Sermon Preached in Holy Trinity Cathedral By Dean Trivett on Christmas Day, 1937
Text:
"The Redeemer shall come to Zion." in the I Isaiah 59: 20. St. Luke 2:
"There was no room for them have chosen a text from the Old Testament and one from the New with a very definite purpose this morning. There is the promises fulfilled in Christ Jesus, anü there i in that strikingly vivid verse from our second lesson this morning, the world attitude toward the Redeemer; an attitude which suggests the reason for the postponement of the promised deliverance. It explains what we see about us.
A strange background for our Christmas message of peace on earth and good will among men.—War raging about us; hundreds of thousands of homeless and destitute folk in our midst; each day passes with its idle workers, its destruction of life and-property, making re-establishment more difficult. This is not of God.
It is in direct defiance of His will. All this evil is of man's making.
God has not failed us, He has made the world rich and fruitful. Year by year man is finding fresh ways of tapping its natural resources, the bountiful provision of God, in mine and forest, field and stream. An abundant provision for all the needs of all men. God's good gifts are being wasted and destroyed by man's greed and selfishness, and all must shoulder some responsibility for this sad state of affairs. For who among us is free in his or her own life and relationships from that which makes for war, for strife and bitterness, hatred and unbrotherliness?
At best, only stable room has been found for the spirit of Christ, of peace and goodwill And so we have misery starvation and need, in strange contrast to the bountiful gifts of God. God's county nullified by man's mismanagement. Surely the world is mad- Desperately sick with that madness which can only lend to destruction. And yet above the world's strife the Angels sing on with their sweet message of God's good will To this world—if only it "will receive Him—is born a Saviour who is Christ the Lord. Good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. The Christmas message, if it means anything, surely means just this; that we can set the world right if we can but place Christ in the midst and upon the throne which is his right.
Turn back for a moment to our first text. Isaiah is writing in one of the darkest days of Israels's history. Politically, socially, and morally, Israel seemed degenerate, and their just reward seemed about to fall upon them from the hands of encircling enemies. And while pointing out thatthe worst which threatens is no more than their just deserts, the prophet still preaches a way of escape. In spite of their sins, God has not abandoned his people. And "the: Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save, neither his ear heavy that it cannot hear, but your Jniquities have separated between you and your God." God still waits to be gracious. He will deliver "The Redeemer shall come to Zion."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.