Isaiah 12:1-6 [Easter Sunrise]
Pastor Ron Koehler
Grace—Tucson, AZ
April 1, 2018
In that day you will say, “I will give thanks to you, LORD, for though you were angry with me, your anger has turned away, and you comfort me.” Surely God is my salvation. I will trust and will not be afraid; for the LORD Yahweh is my strength and song, and he has become my salvation.” Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. In that day you will say: “Give thanks to the LORD! Proclaim his name. Declare his deeds among the peoples. Proclaim that his name is exalted! Sing to the LORD, for he has done amazing things! Let this be known in all the earth! Shout aloud and sing for joy, daughter of Zion, for the Holy One of Israel is great among you!” (EHV)
In the name of our risen Lord, Jesus Christ, who has conquered sin and Satan and the sting of death, dear friends, Today is the day! You’ve felt this before—It’s Christmas morning and time to rip open wrapping paper and get to the gifts! Today is the wedding! It’s game day! It’s your birthday! You’re just waiting for the FedEx driver to pull up because…your new phone is coming today! No alarm went off this morning because…you’re retired! You’ve felt this way before. We all know what it is like to look forward to something, to have this sense of swelling anticipation as we wait, and then to finally experience the happy arrival of that day. There are so many things in this world that we look forward to like this and which bring us joy. Though we know the feelings well, there is nothing that compares to this day! TODAY IS THE DAY! It is Easter, the Day of Resurrection! This is—without question— the biggest day for a Christian. It has been since that first Easter day when the tomb of Jesus was found empty and people saw him raised from the dead. TODAY IS THE DAY that so many people will not miss church. Many of you who are here today will not only not miss church, you’ll do “double church”—and throw in a breakfast and a concert too, maybe making it your longest day at church all year! Those who are not at church often know that this is a “can’t miss Sunday.” TODAY IS THE DAY to wear your Easter best, maybe a new dress or a pastel-colored shirt to match the Easter eggs. It is a happy day, full of excitement. The anticipation is over and the day is here—TODAY IS THE DAY! Earlier we heard the words of the prophet Isaiah, who lived and worked for the Lord right around 700 BC. Those words from chapter 12 are part of what was his message of anticipation. The words God had him write caused him and those who heard his message to look forward to a day. That “Day” may be understood in a couple ways, but no matter how you view it, the focus is on Christ’s saving work and what he has done for you and me in particular. How exciting it must have been for Isaiah to see with prophetic vision the day that the long-promised salvation of God would appear. What divine images may have swept through Isaiah’s mind as the Lord told him to write about… the birth of Jesus (“To us a child is born, to us a son is given” [9:6]), and Jesus’ life of service to sinners (“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse…the Spirit of the LORD will rest on him…righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist” [11:1, 2, 5]), and then the words of chapter 12 declaring that salvation has come and the whole world deserves to hear about it so that God may be praised!