WEBVTT 00:00:00.820 --> 00:00:04.200 We are so happy to be here together with you all. 00:00:04.860 --> 00:00:09.640 As I said at the beginning of the service, this is one of our favorite times to gather. 00:00:09.779 --> 00:00:11.759 It's one of my favorite times of the year. 00:00:11.839 --> 00:00:13.200 I'm sure that many of you agree. 00:00:15.080 --> 00:00:19.600 If you know anything about Lessons and Carols services, we do ours a little differently. 00:00:19.839 --> 00:00:21.980 Typically, this is a Christmas Eve service. 00:00:22.940 --> 00:00:24.940 So you may be wondering, if you know anything about this at all, 00:00:24.940 --> 00:00:29.660 why would we do our Lessons and Carols service so early in December? 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:32.280 And the reason is a very practical one. 00:00:33.140 --> 00:00:37.079 And if you're from D.C. or live in D.C., you probably know why. 00:00:37.340 --> 00:00:41.420 It's that when Christmas time comes, most everybody leaves. 00:00:42.539 --> 00:00:43.780 People go home. 00:00:43.899 --> 00:00:44.620 They go elsewhere. 00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:48.060 There are a lot of people who are here who have grown up in D.C., 00:00:48.060 --> 00:00:51.379 but there are also a lot of people who came from somewhere else. 00:00:51.379 --> 00:00:53.620 And home is somewhere else. 00:00:53.799 --> 00:00:58.500 And so you come and you are here most of the time, but Christmas rolls around, 00:00:58.500 --> 00:01:01.240 and most people, many people leave. 00:01:03.159 --> 00:01:09.019 Christmas is a time of year when we think about home, when we long for home. 00:01:09.799 --> 00:01:12.000 You know, it's a time of year when we want to be home. 00:01:12.939 --> 00:01:14.980 And so nobody's blaming you for leaving. 00:01:15.180 --> 00:01:19.039 If you do stick around, it's a great time to be in D.C., much less traffic. 00:01:19.040 --> 00:01:23.400 But it's a time that makes us long for home. 00:01:23.500 --> 00:01:27.880 And if you're lucky enough to have a home and a family, a hometown, 00:01:28.800 --> 00:01:31.320 then you want to be there at Christmas. 00:01:33.080 --> 00:01:38.160 For people who don't have a home to go to, for people who come from a broken family, 00:01:38.660 --> 00:01:41.080 this can be a particularly hard time of year. 00:01:41.079 --> 00:01:45.019 If you're lonely in other parts of the year, that loneliness ramps up. 00:01:45.439 --> 00:01:48.219 Because Christmas is a time that makes us long for home. 00:01:49.340 --> 00:01:56.519 And in fact, the connection between home and Christmas, as deep as we know it to be, 00:01:56.599 --> 00:02:00.439 it actually is a lot deeper than maybe any of us realize. 00:02:00.819 --> 00:02:04.519 And that's what we want to spend a few minutes talking about this evening. 00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:08.240 That longing for home that is connected to Christmas. 00:02:08.240 --> 00:02:13.439 The book of Isaiah, which is an old book, it's in the Old Testament. 00:02:13.620 --> 00:02:17.120 It was written around the 8th century B.C., so a long time ago. 00:02:18.360 --> 00:02:22.180 It talks a lot about this longing for home. 00:02:22.300 --> 00:02:23.520 It talks a lot about home. 00:02:23.900 --> 00:02:29.080 And in particular, one of the first lessons that we read this evening was Isaiah chapter 35. 00:02:30.879 --> 00:02:34.000 And this shows us two things about home. 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:37.540 So what I want to do is I want to walk through Isaiah 35 very briefly. 00:02:38.240 --> 00:02:39.939 And then I just want to show you two things. 00:02:40.080 --> 00:02:42.340 It shows us something about homecoming. 00:02:42.700 --> 00:02:43.200 Or I'm sorry. 00:02:43.400 --> 00:02:45.360 It shows us something about homesickness. 00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:47.200 Homesickness. 00:02:47.500 --> 00:02:49.400 And then it shows us something about homecoming. 00:02:50.140 --> 00:02:52.300 So let's pray as we look into God's Word together. 00:02:52.300 --> 00:03:04.880 Lord, what a great night to come together and celebrate the wonder and the awe of you entering into this world. 00:03:06.140 --> 00:03:10.700 That we long for the God of the universe to speak to us. 00:03:11.640 --> 00:03:16.640 And Christmas shows us that you have indeed spoken to us through your Son, Jesus Christ. 00:03:16.639 --> 00:03:23.779 And so we pray that, Lord, as we open your Word together, that we would, as we endeavor to understand your written Word, 00:03:23.919 --> 00:03:29.419 that by the power of your Spirit, we would actually come face to face with the reality of your living Word, Jesus Christ. 00:03:29.859 --> 00:03:31.359 And it's in his name that we pray. 00:03:32.179 --> 00:03:32.519 Amen. 00:03:32.520 --> 00:03:41.020 So if you know anything about Isaiah 35 or have a Bible or a phone or something that you can pull it up and look at it, 00:03:41.040 --> 00:03:42.600 it's a beautiful, beautiful poem. 00:03:43.760 --> 00:03:45.820 And it's a poem about pilgrims. 00:03:46.780 --> 00:03:52.240 It's a poem about pilgrims who are wandering through the wilderness and they're trying to find their way home. 00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:57.000 And so as it starts out, they're in a desert wasteland. 