We’ve talked about hope and peace the past couple of Saturdays/Sundays at St. Mark, and as we get closer to Bethlehem, the lectionary moves us toward the birth narrative. We will hear about the Magnificat (Mary’s Prayer) this weekend at the 5:00 and 8:30 service and enjoy the Christmas Cantata at the 10:30 service. The manger is just around the corner, but before we move forward, I believe it is important to look back once more at John the Baptist.
This wild man proclaimed a wild message in a wild place. Our culture has managed to tame and sanitize just about every aspect of the Christian witness, but I believe John is the exception. He comes to us on the second Sunday of Advent every year and reminds us God continues to move in new, exciting, and dangerous ways. The call to the wilderness should remind us of the 40 years the Israelites spent wandering between slavery in Egypt and the promised land in Israel. Following God requires leaving our comfort zones and going to where the Lord is already working. God never says things are going to be easy but always promises to be with us.
I encourage you to look at another lectionary passage from this past weekend, pray, and consider the questions at the end of the blog.
God’s People Are Comforted
40 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.
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.”
“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;[a]
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings,[b]
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.
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;[a]
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings,[b]
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.
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Questions:
• Where is your comfort zone? Where is your wilderness? Where do you need to go to experience
God’s love and forgiveness more fully?
• The prophet hears God saying, “Comfort, O comfort my people….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.”
- This message comes to the people during the Babylonian Exile, and many of the Hebrews are living as strangers in a strange land. Do you ever feel like you don’t belong where you are at currently? If so, what is the Lord calling you to do?
- Do you believe the message that your sins are forgiven? Really forgiven? If not, what are you holding on to from your past? Do you believe God’s hands are big enough to take the guilt, sorrow, shame, etc. from you?
• John was a voice crying out in the wilderness to make straight paths for the Lord. What parts of
your life need to be brought low, and what parts need to be lifted up?
• Do you like the image of God as a shepherd? Why? Why not? What divine images resonate with
you more?
In Hope and Confidence,
Pastor Dave
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