Grace and peace are yours through Jesus Christ, through whom the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, and the dead are raised. Amen.

Blessed and eternal Father, grant us faith to listen to and obey the message of Isaiah and all the prophets of old, that we may not become complacent in our faith, but walk in your light, loving and serving our neighbors even more than we love ourselves; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

It is a wonderful family tradition. Every year, Shelley and I and the girls go to a Christmas tree farm to cut down our family tree. We hold hands as we walk up and down the rows, looking for the perfect tree. Every year we decide that we want a short, skinny tree, but we always end up buying a fat, tall tree. It only costs us an extra five dollars. It seems fine at the time, but that is when the trouble starts. We get the tree home and lay it in the driveway. I get the saw and the tree stand and Shelley and the girls get as far away as possible. They know what happens. Christmas trees and me just don’t get along.

It should be simple. Put the tree stand on and put the tree in the house. It is never simple. The tree stand is too small, so I end up cutting all around the trunk of the tree, shaving bark and wood to make it fit. The tree stand is on, the tree is set up in the house, and it looks fine. Except, Shelley points out that there is no room for presents under the tree. She wants me to cut off some of the bottom branches. I say, "Let’s just put the presents on the side of the tree this year."

Next, I am outside cutting off the necessary branches. I bring the tree in the house again and set it up. It looks even better. Except, our tall tree is too tall. Our angel is bent over because of the ceiling. Shelley points this out, and I suggest that this year our angel could be a hunchback. Next, I am outside cutting about five dollars off the base of the tree.

This is what Christmas is about? I’m grumpy. Shelley’s frustrated. And the kids are hiding.

If you feel a little disenchanted with celebrating Christmas this year, you are not alone. I heard someone on the radio say the other day, "Only two more weeks and the whole ordeal will be over for another year!" Sadly, he’s right. For a lot of people, Christmas isn’t a time of happiness, but a time of frustration. It’s not a time for joy, but depression. It appears the Christmas holiday has become an obligation – something we must endure. And don’t dare have a good time doing it. Smile and wish someone a "Merry Christmas," and they might look at you as if to say, "Just what are you so happy about?"

Isaiah gives you the answer. What are you so happy about? You are happy because you see the Lord’s work in your life. You are also happy because you will travel on the Lord’s road.

It’s been said that more people become depressed at Christmas then at another time of the year. I struggle to understand this. Now, I realize that Christmas can be hard if you’ve lost a loved one, or if you’ve fallen on financially hard times. Yet, most people have no real reason to be unhappy or depressed, and, yet, they are. I don’t think the issue is a matter of unhappiness as much as it is one of emptiness. People feel empty. They feel unsatisfied. And these feelings come from people who have so much. Our lives are not empty of blessings. Blessings abound. Still, we feel unhappy and dissatisfied.

I believe this happens because we confuse fun with joy. To have fun is not the same thing as being joyful. In fact, we can be joyful even when we aren’t having fun.

But fun becomes crucial if you’re using it as a substitute for real joy. If what you feel deep inside is not joy, but emptiness, then you need to fill that emptiness somehow. You’ve got to find a way to distract yourself, because the alternative is to hurt, and to hurt badly. And so you’ll go to any lengths to amuse yourself. No price is too much to pay if it takes your mind off that emptiness inside.

Just consider the phenomenon known as "the holiday shopping season." The day after Thanksgiving people flock to the store to buy and buy and buy. The day after Christmas people flock back to the stores to return, return, and return. The reason for this is because people are not happy. People still feel empty and unfulfilled. None of those gifts provided lasting joy, so the alternative is to take them back for something else. If the hope of receiving that "perfect" gift becomes the sum total of your Christmas, then its no wonder people are so unhappy and empty inside.

But into the dark and bleak world that we create for ourselves with our misplaced priorities, our Savior comes. And when he comes, he makes a change everywhere. Isaiah describes our lonely, sad world as a spiritual desert. But when the Savior comes, suddenly water is gushing forth everywhere. The dry desert then bursts into bloom. The previously parched land becomes fertile and beautiful with the fragrant cedars of Lebanon, the mighty oaks of Carmel, and the rich pastureland of Sharon.

When our Savior comes, at his birth, in Word and sacraments, and in his second coming, fear is replaced with joy – not fun, but joy.

Our sins cause us to dry up, to become parched, to wither and die in unbelief. Jesus forgives those sins. He removes those sins. He comes to us showing us how kind and compassionate he is. He shows us that he cares enough to humble himself and take on human flesh. He cares enough to go to the cross and rise from the grave. He cares enough to come to us regularly in his holy Word, in the cleansing waters of Baptism, and in the strengthening power of the Lord’s Supper. He cares enough to rescue us from this world of despair and depression.

Isaiah encourages us: "’Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.’ 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."

