The Stage is Set

The Rev. Dr. Skip Ferguson

Manassas Presbyterian Church

Manassas, Virginia

December 1, 2013

First Sunday in Advent

The Stage is Set

Isaiah 2:1-5

The stage is empty,

a vast expanse from left to right, front to back.

There is not a prop, a piece of furniture, a lamp,

a wall, a tree anywhere on the set;

not even a door through which actors

might exit and enter.

Nothing.

Just the wooden planks of the stage,

and an old gray curtain that forms the backdrop.

The crowd buzzes,

no one knowing quite what to expect.

No one has seen this play before;

this is the premiere.

Still the auditorium is full,

the audience expectant,

wondering what’s going to happen.

The houselights dim, enveloping the theatre in darkness.

Silence fills the room,

all the people still,

eyes and ears focused on the empty stage,

the set.

A spotlight suddenly pierces the darkness

and casts its light on the stage,

right in the center,

a circle of light perhaps 8, maybe 10 feet in diameter.

The theatre is still silent

but then there comes the sound of footsteps on the stage –

someone walking in the darkness from the right,

across the stage, toward the light.

The steps are methodical, rhythmic,

unhurried, yet intentional.

The audience can see nothing in the darkness,

but their ears follow the sound of the footsteps

across the stage,

toward the light.

A shadowy image appears about ten feet from the light –

it is a man, a man of ordinary height and build.

He stops just in the shadow outside the bright circle,

almost as if he is unsure about

whether to step into the ring of light.

But then he does step forward,

forward into the light.

Two more steps and he stops in the center.

The light washes over him;

it’s almost too bright to look at. 

The man turns to face the audience,

and as he turns he looks up, …up,

up beyond the highest balcony

and a smile spreads across his face,

a smile that speaks of peace,

even joy, as he stands in the light.

The audience watch in rapt silence.

The man breaks the silence with his voice,

a voice rich, resonant, confident:

“The mountain of the Lord’s house

shall be established as the highest of mountains

and shall be raised above the hills;

and all the nations shall stream to it.

…All the nations shall stream to it.”

He utters those words like a call,

a call to all who might hear;

an invitation,

extended to anyone, everyone.

The words hover in the theatre,

as though floating in the air above the audience.

The man stands there, almost expectant,

as though he is waiting for a response.

Once again the silence is broken by the sound of footsteps.

But this time it is not just the sound of one person’s steps

from one part of the theatre,

it’s the sound of a dozen footsteps,

two dozen, more,

from the right, the left,

from behind the man,

coming down the aisles from the back of the theatre.

Men, women and children:

all walking toward the man,

all walking toward the light.

Men, women and children of every age,
men, women and children from every culture,

every part of the world.

They begin to fill the stage.

As they approach the man, approach the light,

the circle of light grows wider.

No longer is the man alone in the light –

everyone is in the light.

Soon the entire stage is filled with people,

and bathed in light.

People smiling, singing, laughing,

greeting one another with handshakes and hugs

as though they all know one another,

know one another well, the best of friends.

A noise behind them, from the back of the stage

startles them.

No one had seen the backdrop rise,

but now a scene is visible,

just above the people on the stage.

There is clanging and banging,

and the roar of flames

as swords, spears, rifles, handguns

are all tossed into a caldron on one side,

over on the left,

and then on the right, workers taking molten metal

to create plows, hoes, rakes, shovels.

The tools of death are being transformed

into tools to feed.

                 

The man who had first entered the stage alone,

has moved to the front of the stage,

over to the side.

The noise from the back subsides

and the audience fix their attention once again on the man.

His eyes sweep over all the people on the stage in the light.              

We hear his voice again, that resonant, assured voice:

“Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.”

And all the people nod in agreement…

all the people.

The man then turns to the audience

and as he does, light fills the whole theatre,

luminous, glowing,

reaching even the farthest seats in the highest balcony.

And once again the man speaks,

“Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.”

And all the theatre-goers,

everyone in every seat,

nod and smile, just like all those on stage.

This is the message God speaks to us as we begin Advent,

This is the invitation God extends to us,

to all God’s children.

“Come, walk in the light;

walk with me.”

“Come, turn from darkness

and walk together, all God’s children,

walk together in peace,

walk together with justice and righteousness.”

This is God’s message to us,

God’s invitation,

reflecting God’s hope for us,

hope we find in every page of the Bible,

from the first page to the last,

hope spoken in so many ways,

hope coupled with joy

“I am about to do a new thing,”

says the Lord our God.

“Do you not perceive it?”

An honest answer has to be, no, we don’t perceive it

because we prefer to walk in darkness;

not the darkness of evil as much as the darkness

of self absorption,

selfishness, self-righteousness.

It is a darkness where compassion,

and mercy and justice and love

are trickled out sparingly

rather than ladled out generously.

God’s invitation is before you and me here and now:

“Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord

so that we may truly learn God’s ways

and walk in God’s paths.

Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord,

and learn so we can live as God created us to live,

as God hopes we will live.”

Come, for the One who came

is the One who will come again

to usher in God’s new creation,

new heaven and earth.

The message of Advent is that

God is about to do a new thing.

But we cannot hope to perceive it

unless we are walking in the light of the Lord.

AMEN