00:03:57.340 --> 00:04:04.280 Imagine rocks, kind of a lifeless terrain with rocks and hills and sand and crags and ravines. 00:04:05.780 --> 00:04:07.580 And these pilgrims are wandering in the wilderness. 00:04:07.939 --> 00:04:11.560 But even as they go, their surroundings begin to transform. 00:04:11.879 --> 00:04:12.820 It says in verse 1, 00:04:13.200 --> 00:04:16.600 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad. 00:04:17.439 --> 00:04:20.579 The desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus. 00:04:20.579 --> 00:04:26.800 And it says the desert becomes like Lebanon and Carmel and Sharon. 00:04:27.099 --> 00:04:28.879 And these are other places. 00:04:29.219 --> 00:04:38.879 And for the original audience, these images, these would have evoked images of lush, fertile, flourishing landscape 00:04:38.879 --> 00:04:42.899 full of beauty and richness and life. 00:04:44.620 --> 00:04:47.699 These are places of extraordinary beauty. 00:04:47.699 --> 00:04:55.060 And so it evokes these images and it says that the desert begins to be transformed into this. 00:04:55.180 --> 00:05:00.360 And then as you go down in the poem, it begins to say that the pilgrims themselves, as they walk, 00:05:01.019 --> 00:05:02.500 that they begin to be transformed. 00:05:03.939 --> 00:05:07.399 It says the blind receive their sight. 00:05:07.539 --> 00:05:10.459 The deaf begin to be able to hear. 00:05:10.579 --> 00:05:12.899 The lame are able to get up and walk. 00:05:13.000 --> 00:05:14.980 The mute are able to sing. 00:05:14.980 --> 00:05:22.200 And then at the crescendo of this poem, they come to this great highway in verses 8 through 10. 00:05:22.300 --> 00:05:23.700 Now, we can't imagine this. 00:05:23.800 --> 00:05:25.879 We all grew up with the interstate system. 00:05:26.439 --> 00:05:31.980 And we grew up with the sense that we can be anywhere we want to be in a few hours or a couple of days. 00:05:32.439 --> 00:05:38.439 But imagine a world like this where there's just desert and wilderness and rocks and ravines and mountains. 00:05:39.620 --> 00:05:40.819 Travel was hard. 00:05:40.980 --> 00:05:41.920 It was arduous. 00:05:42.280 --> 00:05:43.900 It took forever to get anywhere. 00:05:43.899 --> 00:05:46.319 And imagine just coming upon a highway. 00:05:47.359 --> 00:05:53.799 A causeway raised up above it all that was flat and clear that went straight in the direction that you wanted to go. 00:05:53.939 --> 00:05:55.439 How amazing that would be. 00:05:56.419 --> 00:06:00.859 So they come upon this highway that goes directly into Zion. 00:06:02.279 --> 00:06:06.000 And so they enter into Zion singing and full of joy. 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:10.220 Now, in one sense, this is an old story. 00:06:10.420 --> 00:06:12.399 It's the story of the people of Israel. 00:06:12.779 --> 00:06:15.519 It's the story that you see written throughout the Old Testament. 00:06:16.660 --> 00:06:17.019 Right? 00:06:17.079 --> 00:06:19.920 So those of you who are familiar, the first half of the Bible we call the Old Testament. 00:06:20.240 --> 00:06:21.819 And it tells the story of Israel. 00:06:22.660 --> 00:06:24.000 Israel, they're pilgrims. 00:06:24.100 --> 00:06:25.100 They're trying to get home. 00:06:25.100 --> 00:06:30.640 And each time they think they've arrived at home, it never lasts. 00:06:31.960 --> 00:06:33.140 So they're in Egypt. 00:06:33.340 --> 00:06:34.340 They're slaves in Egypt. 00:06:34.460 --> 00:06:37.980 And they just want to get free and get through the wilderness to the promised land. 00:06:38.220 --> 00:06:42.220 But when they get there, it isn't what they hoped it would be. 00:06:42.220 --> 00:06:46.260 And then later we see them in exile in Babylon. 00:06:46.480 --> 00:06:47.940 And they just want to get out of Babylon. 00:06:49.680 --> 00:06:58.480 But even when they get out of Babylon, it never becomes, they never arrive at where they hoped they would be. 00:06:58.740 --> 00:07:04.420 And then hundreds of years later, you see them again in Jesus' day under Roman occupation. 00:07:04.860 --> 00:07:06.820 And still, they're not home. 00:07:06.900 --> 00:07:07.920 They don't have a home. 00:07:07.920 --> 00:07:12.080 They're still longing for a place that they can call their own, where they can belong. 00:07:12.580 --> 00:07:13.400 And have peace. 00:07:14.660 --> 00:07:18.340 They're ever wandering, ever seeking that home. 00:07:19.480 --> 00:07:21.780 So in one sense, that's the story of Israel. 00:07:22.400 --> 00:07:27.120 But as we kind of back up and look at the whole story of Scripture, we ask, you know, 00:07:27.180 --> 00:07:31.000 what does this 8th century B.C. poem have to do with us? 00:07:32.680 --> 00:07:37.780 Well, the Bible actually says that Israel is a kind of microcosm of the world. 00:07:37.779 --> 00:07:43.699 So in other words, Israel's story is actually the story of all of us. 00:07:43.779 --> 00:07:45.959 It's the story of the world in miniature. 00:07:47.039 --> 00:07:49.739 And we've actually been recounting this through the lessons. 00:07:49.740 --> 00:07:58.819 So in the larger story, what we see is, is that while we may not be physically homeless, 00:07:59.960 --> 00:08:02.960 the Bible says that we're all spiritually homeless. 00:08:02.959 --> 00:08:06.159 We're all spiritually homeless. 00:08:07.239 --> 00:08:10.199 That we are pilgrims trying to find our way home. 00:08:10.519 --> 00:08:13.839 And this passage helps us understand our homesickness. 