December 10, 2006, Advent 2

Malachi 3:1-4; Canticle 16; Philippians 1:3-11; Luke 3:1-6

Prepare the Way

There was a woman who just knew that God had promised her that she would win the lottery. She didn’t win, and she didn’t win and she finally prayed to God, “God, I know that you want me to win the lottery, but it just hasn’t happened. What’s wrong?” And this voice comes from heaven, “Buy a ticket.” Sometimes when we are waiting on the Lord, we have to do something.

Advent is not a time of rushing toward Christmas, nor is it a time to simply sit around and do nothing. It is a time of active, engaged waiting. Some people want to make Advent into a ‘little’ Lent with all that implies: you know, putting on sackcloth and ashes and beating the breast and groveling before God. But that’s not what Advent is all about. Advent is not a call to feel guilty – but a reminded that we are washable and we can be cleansed of our sins. Advent is more about sweeping out the cobwebs and putting new linens on the bed to ready a room for Jesus. It is in Advent that the world is given hope that there is more to come than what we see in this life.

The first three verses of today’s gospel serves two purposes. The primary function is to place it in time – to firmly anchor it as a historical event. This is the kind of stuff where my eyes usually glaze over and I just skim right on past without ever really seeing it. History has never been my thing. It was something I simply endured during school. But when I began to really study the Bible, the history associated with it began to change for me. It doesn’t necessarily mean that I remember dates and things any better – years of disassociation have taken its toll - but it does hold meaning for me now. What these three verses say is – “this really happened – it’s not just legend – here are the other things that were happening when Jesus first began to minister in Galilee and when he died.

The second function of these first three verses is to describe the power structures that were at work in that region of the world. He defines the major players – and with the exception of Tiberius, he names the people who will be involved in Jesus’ death.

In the last three verses of today’s gospel we find John the baptizer going out to call people to repentance and forgiveness of sins, and he says, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight…”

What follows is Luke’s theology – it is not given in any of the other gospels. And it is a theology that is picked up straight from Isaiah 40:3-4. Isaiah is a precursor for Luke’s belief that Jesus’ purpose is to bring equality to the people – the poor will be raised up and the rich will be brought down – and I really like the part about “the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth.” Luke is telling us what he believes and he goes on to say, “all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” He picks that up straight out of Isaiah 40:5 - that in the kingdom of God, we will all see the glory of God and share in his salvation.

(Heresy you say! Nay, I say, read it for yourself… “all flesh shall see the salvation of God!”)

Here we see John – gotta tell you, he’s got the best job in the Bible. He gets to announce the coming of God’s son. He gets the last solo job – after that Jesus sends people out two by two – they all work together. John’s job – go out there and tell people to get ready.

What do you think would happen if someone like John showed up today – out in the desert – yelling at people, telling them to get ready because the kingdom of God is coming? He’d get some media coverage and maybe some followers. But a lot of the people would figure he’s crazy and go about their way.

John’s message is “Prepare the way.” Now the word used for “way” is hod-os’ and it means road. It is also used for route, or progress or journey. - I am on the road, I am on a journey, I am journeying down the road.

During this time period, to say “prepare the way” was to tell a crew to go out and improve or build a smooth road so that the king could travel in comfort. Road workers – those who built the roads were of very low status – quite often slave labor. They never got to see the king go by, they were always ahead of him – paving the way. Even today, how many road workers have you actually stopped to talk to? How many to do you know in your neighborhood?

I can remember in Wyoming, heading into Yellowstone Park, we were stopped by the road crew and had to wait for a pilot car to come lead us through the construction. We were the first or second car in line and the wait was long. We got to talking to the flagman and we really enjoyed our visit with him. We learned something about him and this family, and he learned about us – but most of the time you don’t interact with road construction crews.

I made the comment a little while ago that John had the best job in the Bible- to announce the coming of Jesus. But let’s take a closer look at John and his job. He is a road worker for God – for Jesus. It is assumed by many people that he got his start in the Qumran community – that’s the community where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. They were a very devote people – sort of like the monks of today. Many people believe that Jesus also spent time at Qumran before starting his ministry. But John steps out to bring a message to the people – and he will eventually die for that message. Not only arrested and imprisoned – but beheaded – without benefit of a trial.

So John hears the call from God and he goes out and begins to preach – to prepare the road for Jesus. John was a road worker – of low status. He lived on the edge of society - people came to him and listened to his message. They believed him and were baptized – John paves the way for Jesus. He helps a nation sweep the house clean and make way for the coming on Jesus.

Our lesson from Malachi talks about Jesus – it says that he is like a refiner’s fire or like fuller’s soap. Fuller’s soap (or earth) is a clay-like substance that when rubbed up against cloth absorbs dirt and stains. Now, wrap your mind around this – Jesus rubs up against us and absorbs that which makes us unclean – taking away the stains in our lives. One pastor named, Truman Parker, said, “I strongly suspect that God views us the way we view an old pair of jeans, we only get better with each new washing.

The point of this season of Advent is to prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of Jesus; not only the birth of a baby, but the coming of Jesus into our hearts. We are not all clean, but we don’t have to be because Jesus will rub up against us and make us clean. Through his life and death comes our salvation. Romans 5:8 tells us this – while we were still sinners, Jesus died for us that we might have life.

Let us pray. Thank you, Lord, for sending messengers to help guide us on our journey – to prepare the way for us. And give us grace, Lord, to listen to their message and follow in their footsteps as we weave our way through this life. With each step, Lord, bring us closer to you, that we may see you, and know you, and follow you and always rejoice in your presence among us. Amen.

Please feel free to email me with comments at nan@doerrworks.com