"Be strong, do not fear." Last Friday, Bob Kimberlain was taken to the hospital in an ambulance for chest pains. He said that on a scale of one to ten, the pain was a ten. He said that if the Lord would have taken him, he wouldn’t have complained. Bob wasn’t afraid to die. He knew that God had come into his heart, and he was prepared to come to the Lord.

On Monday, Duane Krause was undergoing surgery for knee replacement. He wasn’t scared. He was looking forward to getting a new knee. I told him that Isaiah had prophesied, "The eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy." God promises that he has the power to heal us. Duane was looking forward to that healing. You see, Duane is a very competitive person, and he’s lost to me the last four times we played ping-pong. He blamed it on his bad knee. He told me that when he has his new knee he’ll beat me in ping-pong. I told him, "Duane, God does work miracles. But, aren’t you asking for a little too much?"

Jesus is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy of health and healing. Jesus says of himself, "The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor." (Matthew 11:5)

More importantly, Jesus brings healing to our souls. Outwardly, you may have bad knees, bad back, a bad heart, have arthritis, cancer, diabetes – your body is falling apart. The effects of sin have taken their toll on your body. Yet inside you are nourished and refreshed. You are not afraid. At the birth of Christ, when "the glory of the Lord shone around" the shepherds, the angel told the shepherds not to fear. When Jesus arose, the angels again announced, "Do not be afraid". Through Christ, sins that deserve fierce punishment from God are forgiven. Through Christ, death becomes a sleep from which he will awaken us. Through Christ, even every trial becomes a source of joy because God will cause it all to work out for our own good. Fear not! God replaces our fear with joy.

What are you happy about this Christmas? First, you are happy that you have seen the Lord’s work in your own life. You are also happy because you know that you will travel on the Lord’s road

Isaiah says that our dry, dreary, desert life has been changed into one of beauty and bounty. Now, in this flourishing desert, the Lord builds a highway for us to travel. This highway is called "The Way of Holiness." This highway heads straight for Zion – that hill in Jerusalem where God’s people gather.

This is a safe highway. There aren’t any "ferocious beasts" on it, or any other roadside hazards. And unlike most of our highways, this one doesn’t have a traffic problem. "Wicked fools will not go about on it," Isaiah says. Fools won’t drift back and forth on it, clogging up traffic and putting everyone in danger because they don’t know where they’re going. The people on this highway know where they’re going. This road is only for those who "walk in that Way."

Not everyone can travel on this road, though. No hypocrites are allowed. No one who is unrepentant will be allowed. No one who is unclean will travel this highway. No one who remains wicked and enjoys the fruits of the devil’s temptations will be taking this trip. The impenitent are not invited. You cannot love your sins and say you love God. That is not holiness. God is inviting us on the Way of Holiness. All sin must be removed. This is a road that is reserved only for the holy people of God. How can anyone become holy and walk on this road?

Isaiah answers: "Only the redeemed will walk there, and the ransomed of the Lord will return." This highway is for the ransomed. It’s for the redeemed. That means it’s for those who have been "bought back;" and every one of Isaiah’s original readers knew exactly what he meant by that. The words "ransomed" and "redeemed" have in mind a person who fell on hard times. Through hardship or bad luck, he ran up debts so high he couldn’t pay them. And so he sometimes had to sell himself into slavery, so that his debts could be paid. When that happened to someone, it was the duty of one of his relatives to step in and buy him back. His rich relative would pay the price for him, get him released, and give him his freedom back.

That’s a perfect picture of what Jesus has done for us. We were sold as slaves to sin. Through our sins we had run up a debt we could never begin to pay. We were people who were kept in bondage all our lives by our fear of death. But Jesus became our relative. He took on human flesh and blood, and became our rich brother. And he bought us back. Not with gold or silver, but with his holy, precious blood and his innocent suffering and death. He paid the price to buy us out of slavery. He gave himself as a hostage to death, so that we could be released. Then he rose from the dead, and destroyed death forever. Death and sin can no longer hold us as slaves.

One of our family’s favorite movies is "The Wizard of Oz." The Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Lion traveled the yellow brick road. As they went, they sang, "We’re off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz." After they found him, the Scarecrow was given a brain, the Tin Man a heart, the Lion courage, and Dorothy was sent home.

We are traveling along the "Way of Holiness." Isaiah says those who travel this road, "will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away." We are singing as we travel. And after we see our God, we will be given crowns and eternal happiness.

As child of God, whom Christ has redeemed, you can be happy. You can be happy even when you’re not having fun. You can smile even if you don’t get that one special present this year. After all, you already have been given the one, perfect gift – Jesus Christ. He is the gift keeps on giving – giving forgiveness and salvation, and there we find a real reason for lasting joy. So, you can be happy – deeply, profoundly happy – because of what the Lord has done for you. You see the Lord’s work in your life, and you are on God’s road to holiness. This is your reason for joy. So, smile and enjoy him, this Christmas and always. Amen.

God promises: Everlasting joy will crown yours heads. Gladness and joy will overtake you, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. Amen.