00:08:14.560 --> 00:08:20.659 And then it shows us how we are able to finally come home once and for all. 00:08:21.839 --> 00:08:25.379 So let's look briefly at these two themes in this poem. 00:08:25.560 --> 00:08:27.579 First, the theme of homesickness. 00:08:27.579 --> 00:08:30.859 Do you know where the word homesick comes from? 00:08:32.079 --> 00:08:33.500 You ever looked up the history? 00:08:35.519 --> 00:08:36.860 I do things like that. 00:08:36.939 --> 00:08:37.539 I don't know why. 00:08:37.960 --> 00:08:39.799 But I was curious one day and I looked it up. 00:08:40.100 --> 00:08:45.819 And homesickness and the concept of being homesick was actually originally a medical term. 00:08:47.220 --> 00:08:54.360 You can actually find this or its counterpart, nostalgia, in medical textbooks. 00:08:54.360 --> 00:08:59.060 And it was considered a huge health crisis during the Civil War. 00:09:00.800 --> 00:09:04.300 Thousands of troops were diagnosed with homesickness. 00:09:05.639 --> 00:09:10.139 And a number of them died and the cause of death was homesickness. 00:09:11.139 --> 00:09:12.159 Severe nostalgia. 00:09:13.720 --> 00:09:21.379 The idea being that there's something harmful or debilitating or destructive about being away from one's home. 00:09:21.379 --> 00:09:26.000 The idea that the longer you're away, the more it wears you down and breaks you down. 00:09:26.559 --> 00:09:28.620 And some people ultimately succumb to it. 00:09:30.340 --> 00:09:33.779 And you know, you see this very clearly in people who are actually homeless. 00:09:35.980 --> 00:09:36.460 Right? 00:09:36.600 --> 00:09:42.120 So real homelessness, in the physical sense of the word, is destructive. 00:09:43.519 --> 00:09:46.559 Psychologically, emotionally, spiritually, physically destructive. 00:09:47.440 --> 00:09:48.379 It's debilitating. 00:09:49.340 --> 00:09:50.559 It's dehumanizing. 00:09:50.559 --> 00:09:56.679 Well, Christians believe that we are all spiritually homeless. 00:09:57.879 --> 00:10:01.019 Because we believe that God is our home. 00:10:01.099 --> 00:10:07.419 In the poem, when it talks about Zion, that's actually a place where you can come into the presence of the Lord. 00:10:08.679 --> 00:10:12.539 And so we believe that we are all in this world spiritually homeless. 00:10:15.459 --> 00:10:17.959 Apart from relationship with God. 00:10:17.960 --> 00:10:26.519 It teaches, the Bible teaches that God created this world to be our home and himself to be our home. 00:10:26.860 --> 00:10:34.480 But when we rejected God, we decided we wanted to leave, which you see in Genesis chapter 3. 00:10:34.740 --> 00:10:36.960 We decided we wanted to live however we wanted. 00:10:37.280 --> 00:10:39.080 We decided we wanted to be our own gods. 00:10:39.080 --> 00:10:42.720 And so it says that we are in many ways like runaway teenagers. 00:10:44.360 --> 00:10:48.580 Who say to their father and their mother, I know everything I need to know. 00:10:49.360 --> 00:10:50.580 I can do it alone. 00:10:50.740 --> 00:10:54.060 And they run away from home and they begin to live life on the street. 00:10:54.720 --> 00:10:58.560 And in many ways, we are portrayed spiritually in that way. 00:10:58.559 --> 00:11:01.599 We've run away and we're spiritually homeless. 00:11:02.519 --> 00:11:07.179 And now because of that, Christians believe that the world has become like a wilderness. 00:11:08.179 --> 00:11:17.679 So when we see things like poverty or racism, injustice, oppression, that all of these are signs that we're living in a spiritual wilderness. 00:11:18.379 --> 00:11:20.399 They're signs that we are spiritually homeless. 00:11:20.399 --> 00:11:33.699 And even in our own lives, sickness and aging and decay and death, that these are signs that we are spiritually homeless. 00:11:35.740 --> 00:11:40.659 Because God is our home, life apart from God makes us homeless. 00:11:40.840 --> 00:11:44.840 And that is destructive and debilitating and dehumanizing. 00:11:45.079 --> 00:11:47.620 Ultimately, we won't survive it. 00:11:47.620 --> 00:11:52.340 And I think on some level we know this. 00:11:53.000 --> 00:11:55.159 Now you may be thinking, I don't believe any of this. 00:11:55.240 --> 00:11:57.120 I absolutely know that this is not the case. 00:11:57.179 --> 00:11:59.919 And that's completely understandable. 00:12:00.659 --> 00:12:11.159 But I think even if you don't agree with all of the theology, on some deep level, we actually experience our spiritual homelessness in different ways. 00:12:11.159 --> 00:12:12.899 There's a German word. 00:12:13.019 --> 00:12:15.200 I'm not a German speaker, so I'll do my best. 00:12:15.519 --> 00:12:17.360 But the German word is Sinsucht. 00:12:18.480 --> 00:12:24.399 And Sinsucht means or describes a feeling that is a kind of a combination of two things. 00:12:25.200 --> 00:12:28.940 On the one hand, it's a feeling that includes a sense of incompleteness. 00:12:31.039 --> 00:12:33.399 There's got to be more to life than that. 00:12:33.460 --> 00:12:36.919 There's got to be more to the world than this. 00:12:37.159 --> 00:12:38.179 There's something missing. 00:12:38.580 --> 00:12:39.060 Incompleteness. 00:12:39.059 --> 00:12:42.699 And that is paired with a longing. 00:12:44.839 --> 00:12:46.959 A longing for an ideal. 00:12:47.319 --> 00:12:51.559 Some ideal life that we have never actually experienced. 