Isaiah 66:18-23
For I know their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming to gather all nations and
tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory, and I will set a sign among them…..
“For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the Lord,
so shall your offspring and your name remain. From new moon to new moon, and from
Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me,” declares the Lord.
One of the best parts about being home for the holidays is being surrounded by family. There’s
something deeply comforting about having the kids at home, nieces and nephews running
around, and aunts and uncles filling every corner of the house. It’s a blessing.
But if we’re being honest, being surrounded by family is also one of the most difficult parts of
the holidays. Like any good gift, the blessing of family comes with more than a few burdens. The
people who love you the most, and know you the best, also have the ability to aggravate, annoy,
and wound you like no other. No one can cut deeper or bring you to tears faster than someone
you love.
It’s hard to admit, especially in a season where we try to lean into the warm and fuzzy, but family
life is often tangled with tension. And being home for the holidays has a way making celebrating
Christmas, well, kind of complicated.
It’s important to remember that what we anticipate in Advent and look forward to at Christmas is
not just the birth of Jesus, but also the return of Jesus. The same Jesus who arrived in weakness
on Christmas morning to save the world from sin and death has promised that he will come again
in glory, to raise the dead to new life and to re-create the world. And in that re-created world, in
the new and everlasting Home he’s preparing for us, all that’s bad and broken in our earthly
families will be made right.
In the closing chapters of Isaiah’s sweeping prophecy, the prophet lifts his eyes toward that
future, painting a vivid picture of the Home the long-awaited Savior-King will establish at the
end of time. It’s a Home overflowing with the very gifts that those wounded by sin-soiled
relationships long to receive. Isaiah describes a world marked by justice for the wronged,
reconciliation in even the most broken relationships, and joyful unity with your forever family.
Friends, the Jesus who came once at Christmas will come again. And when he does, he will bring
you home to a feast that truly satisfies, to a family without fracture, and to a joy that never fades.
And on that day, your praise, your peace, and your Home will be unbroken. Amen.