Last Sunday Saint Peter said to us that “according to [God’s] promise we wait for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”  . . . And today we hear for ourselves the very promise of which Peter has spoken.  Today we hear the Lord God Himself say to us, by means of His prophet Isaiah; . . . today we hear the Lord God say to us, “behold, I create new heavens and a new earth.”

    But then God says, “But”.  “But” is such a tiny word, . . . and yet, it means a great deal when God says it.  The Lord God Almighty says, “But”, by which He means “nevertheless”:

But [God says] be glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create;

Having told us that He is creating new heavens and a new earth, the Lord God Almighty says, “Nevertheless, . . . don’t become so infatuated with high things (like new heavens and a new earth), which you can do nothing about; . . . don’t become so infatuated with things beyond your reach, . . . that you neglect the wonderful things that I have already placed within your competence and reach to consecrate and to sanctify”:

But [God says] be glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create; for behold, -- [Look, says God] -- behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and [I create] her people a joy.

    In the time that Isaiah was speaking, . . . God’s address was to the people newly returned to the Holy City where His Throne had been established before the sins of His people had overturned it; . . . in the time that Isaiah was speaking, God’s address was to the people newly returned to Jerusalem where the Ark of the Covenant had sat in splendor before it was carried off to Babylon, . . . never to be seen again.  . . . God says that His purpose in choosing Jerusalem and making of it the seat of His glory . . . was so that all the people of the world might look upon that city and rejoice to know that there is a place upon earth where God’s holiness and love and mercy and healing is at hand.  . . . And in the time that Isaiah was speaking . . . God wants His people to understand that He is restoring Jerusalem into their custody to fulfill His purpose in making them His People of the Covenant in the first place:  . . . so that they might once again dwell in His Holy City . . . and be ministers of His sacred love and mercy and healing touch; . . . “Behold,” God says, “I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.”

    But the thing that needs to be remembered about Holy Scripture . . . is that God’s address is not limited to the past.  God’s Holy Word is not simply historical; . . . God’s Word is eternal!   . . . And so, today the Lord God Almighty also speaks to us . . . and says that even though we are privileged to know the design of God’s Providence; . . . even though we are privileged to know that the Lord God Almighty shall sunder the heavens and melt the elements with fire in order to create new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells; . . . even though it is our privilege to know these things and to wait eagerly for them, . . . do not become so infatuated with things that are beyond your reach, the Lord God Almighty says, . . . that you neglect what has been entrusted to you.  For, “I create the Church as my new Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “I create the Church as my new Jerusalem to be a rejoicing . . . and I create Her people of the new covenant to be a joy.”

    The Lord God Almighty desires that His Church be a fountain of sacred love and mercy and healing, . . . and He has confided in us the ministry of these sacred things.  And so He exhorts us by means of His Apostle Paul:

Be at peace among yourselves.  And we exhort you, brethren, [cheerfully] admonish the idlers, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.  See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all.

Even though we are the redeemed of Christ who await His coming in glory so that we might be done with the stinkers of this earth and enjoy the company of the saints in light and the angels, . . . nevertheless . . . we have a ministry to fulfill.  Our heavenly Father desires that in this present moment we be ministers of His sacred mercy, love, and healing by being at peace among ourselves; . . . by admonishing and encouraging and helping . . . and by being patient; . . . our heavenly Father desires that in this present moment we be ministers of His sacred mercy, love, and healing by doing good to one another . . . and to all, . . . even the stinkers.

    Of course, whenever we gather here before God’s Altar and the Deacon says, “Let us humbly confess our sins unto Almighty God,” . . . there are sins to be confessed.  We are not always at peace among ourselves.  There are those family squabbles that can come up suddenly and take us all by surprise.  And sometimes, when we start out to cheerfully admonish, we become quite impatient when we are misunderstood.  And there are times when we try to encourage . . . and become exasperated when our intentions are misinterpreted.  . . . How can we be ministers of God’s grace when we have trouble doing good even among ourselves?

    Well, our gracious heavenly Father is ever eager to coach us, . . . and so He does, today, through His prophet John.  . . . When some of John’s disciples come to him with the alarming news that a fellow named Jesus, whom John baptized, is Himself baptizing, . . . John says,

He who has the bride is the bridegroom; the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice; therefore this joy of mine is now full.  He must increase . . .

The Lord God Almighty says to us, by means of His prophet John, . . . the Lord God says to us that Jesus is the bridegroom of the Church.  Hear Christ’s voice, God says.  Hear Christ’s voice which speaks to us in Holy Scripture; . . . hear Christ’s voice in the silences of our prayers; . . . hear the voice of Jesus when He touches you with His flesh . . . and puts the Cup of His Life to your lips.  Hear the voice of Jesus and rejoice!  Rejoice in the Word, Who is Jesus; . . . rejoice in the Word Who loves you and speaks to you and desires to dwell with you.  Welcome Him and allow Him to inhabit your heart.  Allow Him to inhabit more of you day by day.  Allow Jesus to increase in you and fill your soul with light and with divine grace . . . so that you might become like Jesus; . . . so that you might become what God made you to be:  His very Image; . . . full of mercy, love, and health; . . . full of peace and encouragement and patience and good.

    And so, Saint Paul exhorts us, saying,

Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Rejoice in the Word, Who is the Bridegroom; Who speaks to us in Holy Scripture.  Rejoice in the Word made flesh Who has come to us and redeemed us and Who sanctifies our lives by His abiding Spirit.  Rejoice in the Word at the right hand of the Father, Who shall come to us again in the fullness of time, not as an infant, but as Lord of new heavens and a new earth in which His beloved shall dwell.  Rejoice always, Paul says; for God’s Word encircles us with His love and sanctifies us with His presence and has destroyed the power of death to touch us.  And being so enfolded in God’s Word, pray to Him constantly, Who continually hears you.  . . . And give thanks in all circumstances, . . . because in all circumstances you are in the presence of Christ.  So, hear the Word, Who is the Bridegroom; . . . allow Him to increase in your life, . . . for, by Christ’s abiding presence, now and in the age to come, it is God’s will that you should be His Church a rejoicing, . . . and it is God’s will that you should be His people, . . . a joy:  ministers of God’s mercy, love, and health.