00:12:51.559 --> 00:12:55.019 So incompleteness and longing. 00:12:55.799 --> 00:12:57.500 And this word is fascinating. 00:12:59.439 --> 00:13:04.419 C.S. Lewis described it as, quote, a feeling of incompleteness. 00:13:04.419 --> 00:13:09.679 Oh, as I said, paired with a profound yearning for some ideal. 00:13:09.899 --> 00:13:11.779 So this isn't just homesickness. 00:13:12.099 --> 00:13:14.639 This isn't just longing for the home that you came from. 00:13:14.639 --> 00:13:21.559 This is saying that actually there are times when you miss home and you long for it and you want to be there. 00:13:21.860 --> 00:13:23.199 And imagine this for a second. 00:13:23.379 --> 00:13:26.000 You know, those of you who are traveling somewhere else for Christmas. 00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:29.679 You think about home and you want to be there and you miss it. 00:13:29.740 --> 00:13:31.399 And maybe you just recently moved to D.C. 00:13:32.139 --> 00:13:33.799 And you can't wait to get back home. 00:13:34.460 --> 00:13:36.539 And then what happens when you actually get home? 00:13:37.659 --> 00:13:38.980 I mean, if you're totally honest. 00:13:39.559 --> 00:13:40.639 You don't have to tell your family. 00:13:42.080 --> 00:13:44.039 But you get there and it's great. 00:13:44.220 --> 00:13:48.320 But it's just not quite as great as you thought it was going to be. 00:13:49.059 --> 00:13:50.440 Or it's really, really, really great. 00:13:50.440 --> 00:13:54.600 But then the greatness kind of starts to wane after a few days. 00:13:54.600 --> 00:13:55.000 Right? 00:13:56.080 --> 00:14:00.200 And then after about a week you're like, oh, yeah, I remember why I moved to D.C. 00:14:00.379 --> 00:14:02.379 And then you go back to D.C., right? 00:14:02.440 --> 00:14:04.120 And you say, I'll see you, you know, at Easter. 00:14:04.740 --> 00:14:07.480 And this is the reality. 00:14:07.600 --> 00:14:11.220 You get home but it's never quite what you hoped it would be. 00:14:11.399 --> 00:14:19.000 It's weird but Zinzuck describes this feeling where you can feel homesick even when you're home. 00:14:20.420 --> 00:14:22.960 Have you ever been home and still felt homesick? 00:14:24.600 --> 00:14:25.440 What is that? 00:14:26.759 --> 00:14:31.500 And you realize that your longing is not just to be home in some place somewhere. 00:14:32.980 --> 00:14:39.379 Your longing is more a desire to be in the kind of place you wish home could be. 00:14:40.700 --> 00:14:44.820 It's a longing to be in the kind of place you wish home could be. 00:14:45.980 --> 00:14:47.360 That's this deeper longing. 00:14:47.360 --> 00:14:50.340 I was going to quote him a moment ago. 00:14:50.440 --> 00:14:53.200 C.S. Lewis called this that inconsolable longing. 00:14:54.899 --> 00:14:58.120 Inconsolable because nothing here can satisfy it or console it. 00:14:59.120 --> 00:15:00.519 He describes it as this. 00:15:01.379 --> 00:15:03.600 The scent of a flower we have not found. 00:15:04.639 --> 00:15:06.919 The echo of a tune we have not heard. 00:15:08.080 --> 00:15:10.680 News from a country we have never yet visited. 00:15:10.679 --> 00:15:16.000 And I think this is the feeling behind a lot of other feelings. 00:15:18.259 --> 00:15:24.559 It's the feeling that's in the background that we falsely attribute to other things. 00:15:24.759 --> 00:15:24.879 Right? 00:15:26.299 --> 00:15:29.599 I think this is what drives the if-onlys of our life. 00:15:29.679 --> 00:15:31.439 I don't know if you have if-onlys. 00:15:31.439 --> 00:15:33.339 I have tons of if-onlys. 00:15:33.399 --> 00:15:33.579 Right? 00:15:34.239 --> 00:15:36.740 If only I could find my true soulmate. 00:15:36.839 --> 00:15:37.899 That's what some people think. 00:15:37.899 --> 00:15:39.740 Then I will have arrived. 00:15:41.019 --> 00:15:41.159 Right? 00:15:41.220 --> 00:15:43.659 If only I could get enough affirmation. 00:15:43.759 --> 00:15:45.799 Then I'll finally feel good about myself. 00:15:46.740 --> 00:15:46.919 Right? 00:15:47.019 --> 00:15:50.639 If only I could have a family and kids. 00:15:50.799 --> 00:15:52.579 Then life will begin. 00:15:52.720 --> 00:15:56.620 This is all just kind of a prelude to when life actually begins. 00:15:57.379 --> 00:16:01.059 If only I could find something meaningful to do with my life. 00:16:01.240 --> 00:16:02.620 Really make a difference. 00:16:02.740 --> 00:16:02.939 Right? 00:16:03.159 --> 00:16:04.500 These are the if-onlys. 00:16:04.500 --> 00:16:09.600 The implicit belief is that if only I could get this or that or arrive. 00:16:09.940 --> 00:16:10.779 Then life will begin. 00:16:11.120 --> 00:16:12.080 Then I will feel peace. 00:16:12.179 --> 00:16:13.620 Then the longing will be satisfied. 00:16:14.019 --> 00:16:19.720 And then I will be able to settle into this life with satisfaction. 00:16:21.000 --> 00:16:23.500 And I think that chasing this idea. 00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:25.340 Chasing these if-onlys. 00:16:25.500 --> 00:16:27.799 I think this drives people out of relationships. 00:16:27.799 --> 00:16:31.500 It drives them to date one person after another. 00:16:31.699 --> 00:16:32.279 After another. 00:16:32.439 --> 00:16:33.000 After another. 00:16:33.240 --> 00:16:33.779 After another. 00:16:33.919 --> 00:16:35.379 It drives people out of marriages. 00:16:36.779 --> 00:16:38.799 It drives people out of jobs. 00:16:39.759 --> 00:16:41.519 Changing jobs every couple of years. 