Finding Peace on Unstable Ground ~ December 6, 2020
Isaiah 40:1-11
Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.
3 A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 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. 5 Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
6 A voice says, “Cry out!”And I said, “What shall I cry?” All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field. 7 The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the LORD blows upon it; surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever. 9 Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!”
10 See, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.
Mark 1: 1-8
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; 3 the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’”
4 John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And 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.
6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8 I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
We don't know much about Mary & Joseph's journey to Bethlehem, but if you've ever been on a family road trip, even as a couple, then you can imagine their journey had some rough moments. It's to be expected, after all, the very nature of a road trip is that we are out of our comfort zone, that many things are unfamiliar.
We don't know for sure that Mary & Joseph faced unexpected delays, but I'm guessing they must have, I can't imagine they planned to be in Bethlehem when their baby was born, far from home.
This year I think we can relate to their journey far more than usual because in an odd way, we are facing some of same challenges. As we talked about last week, nothing is going as usual this Advent. In addition, many of our usual comforts are not available to us. Just as Mary didn't have her mother to rub her feet or make her tea, and Joseph didn't have his father-in-law to lean on, so we can't visit people who usually make Christmas special for us, we can't even visit nearby friends who comfort us or gather in church to sing and worship.
Obviously we're a lot more comfortable physically than Mary & Joseph! But still, our lives have been disrupted in very unexpected and far reaching ways during a time when we miss our usual ways of doing things deeply - a time when we need comfort more than usual.
The prophet Isaiah speaks to that need in today's reading. The opening words are so beautiful - Comfort O comfort my people says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem.
The Hebrew people were definitely in need of comfort at that time. This second section of Isaiah was written during the time of Exile in Babylon. A large segment of the population had been forcibly removed from Israel to Babylon, and they didn't know if they would ever return.
This whole section of Isaiah, chapters 40-55, is about comfort, it's actually known as the Book of Consolation. It's about assuring the people of God that God has not forgotten them, that God will help them through this difficult time and lead them to a place of renewal as God's people.
Interestingly enough, this passage talks about how fleeting humanity is, compared with God, fleeting and fragile. At first glance there's not much comfort in that! Great, we're like grass that fades and dies, thanks God. But that's not the point of those verses, the point is revealed in verse 8, “the grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God endures forever.” God is our constant, our rock in times of instability and change and fear.
I don't know about you, but I do find some comfort in that image. We may not like that we wither and fade, but it's true. It doesn't mean that life is pointless, it means that we're part of something much greater than ourselves.
The last verse of the passage is one of tenderness and love. God will feed the flock like a shepherd, God will gather the lambs in his arms and carry them in her bosom and gently lead the mother sheep. What an image of comfort when you're feeling lost and alone and helpless, that you are a lamb being held tenderly in God's arms and being carried over the rough road.
Yet as usual, the Bible doesn't allow us to be completely passive in this.
That first verse, comfort O comfort my people, who is it directed at? I have to confess I never thought about that question til I was reading the passage in my big Hebrew translation and there was a note about it. Author Robert Alter says many scholars have come to believe God is talking to the Hebrew people themselves. They are to comfort one another, to be the presence of God to one another. Which puts a whole new twist on the reading, doesn't it? It's about giving comfort as well as receiving it, and perhaps in giving we shall also receive.
Then there's the passage from Mark, another familiar and beautiful Advent reading. Obviously it echoes the passage from Isaiah, with its repetition of the verse to prepare the way of the Lord.
It echoes Isaiah, but we also see a more personal aspect of faith developing. The concept of individual repentance is central to this passage. You have to wonder, why did it resonate so strongly with the people of that time? We need to remember they were an oppressed people, their country was controlled by the Romans, their faith was controlled by the priests. They were pretty miserable.
They couldn't change the rulers or the priests, but they could change themselves, the way they were living. At its heart, repentance is about change, the word comes from the Greek metanoia, which means to change direction, to turn towards God. So John the Baptist's message of repentance fell on fertile ground.
Repentance was at the heart of Jesus' message, change the way you live and change the world – bring about the kingdom of God. So the question that came to me as I studied this passage was, what message of repentance do we need today? If someone were to preach repentance, the need to change our lives, change our direction and change our world, what would their message be today? Or who is already trying to preach repentance and are we listening?
Two names that come to mind to me are Dr. Bonnie Henry and Greta Thunberg. They certainly want us to change the way we are doing things for the well being of others, for the very well being of planet.
Change is being forced upon us this Advent, we can fight it or we can see it as an opportunity for repentance. Haven't you ever felt that you should focus more on the spiritual side of Advent, but you're just too busy?
A number of people have told me that already they are finding Advent more meaningful this year because they have more time for personal prayer and reflection, but also because they realized that if they want Advent to be special, they have to do it themselves, so they are being more deliberate in their Advent practices and preparations than in past years.
I would encourage you to take one spiritual Advent practice and focus on it this week, one that is a source of peace for you, that calms you, that helps you to center yourself and feel closer to God, one that brings you comfort. It can be anything ~ prayer, music, walking, reading. It doesn't matter what you choose, it's what you do with it that makes the difference.
You can go for a walk and think about all things you need to do at home or about how many calories you're burning or steps you're taking, or you can go for a walk and focus on your breath, on the beauty around you, on how it feels in your soul to take these steps, see these trees or water or mountains.
You can listen to Christmas music in the background and abstractedly hum along, or you can sit down, listen to it with your whole heart, let it move you, comfort you.
My daughter Hope has developed the habit in evening that before she goes to bed, she goes around and looks at all our nativity scenes and she takes a moment to just gaze on the lighted one. She says doing this makes her feel peaceful inside.
Remember Isaiah too, that we are to comfort one another. How can you bring comfort to someone this Advent? It may be that many of your usual ways of reaching out aren't possible, but perhaps you can think of something new to do or a new twist on an old action.
This is a new path we're walking this Advent, like Mary & Joseph, like the Hebrew people in Exile. And like them, God is with us on the journey, offering us guidance and comfort in ways that might not always be familiar, but are no less effective and meaningful.
May we open our eyes and our hearts to the comfort God is giving us and may we share that comfort with others.