Rev. Paul J Cain
Isaiah 62:1-5
Rejoice Over You
Second Sunday after the Epiphany, 20 January 2013
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, Wyoming
In the Name of Jesus. Amen
About the Cover: The Lord loves weddings. They
picture His relationship to His people—not only His commitment to them, but
above all His delight in them. “My Delight Is in Her” literally becomes His
people’s name, the Lord’s way of reminding His Bride, the Church, that we are
His very own, the objects of His eternal love.
For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s
sake I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and
her salvation as a burning torch.
The Lord acts on behalf of the Bride, His Church, for whom
He was willing to die. His love for us is not merely emotion. His love is shown
in His deeds of sacrifice, summons, and salvation. He wants you to wear white.
A baptismal gown, an acolytes robe, a pastor’s alb or surplice, a bride’s gown,
and the white funeral pall over a Christian’s casket all preach the white robe
of Christ’s righteousness that covers all our sin. All. The Lord speaks His
Word and pronounces the forgiveness of sins until the righteousness of Christ
given to you “goes forth as brightness,” and your “salvation as a burning
torch.” You are salt and light wearing white.
You, by faith, are of His Holy People, the new Israel of
Jews and Gentiles with faith in Jesus, the Son, our Heavenly Bridegroom. The
prophecy of Isaiah 62 was for Zion’s sake, for Jerusalem’s sake. And now is for
your sake. And for the sake of God’s ancient people who enjoy salvation and
righteousness in Christ. This was God’s intended purpose!
The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings
your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord
will give.
Did you hear yourself mentioned in this verse? You are—you
were—part of “the nations,” those outside of Zion, Jerusalem, Israel. The Lord
blessed Israel so that he and all called by his name would be a blessing to the
nations surrounding him and them. You are called by a new name. You have been
blessed in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. You
are the Lord’s own. You are a Christian, a little Christ. And many of you were
first officially named in the rite of Holy Baptism. More names are to come!
You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and
a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My
Delight Is in Her [Hephzibah], and your land Married [Beulah]; for the Lord
delights in you, and your land shall be married.
No longer are you forsaken or desolate. You are in Christ.
You will never be truly alone, for He dwells with you. He is with you always,
even to the end of all things and beyond.
He has promised to be present in His Holy Supper, the foretaste of the
Marriage Feast of the Lamb in His Kingdom. He is with two or three gathered in
His Name. The Lord’s delight is in you, Hephzibah, for that is the Hebrew of
“My Delight Is in Her” as “Beulah” is Hebrew for “Married.” You are His and He
is yours, not merely for as long as the both of you shall live, but
forevermore.
For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons
marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God
rejoice over you.
God, the Lord, rejoices over you. He wants good things for
you. He wishes to shower you with the blessings of His Word.
Unfortunately, not all want the Lord’s blessings, His
salvation, or His righteousness. Not all wish to have Holy Matrimony as the
Lord invented it. Marriage is under attack, not merely when Christians sin
against the Sixth Commandment, not only in fornication, divorce, and
immorality, not only in adultery, which is a form of idolatry, the sin against
the First Commandment to have “no other gods” than the Lord. Marriage is under
siege by our culture.
At our Wyoming District Pastoral Conference last fall,
President Boche recommended that every congregation in the Wyoming District of
the LCMS adopt a resolution regarding marriage. What I read next is an example
of just such a resolution to present to the Voters Assembly of Immanuel.
MARRIAGE
RESOLUTION
SUBJECT: To adopt a Biblically based marriage resolution
for Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, WY (“Congregation”), a member
congregation of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.
WHEREAS: Some states in our United States of America
have passed, or are considering passing,
laws that allow same-sex “marriages”,
AND
WHEREAS: There is much confusion in our society
today about the difference between marriage as a civil institution recognized
by the government and marriage as a religious institution recognizing a holy
union recognized by the church; AND
WHEREAS: We believe that the whole Bible is the
divinely inspired Word of God, completely without error, and the sole source
and norm for Christian living, AND
WHEREAS, The Bible states,
and The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod believes, that marriage is a sacred
union of one man and one woman (Gen. 2:24-25), and that God gave marriage as a
picture of the relationship between Christ and His bride the Church (Eph.
5:32); therefore be it
RESOLVED: That we thank God for His clearly mandated
guidelines on marriage contained in Holy Scripture, AND BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED: That all weddings held at this Congregation
will be the marriage and wedding of one man and one woman in accordance with
Holy Scripture, AND BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED: That because of the separation of powers (the
kingdom of the left and the kingdom of the right), this Congregation will
adhere to and practice its religious beliefs, and, pursuant to its rights under
the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, will reject any and all
political or civil mandates to perform same-sex “marriages” within the
Congregation’s sanctuary or on its property, AND LET IT FINALLY BE
RESOLVED: That the pastors of this Congregation are
prohibited from participating in or performing any same-sex marriages, even if
they are held at a site other than the property of this Congregation.
Why must we be so bold and clear? Isaiah has proclaimed: For
Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be
quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a
burning torch.
LSB 275: [Holy Matrimony] is an honorable estate instituted
and blessed by God in Paradise, before humanity's fall into sin.
In marriage we see a picture of the communion between Christ
and His bride, the Church. Our Lord
blessed and honored marriage with his presence and first miracle at Cana in
Galilee. This estate is also commended
to us by the apostle Paul as good and honorable. Therefore, marriage is not to be entered into
inadvisedly or lightly, but reverently, deliberately, and in accordance with
the purposes for which it was instituted by God.
The union of husband and wife in heart, body, and mind is
intended by God for the mutual companionship, help, and support that each
person ought to receive from the other, both in prosperity and adversity. Marriage was also ordained so that man and
woman may find delight in one another.
Therefore, all persons who marry shall take a spouse in holiness and
honor, not in the passion of lust, for God has not called us to impurity but in
holiness. God also established marriage
for the procreation of children who are to be brought up in the fear and
instruction of the Lord so that they may offer Him their praise.
Our Lord Jesus said, (LSB 277) What God has joined together,
let no one put asunder [Matthew 19:6]. The Church may also truthfully proclaim
and profess: What God has not joined together, let no one falsely join together
in His name.
Yes, we are given to practice and proclaim the holy estate
of matrimony as God ordained it (LSB 276), yet we are also given to provide
truthful and loving pastoral care to all caught up in sexual sin, homosexual or
heterosexual. The love of Christ covers a multitude of sins. We dare not
stigmatize (or ignore one) compared to others. The Lord desires to rejoice over
you. The Lord cannot bless sin and neither can a pastor or the Church. Sin
separates us from God. God in Christ took your sin up at His baptism in the
Jordan and bore it on the cross of Calvary for you and your salvation,
defeating the devil, death and sin once and for all.
You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and
a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My
Delight Is in Her and your land Married;
for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married.
No longer are you forsaken or desolate. You are in Christ.
You will never be truly alone, for He dwells with you. He is with you always,
even to the end of all things and beyond.
He has promised to be present in His Holy Supper, the foretaste of the
Marriage Feast of the Lamb in His Kingdom. He is with two or three gathered in
His Name. The Lord’s delight is in you, for You are His and He is yours
forevermore.
….As as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall
your God rejoice over you. Amen.
In
the Name of Jesus. Amen.