00:16:41.699 --> 00:16:44.139 Maybe the next one will kind of scratch that itch. 00:16:44.899 --> 00:16:45.039 Right? 00:16:45.139 --> 00:16:48.819 I think it drives people to move from place to place to place to place. 00:16:48.820 --> 00:16:54.580 But underneath all of this is that inconsolable longing. 00:16:56.660 --> 00:17:02.680 So Christians believe this inconsolable longing is what it feels like to be spiritually homeless. 00:17:03.280 --> 00:17:04.740 Spiritually cut off from God. 00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:06.820 And that nothing will ever satisfy this longing. 00:17:06.819 --> 00:17:10.659 Which then brings us to the second point. 00:17:11.500 --> 00:17:13.439 If we are all home sick. 00:17:13.619 --> 00:17:15.599 Literally made spiritually sick. 00:17:15.700 --> 00:17:17.200 Because we are cut off from our home. 00:17:18.159 --> 00:17:19.559 Then how do we come home? 00:17:20.500 --> 00:17:22.480 What does a homecoming actually look like? 00:17:22.519 --> 00:17:23.299 And is it possible? 00:17:23.779 --> 00:17:24.319 Because listen. 00:17:24.419 --> 00:17:26.339 You have to deal with that longing somehow. 00:17:26.639 --> 00:17:27.919 You have to deal with it somehow. 00:17:29.359 --> 00:17:30.359 Because it's there. 00:17:30.579 --> 00:17:33.500 And it's just nagging at the back of your mind. 00:17:35.019 --> 00:17:36.439 So the way I see it. 00:17:36.440 --> 00:17:37.759 I think that there are three options. 00:17:38.680 --> 00:17:40.019 Three ways we can deal with this. 00:17:41.019 --> 00:17:43.180 The first is the avoidance approach. 00:17:44.120 --> 00:17:46.259 And this is something that I think all people. 00:17:46.360 --> 00:17:48.860 Christians, non-Christians can fall into this. 00:17:49.080 --> 00:17:50.080 The avoidance approach. 00:17:51.080 --> 00:17:54.140 Because some people rather than trying to satisfy that longing. 00:17:54.140 --> 00:17:55.700 They just try to escape it. 00:17:55.820 --> 00:17:56.420 Or avoid it. 00:17:56.559 --> 00:17:57.460 Or minimize it. 00:17:57.539 --> 00:17:58.840 Or numb themselves to it. 00:17:59.600 --> 00:18:01.140 And maybe for some of us here. 00:18:01.420 --> 00:18:04.380 This has driven us into things like substance abuse. 00:18:04.740 --> 00:18:05.600 Or addiction. 00:18:05.599 --> 00:18:07.539 Addictions of various kinds. 00:18:07.599 --> 00:18:08.819 I think they're all driven by this. 00:18:09.319 --> 00:18:11.199 There was the actor Russell Brand. 00:18:11.819 --> 00:18:13.159 I don't know if you know anything about Russell Brand. 00:18:13.259 --> 00:18:18.259 But he's had a long time struggle with drugs and alcohol earlier in his life. 00:18:18.500 --> 00:18:21.539 And he wrote a very vulnerable piece in The Guardian a few years ago. 00:18:21.539 --> 00:18:26.559 Where he's really honest and transparent about his struggle with addiction. 00:18:27.039 --> 00:18:28.480 And listen to what he says in this article. 00:18:29.639 --> 00:18:32.440 He says drugs and alcohol are not my problem. 00:18:34.339 --> 00:18:35.680 Reality is my problem. 00:18:36.819 --> 00:18:39.339 He says drugs and alcohol are my solution. 00:18:39.339 --> 00:18:43.779 And then a little bit further down he says very plainly. 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:47.980 I look to drugs and booze to fill up a hole in me. 00:18:49.000 --> 00:18:50.879 I'm trying to fill up a hole. 00:18:51.159 --> 00:18:53.199 That's that inconsolable longing. 00:18:54.119 --> 00:18:54.299 Right? 00:18:55.099 --> 00:18:56.259 But for most of us. 00:18:56.299 --> 00:18:57.379 I mean I hope. 00:18:57.960 --> 00:18:58.559 Most of us. 00:18:58.680 --> 00:18:59.940 If you're there and you're struggling. 00:19:00.139 --> 00:19:01.119 Maybe you connect with that. 00:19:01.180 --> 00:19:03.680 But I think maybe there are a number of us here who. 00:19:04.240 --> 00:19:06.359 By God's grace have not fallen into addiction. 00:19:07.159 --> 00:19:08.419 With drugs or alcohol. 00:19:08.579 --> 00:19:09.579 At least not overtly. 00:19:11.680 --> 00:19:12.960 And for most of us. 00:19:13.039 --> 00:19:14.879 I think there are other ways that we escape. 00:19:15.019 --> 00:19:17.000 And avoid having to feel this longing. 00:19:17.180 --> 00:19:17.799 Let me ask you this. 00:19:18.159 --> 00:19:19.700 Why are we busy all the time? 00:19:21.659 --> 00:19:24.099 Why are we so freaking busy? 00:19:24.779 --> 00:19:27.440 This city is insane with busyness. 00:19:27.919 --> 00:19:30.799 We drive each other crazy with our busyness. 00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:34.299 Man, you ask anybody. 00:19:34.379 --> 00:19:34.879 How are you doing? 00:19:34.940 --> 00:19:35.839 I'm so busy. 00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:36.720 I'm overwhelmed. 00:19:36.919 --> 00:19:37.799 It's that time of year. 00:19:37.859 --> 00:19:39.399 But then you ask them three months down the road. 00:19:39.500 --> 00:19:40.319 I'm so busy. 00:19:40.480 --> 00:19:41.099 I'm overwhelmed. 00:19:41.279 --> 00:19:42.059 It's that time of year. 00:19:42.139 --> 00:19:43.659 Well I guess it's always that time of year. 00:19:44.019 --> 00:19:45.539 I guess that's the way we roll here. 00:19:45.539 --> 00:19:48.779 But it's insane how busy we are. 00:19:49.639 --> 00:19:52.299 I think that we fill our lives with diversions. 00:19:52.680 --> 00:19:54.039 We live for the weekends. 