“Behold the Bride of the Lord!” Isaiah 62.1-5 Epiphany 2C, ‘16

1.  Please pray with me.  May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  Amen.  The message from God’s Word this 2^nd Sunday after Epiphany is taken from Isaiah 62:1-5, it’s entitled, “Behold the Bride of the Lord!” Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2. Visualize the downtown of a large American city. This downtown is an urban wasteland. Businesses and residents moved out to the suburbs long ago. Treeless sidewalks are strewn with broken glass, and weeds grow out of the cracks. Litter blows down empty streets. Boarded-up windows serve as canvases for graffiti. The old brick buildings are ghosts of their past glory. They are crumbling due to neglect, and one by one they are condemned, torn down, and turned into gravel parking lots, which are usually empty. At night, the downtown is mostly dark; few lights are in working order. This downtown is deserted, desolate, and dangerous.
3. Now visualize this same downtown, except that people are returning! It is experiencing a dramatic revitalization. Investors are pumping millions of dollars into old buildings, turning deserted warehouses into luxury loft apartments. Old banks and hotels are being restored to their former glory. New businesses and restaurants are opening every week. New sidewalks are adorned with trees and flowers. Instead of litter blowing down empty streets, there are people milling about, daytime and nighttime. One by one entire city blocks are coming back to life. No longer deserted, downtown teams with life. No longer an eyesore, downtown is now the crown jewel of the city, of the entire state. It has been restored from desolation to delight.  It is a city that is adorned once again like a bride on her wedding day where all eyes are fixed upon her for this is her moment of glory. 
4. Something very similar is promised in our text. The people of Judah and Jerusalem are taken into exile, leaving their land and city deserted and desolate. Isaiah prophesies in chapter 32, “The fortress will be abandoned, the noisy city deserted; citadel and watchtower will become a wasteland forever, the delight of donkeys, a pasture for flocks” (Is 32:14).  So also Isaiah says in our Old Testament text this morning from Isaiah 62:1-5, “1For 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.  2The 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.  3You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.  4You 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.  5For 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.”
5. The prophet Isaiah is proclaiming a word of hope to the people of God in exile.  Though things appear desolate, one day they will be like a bride adorned in splendor for her groom to care for her and watch over her.  Their captivity won’t last forever. Their homeland will not remain desolate; their beautiful city, Jerusalem, will not remain deserted. They will no longer be enslaved. God will deliver them from captivity and bring them home. The temple will be rebuilt, and the nations will come to it. Instead of a wasteland, their city will be the delight of the nations (see Is 60:10–16; 65:18–19; Jer 51:5).
6. God will rejoice over them like a bridegroom rejoices over his bride (see Is 61:9b; 62:12).  Behold, the bride of the Lord!  He will provide for them. He will forgive them, be a companion to them, take care of them, and listen to them (see Is 62:8–9; Mal 3:10b–12). He will protect them (see Is 62:6).
7. Love can’t be earned.  God’s people had earlier taken on the behavior and appearance of an unfaithful wife committing adultery. They were unfaithful to him. They sold themselves off to the gods of the nations. They entrusted themselves to the care of other nations (see Is 31:1–3; 1:2–4; Ezek 9:9–10; 15:8).  God’s love for them is a “profound mystery.” He loves them not because they were so lovable, but because he loves them. They are beautiful in his sight. He has made them beautiful. He rejoices over them (see Is 49:7–18).
8. The prophet Isaiah is proclaiming a word of hope to the people of God today. This passage was meant as much for us as for the people in Babylon. It was meant as much for our comfort as for theirs.  Our captivity to sin will not last forever. Jesus said, “Everyone who sins is a slave to sin” (Jn 8:34). At the right time, “God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law” (Gal 4:4). This is the one whom the Lord forsakes instead of his people (see Mt 27:46). When the time is just right, the Lord will come again, in glory, to bring his people home.
9. God already rejoices over us like a bridegroom rejoices over his bride.  Behold, the bride of the Lord!  He loves us through Baptism, where he provides for us the people of the Church, the bride of Christ, a gown of righteousness. Through Baptism he rescues us from the desolation of sin and death and makes us his delight. Through Baptism love covers up a multitude of sins. As a result, the Lord looks at his church, His bride, and loves her. She is beautiful in his sight.  God is protective of us, like a bridegroom protective of his wife, like a king protective of his crown. “No one can snatch them out of my hand” (Jn 10:28).
10. God’s love still can’t be earned.  As individuals we have been unfaithful to him. We have chased after and given ourselves over to other gods. As a church, we have not lived up to the standard of being his bride.  We have been like an unfaithful wife. There are some dark chapters in the history of the church at large, of each congregation, yet he still thinks of us as “my people,” and “my church.” (See Is 1:3; Mt 16:18.) But, there’s great grace in that little word my.
11. God’s love for us is a profound mystery. It’s not a superficial love. His is a steadfast, everlasting love. Even “if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself” (2 Tim 2:13). Jesus the church’s bridegroom takes delight in us His bride. He holds us up as a crown of splendor to the nations. Jesus displays us as his masterpiece, so that others will be drawn to his righteousness. This also has implications for how we live as Christians (see Eph 5:25–29).
12. Behold, the bride of the Lord!  Praise and thank the Lord, people of God. He has turned our wailing into dancing. He has driven out the evil within us and taken up residence. He has replaced our guilt with joy. God has changed our despair into the assurance of his love. He has rescued us from loneliness and loves us with an everlasting love. He has turned us from our own desolation to be his delight!  Amen.