December 4, 2005
Sermon: “The Essence of Jesus”
Scripture: Isaiah 40:1-11

Reverend Larry Gerber

A new candle called “His Essence” claims to give you the fragrance of Christ.
Two weeks ago we looked at icons found in olive trees,bathroom windows, and in pieces of french toast and pizza. This week someone discovered a crying Mary: a marble statue of Mary with what appeared to be tears of blood streaming down her cheeks. Thousands of people are traveling hundreds of miles to see her. One even said that “she is really sad, upset about something. I am sure that she knows that something really bad is coming our way, and she is hurting.”
Looking for the ideal Christ candle to complete your Advent wreath?Bob and Karen Tosterud have the perfect solution: a candle that not only reminds you of Jesus, but actually smells like Jesus.  While other candles offer the aromas of fruit or spices, the Tosteruds have invented a candle that, when lit, emanates with the fragrance of Christ himself — hence the name, “His Essence.” Call it “WWJSL”: What Would Jesus Smell Like? Visit the Holy Land and you can walk where Jesus walked; buy this candle and you can smell like Jesus smelled. “We see it as a ministry,” says Bob, who along with Karen came up with the idea when they read a passage from Psalm 45, a wedding psalm, which refers to the bridegroom as having robes that are “fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia” (45:8). The Tosteruds interpret this passage as a messianic psalm that describes the essence of Jesus when he returns.  Wondering what a combination of myrrh, aloe and cassia would smell like, the South Dakota couple combined these oil scents and, with the help of a friend who is a candlemaker, began to produce “His Essence” candles as a business and ministry venture. Says Karen, “We wanted people to be able to experience Christ in new ways and to be able to read a Bible and have that scent and that candle as a reminder that he is with us all the time.” To which Bob adds, “You can’t see him and you can’t touch him. This is a situation where you may be able to sense him by smelling. And it provides a really new dimension to one’s experience with Jesus.”  Customers and critics of the candles abound, with some saying that it enhances their devotional lives and others seeing it as a gimmick that is way more about cents than scents. Some biblical scholars reading this will, no doubt, wax skeptical about what kind of exegetical aromatherapy the proprietors were engaging in when they came up with this interpretation of the psalm.  If you’re rolling your eyes right now, though, just remember that these folks have at least been reading their Bible and want others to as well which, for them, is really the whole point of the exercise. You have to respect that. Regardless of the sense we make out of this scent, what comes to mind on this second Sunday of Advent is how the aroma of candles, fir trees and Christmas cookies that wafts over us this time of year can distract us from the real essence of the coming Savior. If we’re really wanting to experience the Christ in our midst, what should we be sniffing around for? Isaiah gives us some help, and he suggests that the scent of the Savior is far less aromatic and much more “earthy” than the one suggested by the His Essence candle. In chapter 40, the prophet lays out the Messiah’s real essence — a combination of sights, sounds and scents that will change the world. Here are a few of the aromatic ingredients: Freshly turned earth. Anyone who’s been involved in a construction project knows that when bulldozers and backhoes show up on site things will begin to change in a hurry. Excavation breaks up the hard ground, turning the old landscape into something new and different. New construction means new possibilities and new beginnings. Isaiah announces that the Messiah will usher in such a project — that the old, hardened crust of sin and guilt will be broken up in preparation for his arrival. “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain” (v.v 3-4). In other words, the scent of the Messiah’s coming will be less associated with Wicks and Sticks than with Home Depot. The smell of freshly turned earth is the smell of change — an altering of the spiritual landscape, a smoothing out of the rough edges of human sin. In the prophet’s mind there’s some hard work to be done in preparation for his coming — no time to stop and smell the flowers! Fresh-mown hay. Speaking of flowers, the prophet turns his attention to the temporary nature of humanity, which is like “grass” which “withers” while the flowers fade (40: 6-7). The image that leaps to mind is a field of hay, which is green in the spring but dries up in the heat of summer when it is cut down and made ready for other uses. The smell of new-mown hay is a reminder that while we are temporary — here today and gone tomorrow — the Messiah’s program of grace and mercy will continue. Our present task is to work for his agenda, for it is only our efforts on his behalf that will outlast us. An old leather Bible. In a time when you can buy something called “new car smell” to freshen up your ride, the prophet reminds us that it’s the old, old story — God’s eternal word — that is the constant. Most of us clergy-types have at least one old Bible on the shelf that’s dear to us, with a weather-beaten leather cover that gives off the aroma of timelessness. We hand these down as heirlooms to our children — not so much because of the rich leather cover, but because of the word contained therein. The Messiah’s coming will be characterized by a kind of “old Bible smell” that reminds us that only God’s word lasts forever (40:8). Sweat. One of Isaiah’s most poignant metaphors for the Messiah’s mission is the image of a God who “bared his holy arm” (52:10) and whose “arm rules for him” (40:10). To put it another way, in the coming of the Christ, God is literally “rolling up his sleeves” to do the work of saving his people from their sins. This is a tough job that will involve God’s own blood, sweat and tears — all of which were poured out on the cross. The Messiah does not come perfumed in royal scents, but with the odor of hard work about him. It’s important for us to remember that saving us cost God something and that following Christ will cost us some of our own sweat as we begin to work for what we pray for: the kingdom of God. Sheep. In biblical times there was no job dirtier than being a shepherd, spending your days tramping after smelly sheep. Yet, over and over again, we read this image in the Bible. Isaiah reminds his hearers that the role of the Messiah will be like that of a shepherd, who “gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young” (40:10-11, NIV). Jesus is the “Good Shepherd” because he is willing to get down and dirty in the mess of sinful humanity and lead us to safety and security. The scent of the Savior is the scent of manure. Consider the fact that he began his life in a barn, and it’s easy to understand how he identifies with us as a gentle shepherd who seeks to guide wayward humanity.  Now, granted, Isaiah’s aromatic template for the coming of the Messiah isn’t exactly marketable. After all, you’re not likely to find sheep-scented or dirt-accented candles on any store shelf.  And, of course, we can’t confuse “his essence” with the “Jesus Saves Air Freshener” — another actual product you can buy for about $2 at an auto parts store. Says one Internet commentator, “Great news from the manufacturer of this pack of air fresheners: Jesus now saves us from the embarrassment of unpleasant and anti-social smells. Walking with crisply ironed garments and clean feet through a field of sheep that is miraculously dung-free, this sweet-smelling version of Jesus is an adman’s dream.”  The reality is that the coming of the Christ was and is a messy undertaking and we need to remember that in the midst of all the smells and bells of this season.  Want “His Essence”?  

When we engage his presence we’ll enjoy his essence, and that happens when we’re employed in the mission he has laid out for us. On this second Sunday in Advent, we light the second candle, adding a dimension of light that will bring us closer to the Christ Child. We also take the elements of communion, which brings us closer to the hard work, the love, and the death of Jesus. It brings us closer to the reality of the fulfillment of Christ: working and dying for our sins, and then rising above all of that. That is the true essence of Christmas. Let us prepare to be made whole, as we partake of Holy Communion.