00:19:54.259 --> 00:19:55.500 We live for vacations. 00:19:55.879 --> 00:19:57.839 We're always going to the next thing. 00:19:57.920 --> 00:20:02.720 And we're never allowing ourselves a moment to actually stop and reflect. 00:20:02.899 --> 00:20:03.700 And so let me ask you this. 00:20:03.940 --> 00:20:04.319 Why? 00:20:06.779 --> 00:20:09.500 Why the full on sprint 24-7? 00:20:11.399 --> 00:20:13.920 Why are we so addicted to our smartphones? 00:20:13.920 --> 00:20:16.620 Oh, I'm so addicted. 00:20:17.259 --> 00:20:17.740 Why? 00:20:18.700 --> 00:20:21.420 Why are we so addicted to the 24-hour news cycle? 00:20:22.620 --> 00:20:25.600 Why do we have to know everything that's happening the moment it's happening? 00:20:27.060 --> 00:20:28.279 Why is that the case? 00:20:28.700 --> 00:20:30.480 Why are we so addicted to social media? 00:20:31.880 --> 00:20:33.460 I mean, I'll just be totally honest. 00:20:33.920 --> 00:20:42.460 The second I have to wait for anything, whether I'm at the grocery store or at the bank or sitting in traffic, 00:20:42.460 --> 00:20:46.579 the moment I pull up to a red light, bam, it's out. 00:20:46.680 --> 00:20:47.960 I don't even know how it got there. 00:20:48.180 --> 00:20:50.980 I'm just sitting there driving along, and I'm like, oh, there's traffic. 00:20:51.120 --> 00:20:51.319 Bam! 00:20:51.720 --> 00:20:56.579 And I look down, and I'm like, it's there, and it's open, and it's open to my news feed. 00:20:56.740 --> 00:20:59.220 And I realize that I'm looking at it. 00:20:59.279 --> 00:21:02.420 And then, you know, I'm putting people at risk. 00:21:03.039 --> 00:21:03.400 Right? 00:21:03.440 --> 00:21:04.840 I'm risking ruining my life. 00:21:05.400 --> 00:21:05.720 Why? 00:21:05.720 --> 00:21:11.579 Because I can't stand to just sit there for 20 seconds. 00:21:15.079 --> 00:21:16.500 Do you connect with this at all? 00:21:18.360 --> 00:21:19.579 Am I alone in this? 00:21:19.660 --> 00:21:20.900 Maybe I need therapy. 00:21:21.000 --> 00:21:21.420 I don't know. 00:21:22.279 --> 00:21:24.839 But I think that we can relate to this, right? 00:21:24.900 --> 00:21:28.960 There's this great moment, and maybe you've seen it, where the comedian Louis C.K., 00:21:28.960 --> 00:21:34.559 he was on Conan O'Brien, and he starts talking about how everyone is constantly on their devices. 00:21:35.299 --> 00:21:38.740 And we're always texting, and we're all, you know, Snapchat, Instagram, all these things, 00:21:38.799 --> 00:21:40.100 and we're all the time we're doing this. 00:21:40.640 --> 00:21:41.460 And it's interesting. 00:21:41.559 --> 00:21:44.799 He says that the reason that we do it, and I'll quote him here. 00:21:44.799 --> 00:21:48.819 He says, because underneath everything in your life, there's that thing. 00:21:48.819 --> 00:21:52.799 He says that forever empty. 00:21:53.759 --> 00:21:55.480 He calls it the forever empty. 00:21:57.339 --> 00:21:59.879 And he's talking about the inconsolable longing. 00:22:00.859 --> 00:22:07.000 And he essentially says that when you look around, he says everybody is frantically trying to keep themselves busy 00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:12.220 and texting and just, you know, constantly going and going and going because we don't want to face that longing. 00:22:13.159 --> 00:22:13.419 Right? 00:22:13.460 --> 00:22:17.220 And so you're sitting in traffic, and you slow down, and you stop, and you have a second to think, 00:22:17.220 --> 00:22:19.160 and it begins to kind of creep up. 00:22:19.980 --> 00:22:22.660 And as he says, it begins to visit on you. 00:22:22.900 --> 00:22:25.539 You know, it begins to creep in, and you feel it. 00:22:25.559 --> 00:22:26.180 And so what do you do? 00:22:26.220 --> 00:22:27.920 It's like, you know, bam! 00:22:28.100 --> 00:22:37.299 And then you're able to distract yourself, and it begins to go away as you read about the latest crazy thing Donald Trump said. 00:22:37.600 --> 00:22:42.460 And the next thing you know, it's gone, and you're not thinking about it anymore. 00:22:42.579 --> 00:22:44.299 And then, oh, green light, and you can go on with your life. 00:22:44.299 --> 00:22:47.480 And I think that he's pretty insightful. 00:22:50.519 --> 00:22:59.859 You know, I can't prove it, but I wonder if there's a correlation between all of these statistics that talk about the decline of religious affiliation and involvement, 00:23:00.559 --> 00:23:02.079 on the one hand. 00:23:02.460 --> 00:23:07.399 If there's a correlation between that and the rise of smartphone and technology addiction on the other. 00:23:07.400 --> 00:23:10.480 I just wonder if there's a connection. 00:23:12.160 --> 00:23:17.140 But if you've never felt this longing, if all this time I'm talking about this inconsolable longing, you've never felt it. 00:23:17.140 --> 00:23:26.000 I would just encourage you to think about your life and the last time that you had a significant amount of time to just sit and be. 00:23:27.620 --> 00:23:28.800 With no distractions. 00:23:29.780 --> 00:23:33.460 You know, I was at a conference this past week, kind of a retreat, some pastors. 00:23:33.460 --> 00:23:38.960 And the guy leading it said, I want to send you away, and I just want you to sit for five minutes. 00:23:39.660 --> 00:23:40.660 Sit for five minutes. 00:23:41.319 --> 00:23:42.140 Well, what do we do? 00:23:42.200 --> 00:23:42.940 Well, don't do anything. 