The Intersection of Advents
Day 15 - the crocus, the deer and the fleeing of sorrow
“The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.” -Isaiah 35:1-2, 5-6, 10
(Photo by Luka Savcic on Unsplash)
My grandparents used to be quite passionate about wildflowers. I remember as a boy going on walks with my grandparents at Nosehill park in Calgary, with my grandfather carrying a camera to take pictures of any wildflowers. They had hundreds of pictures from all over and would put them in those old slide projectors with the little cardboard frames and more than once I had to sit through long slide shows with extended commentary on the different flowers. (Not exactly the most exciting stuff for a young boy ;-)
Flower enthusiasts will enjoy today’s passage, which describes the transformation of a desert land into a lush field capable of supporting an array of flowers, such as the crocus (given the current weather, I chose a picture to reflect the promised transformation of a frozen deepfreeze!) Isaiah 35 is another exceptional passage that can be summed up in one key word: transformation. These prophetic pictures speak to us of the future transformation that God has planned. The physical land, the animal world and humanity itself have not been forgotten or abandoned by God and one day at the time of Jesus’ second advent we will experience the fullness of God’s redemptive plans. There are times when our life and our world feel much closer to a barren desert than a lush wilderness, and yet it is in those times when the promises of God’s salvation are all the more important for us to connect with. As Fleming Rutledge writes: “the Lord has come (and) he will come. The life of the Christian Church is located and lived at the intersection of those two advents.” Isaiah 35 was written for people living at such an intersection!
The chapter ends with a vivid description designed to fill our minds with wonder and our hearts with hope. It actually occurs twice in the book of Isaiah (see Isa. 51:11). There are days ahead when God promises that gladness and joy will overtake us and all the sorrow and sighing will flee away. Perhaps this is why the apostle Paul quoted a well known statement that “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Cor. 2:9).
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.