts us to remove the bad from the good making us to be truly saints in God’s eyes. It is another reminder to us that, as Luther said, we are both sinful and saints – both wheat and chaff. And so, we often cloud our lives with things that are not good and worthy of God’s people. If there is one time of the year where that happens it would be this time.
We have taken a simple event – the birth of a child – and made it into a huge commercial venture where billions of dollars are spent. We find ourselves trying to recreate some Christmas in the past. A past that did not ever happen, by the way. Our memories are like that, God has made us so that we are able to forget the bad things in our lives and allows us to remember the good. You have forgotten about the fights and disappointments in those past Christmas celebrations remembering only the good. Instead of trying to recreate a Christmas that never existed or showing off your ability to buy expensive things, use this time to ponder Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in that first Christmas. Remember that this coming celebration is not about us and our ability to make a grand event. It is about revealing Jesus to a hurting world that needs a righteous judge who brings true peace and harmony with his presence.
Take time to consider all that you have and your ability to lavish gifts upon others knowing that it is all been given to you by God who did not even withhold Jesus for your salvation. This year remember it is not the gifts or the parties or the shopping that make this season cheerful and bright it is the light of Christ who shines into your life to make it wondrous and beautiful.