other readings for the second sunday of advent were: isaiah 40:1-11 and 2 peter 3:8-15a
the holy gospel according to mark. (1:1-8)
The
beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ,
the
Son of God.
2As
it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
“See,
I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way;
who will prepare your way;
3the
voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare
the way of the Lord,
make
straight the paths of our God,’”
4John the baptizer appeared in
the wilderness,
proclaiming
a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
5And
people from the whole Judean countryside
and
all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him,
and
were baptized by him in the river Jordan,
confessing
their sins.
6Now
John was clothed with camel’s hair,
with
a leather belt around his waist,
and
he ate locusts and wild honey.
7He
proclaimed,
“After
me one who is more powerful than I is coming,
the
thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.
8I
have baptized you with water;
but
the one who is coming will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
the gospel of the lord.
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mark tells us the news of the day! the good news of jesus the christ—the anointed one, the son
of god! this is the
beginning! the beginning of
return. isaiah proclaims a return
from exile for the israelites. a
return so bold and quick that the scary, wandering wilderness will be like i-15
without any traffic. the
israelites will cruise back from this exile at top speed with no accidents or
construction to slow them down.
the israelites are heading home, heading to god.
or
at least, they are heading back to where they
understand god to be. …but neither
isaiah nor mark, quoting isaiah, says “prepare the way to the lord, make a direct path to god.” instead they say, “make a path for god.” god is
coming, in fact, god is already here, and as with the israelites, god will
begin with us in exile, in the wilderness. “8the grass withers, the flower fades; but the
word of our god will stand forever.” the voices crying out for god, for
rescue, are clear: people are grass, fading like a flower. the only constant is god. god will make real heavens and earth
“where righteousness is at home” and it begins here—now. right where you are.
god
begins the journey, and the good news of jesus christ, the son of god, begins
not in the big city, the palaces, or the places of comfort. it all begins in exile, in the
wilderness, in a barn. god comes
to us and begins this walk from the places of neglect and pain in the world and
in our lives.
god
comes to our wilderness—our exile. during advent, as the days draw shorter and the shopping ads
grow ever more numerous in our mail, on tv, in our emails, it’s easy to be lost
in the midst of this wilderness.
to see ad after ad urging you to buy the newest, best, biggest toy or
tool. that this next purchase will
fill the hunger in your heart, will make you young again, will give you
confidence, will keep your loneliness at bay.
the
grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the lord blows upon it.
it’s
easy to be overwhelmed with the busy-ness of this season. lost in the neverending shopping lines
and wishlists, so busy doing that we forget to stop and breathe, to see the
gifts of friends, family, and community that already surround us.
without going into a cave in the
mountains by yourself, it’s not possible to really get out of this wilderness
anytime soon. we are caught up in
it well into the new year. the
busy-ness just never seems to end.
at best you steal a moment here or there—and that is what it feels like,
with the guilt you feel for not being “in the christmas spirit” 24/7, for
wanting it all to stop and go away, for wanting a moment for yourself, the
guilt of stealing yourself back from busy-ness.
8the
grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the lord blows upon it.
maybe
instead you’re lost in the noise that never seems to reach you. perhaps the noise just reminds you of
how alone you are. the people
bustling everywhere just increase your anxiety and alone-ness as you realize
you are not them. you don’t have
the same people in your life or the same busy-ness to distract you. nothing distracts from this pain and
anxiety.
maybe your missing loved
one, no longer around the table, is just too hard this time of year. the long nights and clouds and
pollution keep the hope that sunlight brings from reaching you. the stars don’t shine as brightly. those moments before you fall asleep
haunt you with doubts, loneliness, and depression.
8the
grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our god will stand forever.
the
word of our god will stand forever.
god
comes to us in our wilderness, in our exile, in our waiting. in
those midnight moments when we are at our lowest, our most anxious, our most
alone and vulnerable, god comes to be with us and to deliver us. it may not be as loud or as obvious as
the announcements today in isaiah of “here is your god!” or even the
announcement in mark, as of a newspaper seller with a special report.
oftentimes we don’t even recognize or
notice god until we take the time to look back. it’s like the story of the footprints in the sand. it’s not until the person looks back on
their life that they realize that in those deepest, hardest moments, it was
then that god carried them.
our
incarnate god becomes flesh in us and with us, coming into the wilderness to
lead us out. to lead us to help,
to support, and to companionship.
god brings us to doctors and therapists, to friends and family, and here, to christ the king—to a community
who misses you when you’re not here, who prays for you, who hurts with you and
cries with you.
god
feeds god’s flock, gathering the lambs and guiding the sheep. god comes patiently
to wait
and walk
with us. god’s bosom carries us in our sobs, at the doctor’s
appointments, in the crowds. god
can certainly be found on the high mountains and in the jubilee, but god is
known deeply and profoundly in those moments when all is lost, when our façade
crumbles and we are left with our brokenness.
then
god begins as a dull glow, growing in brightness that is made visible through
our cracks and brokenness. the
stars: those beautiful, brilliant pinpricks in the night sky, opening us to a
world outside of ourselves. the
stars only shine
out in the midnight of a wilderness night. the preparation has been made. john has come, we are being called to repentance and god is
in this wilderness. god is here
with us and god will guide us forward, carrying us if need be.
thanks
be to god.
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