Advent II - Food Bank Sunday
December 4, 2005
The comfort, hope, and strength found in the promises of God’s word are more than wishes for things to be all right. To comfort is to nurture and encourage, strengthen and empower for movement, change, action. Where do we look for comfort? Where will we proclaim comfort in our world?
The Message: Road Construction
by Rev. James Farrell
This is the
Sunday when the bible readings give us a chance to speak about John the
Baptist…that wild and crazy guy as Steve Martin would say. Let’s face it, his
story is such an integral part of our biblical history that it should
be told every year. He is the guy prepared to say what is on his mind no
matter what happens to him…even if it should cost him his head…and in fact, his
tenacious grip on prophetic speech, did of course, do just that. John loses his
head for his honest and forthright words spoken against the Herodians. But it is not
that part of his story that we speak of today…it is his projection of the way
things will be…his call upon the lives of folks to be ready for the coming
one…the one of who he says, “ Whatever John
may have been like, however unattractive a character, he knew that Jesus, the
son of his mother’s cousin, would be something special…someone mystical,
spiritual and enlightened. It was to this one that he pointed and for this
pointing, he is remembered. And more. When ever we
speak about John, the whole business of his attire, his look and diet come to
mind…I have shown you carob seeds and shared that when in Israel our guide said
that a local name for carob was locust and that because of this fact, there are
those who believe John ate a lot of carob and not insects. But I have to wonder
if, as a desert dweller, at least for part of his life, perhaps the bugs were a
better bet. The January 2,
1996 “Wall Street Journal” reported on a “Small energetic group of
entomologists, farmers and chefs” who are promoting edible insects, a foodstuff
better known in academic circles as “Microlivestock.” Entomophagy
(the eating of insects) has yet to become a day-to-day activity for most people
in the western world in spite of the superior nutritional content of edible
insects compared to other animals. Over 1,000
insect species are eaten by humans worldwide.
After all, by
weight, termites, grasshoppers, caterpillars, weevils, houseflies and spiders
are better sources of protein than beef, chicken, pork or lamb according to the
Entomological Society of America. And if you are starting to think this might be
a good idea, I have some bonus information, insects are low in cholesterol and
low in fat. Whatever the
truth of John’s personal diet, his hygiene or his dress, he is talked about this
second Sunday of advent all over the world wherever people tell the stories of
Jesus because he was instrumental in preparing the way of the one who would come
after him. And when we read this story we are reminded of our call to
preparation. Both Old and New Testament passages
this Sunday urge us to "prepare the way of the Lord." As we prepare for the
advent of God's new order, it is not enough that we wait in hope; we are called
also to prepare in confidence. Listen to God's welcome to the
Israelites as their Babylonian captivity comes to an end: "Comfort, comfort my
people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and proclaim to her that her
hard services have been completed, that her sins have been paid for, …" (Isaiah
40:1-2). Amazingly, God actually invites this
bedraggled, demoralized lot to join in preparing the way for the advent of God.
Listen to the prophet's call to: "prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in
the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, and every
mountain and hill made low..." (Isaiah 40:3-4). Despite the often chaotic state of
our lives, we, too, are invited to join with our God in preparing the way of the
Lord. But what can we do? A group of Christian leaders in a
remote village in Haiti were desperate to see God's advent of justice break into
a seemingly impossible situation. A brutal magistrate had killed one villager,
wounded another, and terrorized the entire community. When the situation became
intolerable, the Christian leaders called for a day of fasting and prayer on a
high mountain. The whole valley, except the magistrate and his wealthy father,
gathered for passionate intercession to the God who promises to bring a new
order into being. Out of that day of prayer, three
village leaders, at serious risk to their own lives, took their case to the
government authorities. Incredibly, in just three weeks, the magistrate was
fired and the reign of terror was ended. The villagers were jubilant that their
earnest prayers had been answered. During this Advent season, how can
we prepare for the way of the Lord in our communities? How can we seek to lift
up those who are fallen; or challenge the agendas of those in high places? This is the season to allow our God
to come to us in our personal lives, too, to lift us out of the deep valleys of
fear, depression and anxiety. God also comes to pull down those high places in
our lives...our self-preoccupied agendas, our anger, our distorted sexuality,
our resentments toward others...all to prepare the way of the Lord.
Just as John’s
message only had limited appeal…the call to prepare the way of the lord in our
lives has only limited appeal as well…John’s call and the response, and our
response are not easily carried out. Jacopini da
Todi (a 13th century friar) said, “If John the Baptist returned to
denounce the sins of the world, they would cut off his head again.” More than
seven hundred years after the friar spoke it, I think we could say “and it would
still be true today.” Preparing is
not necessarily easy business. Whether the
wilderness is the literal desert on the borders of Israel, the religious
wilderness that Isaiah seeks to have his people leave, or the cultural and
psychological wilderness that many modern people feel, the promise of this
week's passages is that God will make a way through. The wilderness
cannot be denied, it must be endured, and much can be learned on the journey,
but God “will” make a way through. Imagine
yourself traveling back in time to this day one year ago. Where were you and
what were you doing on that day? Now think forward to the present and give
thought to the journey you have traveled throughout this year. Do the same thing
for ten years ago today. How much of what has happened to you was what you
expected? How well did your plans match the eventual reality? How much is there
to thank God for? Sometimes it is
easier to identify ‘the wilderness’ in our own lives when we take the time
to look back. If that is true for you, What have you learned in the
wilderness that you have journeyed through? Isaiah’s
prophecy of what preparation would look like and John’s personal journey into
the wilderness to prepare himself to call upon others to prepare a way for the
Lord, are integral parts of the journey we now make. In Canada we
often joke that there are really only two seasons…winter and road construction
or ‘road repair’ …as Christians, perhaps we would do better to think that there
is really only one season: Road Construction. We need to be
constantly constructing the highway of approach for our God. Making paths that
allow there to be health where there isn’t any, hope where it might seem
impossible, peace into warring lives and nations and challenge in the face of
the powers that would seek to oppress any of the peoples of the world, …yes, we
need to be constantly constructing the highway of approach for our God. Prayer is a
part of that…prayer is love focused, love directed, common prayer is the common
focus of many…the prayers of the Haiti folks I don’t see as asking God to do a
miracle but asking that God might do a miracle through them…they moved from
arrested fear to courageous intervention…they worked together to prepare the way
for the lord to work through them. That’s what we need to be doing too! That’s
why we gather. This is who the church is! This is why the church exists! If not, what
are we doing? Amen.