PREPARE THE WAY

Text: Mark 1:1-8

Three of the four scripture readings today have as their theme “prepare the way”. The Old Testament lesson from Isaiah records God’s words to the prophet: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God….” Why does God’s pathway go through the wilderness and the desert? Is God making things particularly difficult? Not at all. In fact, God speaks words of comfort, tenderness, forgiveness and reassurance: God says to Isaiah, “…comfort my people. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem…[let her know] 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.” Does that mean double punishment? No, it means double forgiveness. And God is portrayed as coming like a kind shepherd: “…he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.”

In the Psalm, we hear about God’s gracious treatment of the people of Israel, about forgiveness and cancelling out of sins, about God’s voice assuring God’s people of steadfast love and righteousness, even of prosperity and increase of crops, and finally the promise of peace which is God’s pathway on earth.
In the Gospel reading from Mark, we learn of the appearance of God’s messenger, John the Baptist, whose mission is to prepare the way for the Lord’s coming to earth. John appears in the wilderness, in the Jordan valley, and his appearance reminds faithful Jews - and unfaithful ones too, I imagine - of the prophet Isaiah, who also made his place of residence and work in a desert environment. Again, why the desert? I suppose because the desert is an image for drought and infertility and lifelessness which suggests the state of mind and heart of the people while they are still blighted by sin. They are in danger of death from spiritual thirst and starvation because they are in a severely unfruitful and unpromising spiritual place. Have you ever seen a desert? I saw several a few weeks ago in southwestern Arizona. In its natural state it’s just sand with tufts of bunch-grass, sage and the occasional cactus. When it’s irrigated it’s brilliant green, producing huge crops of vegetables and fruit for the markets of the large urban centres in nearby states. And I saw deserts in Peru last spring: Peru has the driest deserts in the world: they are black sand, and nothing grows there. When there is water available, as in the Amazon basin just over the Andes Mountains to the east, the growth is lush, producing a jungle of trees and plants and living creatures. God’s presence is like irrigation, making the difference between deadly drought and lush fruitfulness. And how do we get that irrigation? From the waters of baptism.

So John stations himself on the banks of the Jordan River, far from the urban centres and the rain-fed fields of the coastal areas, and invites people to come. John prepares the way for God’s Anointed One to arrive. The desolate location speaks very clearly to the people: their lives are drought-ridden pockets of death; their only hope is to wade into the River Jordan and be irrigated with the life-giving water. But that is not all. There is a requirement of those who do this. As they come for baptism, they are directed to confess their sins. An irrigated field that is choked with weeds must be cleared before water is provided, so the seeds of new healthy plants can germinate.

The reading from second Peter expands on the idea of repentance. Again, the God who speaks is patient with sinners, not wanting any to perish. But that doesn’t mean God overlooks sin; rather, God’s view of sin is that it is a life-and-death issue and it must be addressed with all the salvation-resources at God’s disposal. The writer goes on to describe God’s “pathway” into the lives of God’s people: we must lead lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God. God fulfills all the promises made to us, and our lives become places where “righteousness is at home”. Do you believe that your life can be such a holy place - a home for righteousness? That’s a promise made by God and you are invited to believe it. How does that look? The reading from Peter tells us: we will be “at peace, without spot or blemish.” That’s a nice thought.

The Epistle reading ends with a strange phrase: “regard the patience of our Lord as salvation”. Is the writer saying that even as we wait for the “day of God” - the day of judgment when all will be revealed and Christ’s sacrifice will gain our redemption - we are essentially saved already, just by God’s willingness to offer salvation, even though technically we not yet received salvation? I think that is what we are being told. God’s patience is enough, because it contains the promise of all that God has to give. Does that say a lot about God’s kindness and forbearance? If you’ve raised a bunch of kids, you know as a parent that you didn’t always behave wisely or keep your temper with your children. You regret many of the things you did. In spite of that, your children grew up and became responsible adults. And for the most part, they don’t even hold a grudge against you because you weren’t quite grown up yourself when you were trying to raise them. Wouldn’t it be nice if we were like God - that we could understand the past, know the future, and control ourselves in the present - so that we could exercise wisdom and understanding toward our children - and everybody else? Well, we’re human and we can’t expect perfection of ourselves or anyone else, but we can expect that of God, and trust in God’s goodness and mercy toward us. We can believe that God sees us as we shall be in God’s future, not as we are in earthly time. If salvation depended on us, I’m afraid we wouldn’t make it. But it doesn’t depend on us; it depends on God, and God is patient…so patient that even before we are ready for it, we are saved.

Hearing that God offers us salvation, even in our undeserving state, doesn’t mean that we are to sit around and do nothing. When John the Baptist came to point out how we are to receive this Messiah who is about to arrive, he says that the way of the Lord must be prepared, not only by God but by us too. That way is not only a highway in the desert, but it is a highway in our hearts, a direction and a step that we must take if we are to be ready for Christ’s coming.
In the Zen tradition of the Far East, this idea is expressed in a story about a university professor who went to visit the great master Nan-In one day.

“Master,” he said, “teach me what I need to know to have a happy life.” I have studied the sacred scriptures, I have visited the greatest teachers in the land, but I have not found the answer. Please, teach me the way.”

At this point Nan-In served tea to his guest. He poured his visitor’s cup full, and then kept on pouring and pouring so that the tea began to run over the rim of the cup and across the table, and still he poured, until tea was cascading onto the floor.

The professor watched this until he could no longer restrain himself. “It’s over-full - stop, no more will go in!” he cried.

“Like this cup,” Nan-In said, “you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you the way unless you first empty your cup?”

Well, how can God prepare a way in our hearts and lives unless we make room there? How do we empty our cluttered spaces? In the words of second Peter, “…what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God…?” How do we clear the way, so righteousness can be at home in us? In the words of Psalm 85 which you see on the back of your bulletin: “Righteousness shall prepare a pathway for God.“ By nourishing goodness and cultivating holiness. Confessing our sins, as John the Baptist urges us to do. Accepting God’s forgiveness and proclaiming the good tidings, as Isaiah urges us to do. Recognizing God’s grace, forgiveness, salvation, glory, steadfast love and faithfulness, righteousness and peace as the psalmist urges us to do. Responding to God’s patience with repentance, as the Epistle of 2 Peter urges us to do.

We’ve had a roller-coaster week this week in Canadian politics. All around us is anger and resentment, blame and accusation. And all in the context of one of the most fortunate nations in the world, where we have plenty of space, resources, peace and hope for the future. The temptation is to unload our frustration on one party or another, one region of the country or another. But the discouraging thing is that none of our leaders have behaved particularly well. Except possibly the Governor-General - she has given the politicians time to clean up their act, take a sober second look at their behaviour and resolve to do better in the future. Doing better would suggest that they consider their priorities and begin to think about the good of the nation instead of their own careers. The situation on the national front is only a bigger image of the situation in our personal lives: each of us is tempted to pursue selfish ambition and put ourselves first. Jesus’ life has a more helpful image: he emptied himself of personal ambition in order to allow the power of the Spirit to be lived out in him. We must find ways to do likewise.