00:23:43.319 --> 00:23:44.759 Just sit in the presence of God. 00:23:45.259 --> 00:23:46.400 Well, okay, so do we pray? 00:23:46.500 --> 00:23:47.120 No, don't pray. 00:23:47.220 --> 00:23:48.860 Just sit in the presence of God. 00:23:48.900 --> 00:23:51.079 Well, what about if we know, should we quote Scripture? 00:23:51.200 --> 00:23:51.980 No, no Scripture. 00:23:52.279 --> 00:23:53.059 Don't take your Bibles. 00:23:53.180 --> 00:23:53.900 Don't take our Bibles? 00:23:54.019 --> 00:23:54.160 No. 00:23:54.160 --> 00:23:57.340 Just go and just be in the presence of God. 00:23:57.440 --> 00:23:58.580 Well, what if mantra? 00:23:58.700 --> 00:23:59.440 No mantras. 00:23:59.820 --> 00:24:00.080 Don't. 00:24:00.279 --> 00:24:01.220 Well, what if we think about things? 00:24:01.259 --> 00:24:01.920 Well, don't think. 00:24:02.000 --> 00:24:03.279 Just be in the presence of God. 00:24:03.360 --> 00:24:04.400 And all these questions. 00:24:04.540 --> 00:24:06.259 And finally, the guy's like, just get out of here. 00:24:06.800 --> 00:24:11.980 And so all of these kind of know-it-all, do-everything-right pastors, we go out and we sit. 00:24:12.040 --> 00:24:17.460 And we just sort of sit there and be in God's presence. 00:24:17.460 --> 00:24:23.519 And all these people came back and just shared about how crazy that was. 00:24:23.519 --> 00:24:24.519 Five minutes. 00:24:25.359 --> 00:24:37.240 When's the last time you just sat with yourself and just allowed those feelings to come, to see where they might lead you? 00:24:38.319 --> 00:24:45.440 The point is, if this is a spiritual problem, if it is in fact a spiritual problem, and we are spiritually homeless, you can only avoid it so long. 00:24:45.440 --> 00:24:50.480 And then at some point, you have to respond and seek a solution. 00:24:50.480 --> 00:24:53.579 And if it's a spiritual problem, you need a spiritual solution. 00:24:54.480 --> 00:24:56.539 And so that really only leaves us with two options. 00:24:58.299 --> 00:25:00.200 The second option is the religious option. 00:25:01.799 --> 00:25:05.360 The religious option says, look at the various religions. 00:25:05.359 --> 00:25:12.579 And by the way, if you look at all the various religions out there, it's interesting that most religions around the world agree that there's something not right with the world. 00:25:12.959 --> 00:25:14.379 They agree that there's something missing. 00:25:14.519 --> 00:25:15.919 They agree that we need something more. 00:25:16.839 --> 00:25:20.679 And then virtually every religion offers the same answer. 00:25:21.979 --> 00:25:26.899 Virtually every religion says in some form or another that we're here and we need to go somewhere else. 00:25:26.900 --> 00:25:31.540 We need to get out of here and go to where home is. 00:25:31.660 --> 00:25:33.800 Go to where those longings will be satisfied, right? 00:25:34.400 --> 00:25:47.320 So through obedience or meditation or good deeds or devotion or moral excellence, we can find our way home or transcend this world or reach nirvana or achieve inner peace or reach paradise. 00:25:47.319 --> 00:25:54.319 And, you know, even many Christians in our country think that that's what the Christian faith is all about. 00:25:55.139 --> 00:25:59.599 Live a good life, die, go to heaven, and you're home. 00:26:02.139 --> 00:26:04.179 They all teach basically the same thing. 00:26:04.240 --> 00:26:06.299 So the religious approach says get to work. 00:26:06.299 --> 00:26:18.759 And the hope is eventually if you do everything you're supposed to do and you do it well enough, at least up to the minimum standard, be a good enough person, fulfill all the requirements, then someday you might get there. 00:26:19.099 --> 00:26:19.759 You know, maybe. 00:26:19.879 --> 00:26:22.119 You never really know until you die. 00:26:22.240 --> 00:26:24.039 And then hopefully it works out for the best. 00:26:26.099 --> 00:26:29.180 Not in this life, but hopefully in the life to come. 00:26:30.480 --> 00:26:32.059 So there's the avoidance option. 00:26:33.619 --> 00:26:35.159 And then there's the religious option. 00:26:36.299 --> 00:26:39.399 But the third option is radically different. 00:26:40.539 --> 00:26:42.440 And this is the Christmas option. 00:26:43.339 --> 00:26:44.980 This is the Christmas option. 00:26:46.000 --> 00:26:51.419 We said that Isaiah 35 is all about pilgrims who are trying to find their way home. 00:26:51.619 --> 00:26:54.480 They're trying to get somewhere out of the wilderness. 00:26:55.559 --> 00:27:02.319 Well, what's interesting is you recognize that these people spiritually, they represent people who are searching for God. 00:27:03.139 --> 00:27:05.599 And then what's interesting is it talks all about their pilgrimage. 00:27:05.599 --> 00:27:08.419 And then right in the middle of the passage, verse 4 says, quote, 00:27:09.199 --> 00:27:13.000 Behold, your God will come with a vengeance. 00:27:13.319 --> 00:27:17.240 With the recompense of God, he will come and save you. 00:27:17.879 --> 00:27:19.799 So it says they're searching for God. 00:27:19.879 --> 00:27:24.399 But in fact, what happens, what happens is that God actually comes to them. 00:27:24.400 --> 00:27:28.780 Right where they are, in the wilderness, God comes right there. 