Advent Perspective: A Highway in the Wilderness

The following perspective is an excerpt from a sermon to be delivered on December 6, 2020, the Second Sunday in Advent.  The entire sermon will be posted on that date.

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A Highway in the Wilderness

A voice cries out:
“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.
Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Isaiah 40:3-5 (NRSV)

And though these are days of great trial
Of famine and darkness and sword
Still, we are the voice in the desert crying
"Prepare ye the way of the Lord!"

From “Days of Elijah” by Robin Mark

The second part of the Book of Isaiah, in which words of warning give way to words of hope, begins with a scene that some commentators have described as a “heavenly council.”¹  Amid this divine gathering, God calls for words of comfort to spoken to God's people, who are far from home, in Babylon.  “Comfort, O Comfort my people,” God says.  “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.”²  The people of God have paid the price for their unfaithfulness, and their long exile is finally coming to an end.

Another voice in the council then cries out, “In the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”  The voice says that valleys are to be filled in, that mountains are to be leveled, and that rocky ground is to be made smooth, so that all people may see the glory of God.  God is at work, and there are to be no obstacles to stand in the way.³  God is going to God's people in exile to gather them, as a shepherd would gather his scattered flock, and to lead them home through the wilderness.⁴

St. Mark begins his Gospel with a reference to this very scene from the Book of Isaiah: “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’”⁵  He then goes on to describe a voice in the wilderness named John.

Mark's description of John makes the prophet seem a bit eccentric.  He lives in the wilderness, wears strange clothes, and eats strange foods.⁶  Scholar William Barclay suggests that every aspect of John's life is an act of protest.  John lives in the wilderness, away from the hustle and bustle of society, so that he may hear God's voice in the stillness, silence, and solitude.  By rejecting comfortable clothing and donning the garb of the prophet Elijah, a robe of camel's hair and a leather belt, he reminds people of the ancient prophets who called the people to repentance.  The food he forages, like locusts and wild honey, are the kinds of simple foods the poor of his day would eat.⁷

Mark tells us that John proclaims “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”⁸  In other words, John calls people to change their hearts and their lives and to receive God's forgiveness.  In another Gospel, he proclaims, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”⁹  The people of Judea come to him in the wilderness to confess their sins, and he baptizes them in the Jordan River as a sign of their penitence.¹⁰

St. Matthew and St. Luke tell us, in their Gospels, that John is a fiery preacher.  To the people who come to him in the wilderness, he says, “You brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Bear fruits worthy of repentance...  Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”¹¹

Luke tells us that when people ask John what they should do, he offers them practical ways of “bearing fruits worthy of repentance,” ways that they may demonstrate that they are indeed turning their lives around.  He encourages those with excess to share with those who do not have enough, saying, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.”  He urges those in authority not to abuse their power.  To tax collectors, he says, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.”  To soldiers, he says, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”¹²

God is at work once again, and, in the same way that the voice in the Book of Isaiah calls for the removal of all mountains and valleys to build a highway in the wilderness, John, the voice in the wilderness, is calling people to build a highway into their hearts by removing the sinful obstacles from their lives.


Notes:

1. Joel B. Green, William H. Willimon, et al.  The Wesley Study Bible (NRSV).  2009, Abingdon Press.  p. 860
2. Isaiah 40:1-2 (NRSV)
3. The Wesley Study Bible, p. 861
4. Isaiah 40:10-11
5. Mark 1:3 (NRSV)
6. Mark 1:6
7. William Barclay.  The New Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of Mark.  2001, Saint Andrew Press.  pp. 16-17
8. Mark 1:4 (NRSV)
9. Matthew 3:2 (NRSV)
10.  Mark 1:5
11. Matthew 3:7-10 and Lk 3:7-9 (NRSV)
12. Luke 3:10-14 (NRSV)

The photograph of the desert highway was taken by Linnaea Mallette and released to the public domain.  The photographer is in no way affiliated with this blog.