Isaiah 40:15, 9-1; 2 Pt 3:8-14; Mark 1:1-8.
Dear Friends, There are no throw-away lines in the Gospels. They all are loaded with special depth and power. When Mark refers to Isaiah in introducing John the Baptist, it is of great importance. It is not as if the reference is setting up the arrival of John. On the contrary, John’s arrival is announcing the long awaited promises of Isaiah. We are being invited into a treasure trove of wisdom and love of the Old Testament.
More than any other book of the Old Testament, Isaiah is filled with the message of hope and deliverance, filled with the pregnant offerings of new life and a new day in the coming of the Messiah.
Here are just a few verses of this explosive proclamation of the new day to come:
“Go onto a high mountain, Zion, herald of glad tidings…say to the cities of Judah: Here is your God.” (Isaiah 40:9)
In Isaiah 25 we read:
“But he shall judge the poor with justice…Then the wolf shall be the guest of the lamb and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the young lion shall browse together…the baby shall play in the cobra’s den; there shall be no harm or ruin on my holy mountain.” (Isaiah 11:4-9)
One final example of this incredible message of hope for a new day:
“He will destroy on the mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples…he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces...This is the Lord for whom we have waited. Let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” (Isaiah 25:7-9)
When John began preaching a baptism of repentance, it was to a people not that much different from us today. It was to a people longing for deliverance from inequality and oppression, a people caught in the many subtle and open expressions of violence and attacks on human dignity, a people longing for healing and peace, a people yearning for delivery from the pandemics of all sorts.
The John’s call to repent is an invitation to change our expectations. We are urged to let go of the petty goals created and driven by a consumer society. We are urged to expand our horizons to the eternal, to the unending goodness that awaits us when we are faithful to God. Advent tells us we need not stay imprisoned in our selfishness. We need not accept its crippling forces that lock us into the petty and deceiving world of our selfishness.
Advent invites us to celebrate our special heritage. We have a God who is always coming, always seeking us. Our God is never absent from the human venture. Today’s readings give us a beautiful picture of God coming in mercy to rescue a sinful humankind. We need to be open and prepared for this ever-present coming. We need to return again and again to our Advent prayer, Come Lord Jesus.
When John said, “One mightier than I is coming after me” (Mark 1:7), the Baptist was unfolding the hope- filled conclusion of the entire Old Testament. God’s promise to Abraham, repeated over and over again, was approaching fulfillment. The consequences of sin will be wiped away in the arrival of the Savior. Sickness, ignorance, prejudice and violence will give way to health, truth, justice and peace. Death will lose its sting and eternal life will open up with clarity as our true destiny. In all things, love will prevail. Indeed, we need to open our hearts to the hope filled message of Advent. We need to free our hearts of fear and weariness to cry out in hope the great Advent prayer, “Come, Lord Jesus!”
Above all, we are called to long for this hope of transformation that begins now when we accept the entreaty of the Baptist to repent and continue the plea to Jesus to expand the horizons of our love!
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