00:27:29.440 --> 00:27:36.200 And the way they know that it's God is because they look around and they begin to see the eyes of the blind are open. 00:27:36.340 --> 00:27:37.420 The deaf can hear. 00:27:37.519 --> 00:27:38.680 The lame can walk. 00:27:38.759 --> 00:27:39.840 The mute can sing. 00:27:39.920 --> 00:27:42.560 They begin to see the world around them transforming. 00:27:42.780 --> 00:27:44.720 And they know that has to be the presence of God. 00:27:44.720 --> 00:27:53.160 And of course, in John chapter 1, that lesson I read a moment ago, which is John's version of the Christmas story, by the way. 00:27:54.700 --> 00:27:56.180 He says in verse 14, 00:27:56.180 --> 00:28:12.700 He's talking about the birth of Jesus on Christmas. 00:28:12.700 --> 00:28:16.539 And he's saying Jesus, who is the eternal word, who is God. 00:28:18.140 --> 00:28:23.100 This Jesus is God coming and dwelling among us. 00:28:23.200 --> 00:28:25.400 The literal translation is pitching his tent. 00:28:25.620 --> 00:28:28.200 Or we might say making himself at home. 00:28:30.180 --> 00:28:34.980 God has come and made himself at home among us. 00:28:35.720 --> 00:28:37.460 What do you do when you make yourself at home? 00:28:37.460 --> 00:28:47.980 If you say that to a guest, it says, I want you to make whatever adjustments you need to make so that this will fit you and be as much a home to you as your own home. 00:28:48.120 --> 00:28:49.960 That's exactly what God does. 00:28:50.620 --> 00:28:54.579 He comes and he begins to renew and restore this world and us. 00:28:54.960 --> 00:28:55.200 Why? 00:28:55.360 --> 00:28:59.840 Because he intends to dwell here for eternity with us. 00:29:01.900 --> 00:29:04.900 And then you see that this highway appears. 00:29:04.900 --> 00:29:07.759 Well, what is the highway? 00:29:10.259 --> 00:29:18.019 Well, it wouldn't really make sense until Jesus, a little bit later in his ministry, in John 14, verse 6, says, I am the way. 00:29:19.380 --> 00:29:19.759 Right? 00:29:19.820 --> 00:29:20.540 I'm the highway. 00:29:21.460 --> 00:29:25.180 If you know me, by knowing me, you are on the highway. 00:29:25.280 --> 00:29:25.940 And what is a highway? 00:29:26.040 --> 00:29:28.100 It takes you straight into the presence of God. 00:29:28.099 --> 00:29:37.359 If you know me, he's saying, and I give you my life, I am the highway into the very presence of God. 00:29:37.359 --> 00:29:42.899 And this passage shows us that one day Jesus will renew the whole world. 00:29:43.599 --> 00:29:46.799 The desert and the wilderness will become a place of flourishing and life and beauty. 00:29:47.659 --> 00:29:51.000 Injustice and oppression and poverty and sickness and death will be no more. 00:29:51.000 --> 00:30:00.079 But until that happens, until Jesus comes again, now is the time for those of us who are spiritually homeless to come to this highway. 00:30:00.980 --> 00:30:02.539 To come to Jesus Christ. 00:30:03.019 --> 00:30:07.299 Who brings us into the knowledge and the presence of God here and now. 00:30:07.299 --> 00:30:13.399 And that's why, by the way, the church should be, if it's not, that's why we're passionate about homelessness. 00:30:14.220 --> 00:30:15.859 And about the plight of refugees. 00:30:16.619 --> 00:30:19.019 And about the plight of immigrants. 00:30:19.879 --> 00:30:21.079 And about orphans. 00:30:21.539 --> 00:30:22.680 People who don't have a home. 00:30:23.039 --> 00:30:24.059 People who don't have a family. 00:30:25.079 --> 00:30:29.519 This is why we are centrally passionate about the value of hospitality. 00:30:31.440 --> 00:30:34.819 What's happening every time you give somebody a home. 00:30:34.819 --> 00:30:37.299 Or every time you welcome somebody into your home. 00:30:37.700 --> 00:30:39.720 And make them feel at home in your space. 00:30:39.779 --> 00:30:40.359 What are you doing? 00:30:41.059 --> 00:30:46.039 These are signposts that reflect and point to the God. 00:30:47.539 --> 00:30:51.159 Who himself has come to make this a home for us. 00:30:52.779 --> 00:30:56.960 To make us a home in himself. 00:30:59.240 --> 00:31:01.139 So that renewal is already beginning. 00:31:01.279 --> 00:31:04.099 And we in this community have seen many, many, many signs of renewal. 00:31:04.839 --> 00:31:05.659 Lives transformed. 00:31:05.839 --> 00:31:06.619 Marriages restored. 00:31:06.619 --> 00:31:10.819 In just a moment after we sing, we're going to hear one such story. 00:31:12.339 --> 00:31:13.980 But I want to say this as we close. 00:31:14.240 --> 00:31:15.879 A lot of people go home for Christmas. 00:31:16.219 --> 00:31:17.799 A lot of people go home for Christmas. 00:31:18.119 --> 00:31:23.899 But the Christmas story actually tells us that we don't have to go anywhere to find our true home. 00:31:24.059 --> 00:31:25.759 Because the story of Christmas is this. 00:31:25.980 --> 00:31:27.959 That home has come to us. 00:31:27.960 --> 00:31:31.900 And the invitation no matter who or where we are. 00:31:31.900 --> 00:31:35.220 Is that we can right now pray to Jesus. 00:31:35.700 --> 00:31:38.059 Turn from our life of wandering. 00:31:38.600 --> 00:31:41.779 Put our trust in his grace and forgiveness. 00:31:41.779 --> 00:31:45.500 And be welcomed onto that highway. 00:31:48.500 --> 00:31:51.740 And trusting that he alone can speak to the longing in our souls. 00:31:51.740 --> 00:31:56.180 With the promise that one day our longings will be satisfied once and for all. 00:31:56.180 --> 00:31:57.880 In the home of his embrace. 00:31:57.880 --> 00:31:57.940 In the home of his embrace.