SERMONS:

‘ I will go before you and will level the mountains, I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, So that you may know that I am the Lord” Isaiah 45:2-4

The real treasures are in the darkness. The deeper darkness, the most precious treasure is hidden in there. I do not have the courage to dive into the deepest dark darkness, not mine nor somebody else’s. But the Lord has the courage and he finds a treasure there.

There is no darkness where the Lord would not go. We can especially experience this when we face difficulties, sickness, losses, and other hard situations and somehow we make it through thinking about God. Thinking about God’s presence carries us in those situations. God is everywhere, also in the darkness. He does not let us out of his sight, not even for a moment.

Prayer:
Lord, it is again that time of the year when the lights shine in the darkness.
I praise you for you do not ignore even the deepest darkness and despair. I praise you, who come into my desert breaking down all gates. I praise you who find a treasure in my darkness and give hope for the future. Amen.

Hosanna! Help!
Joy and pain in the same word. A greeting to a King who rode into the midst of his people.
The world is full of shouts for help. Most of the shout do not even have an address or ears to hear them. There is no one near to hear those shouts. Often the shouts for help subside changing into just feeling bad. Finally we are not even able to say “Help me”.

Many times our cry for help takes another form, it is disguised. I criticize my spouse, my workmates, my supervisors, the politicians and other decision makers. I curse the banks, the incapable officers and so on. Or if my circumstances drive me into it, I brake windows, rob and mug people. These are some of the hosanna cries in the modern days. They have no hearers anymore. There are no words to describe the feeling of helplessness and hopelessness. The riding King cannot be seen, he is not at the sight.

I wish that he would come again. The whole world would be able to watch on the TV the ride on the donkey. We would gather at the street corners to shout our hosanna cries, the cries that have been repressed for a such a long time. We would try to talk to him, touch him, get his attention. We would try to call him, write him letters, e-mails and send messages. We would cry and shout out of our pain and would not pay attention to what other people would think. Because we all would be shouting with other helpless ones: Hosanna! Help!
That is, if the King would come.

I have cried out my pain without knowing if anybody hears. But I do know that Christ, the King is near me. He hears my cry. He came and he comes because he loves and he cares and he accepts.
He came to help and he never fails!

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For sermons by Pastor Ron Nitz currently serving at Resurrection Lutheran Church, Seward, Alaska, please follow the link: Nitz

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