Prepare Ye the Way: for Peace
Sermon for Advent 2B, 2008
Scripture: Isaiah 40:1-11, Psalm 85, Mark 1:1-8
Welcome to the second Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of Peace. In a time when there is so much violence and conflict: wars, abuse, terrorist attacks and so forth, the world is certainly a place in need of Peace. Isaiah foretold a time when there would be such a peace—that a child would lead all natural enemies such as the wolf and the lamb, the calf and the lion to lie down together. The prophet in Isaiah 2 says that God shall judge the nations and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore (Isa 2:4) and in our reading today he is talking about comforting his people and then we hear, “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,” (Isa. 40:3), the same refrain that opens the Gospel of Mark. Both Isaiah and Mark continue with “prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” (Mark:1:3 and Isa 40:3.) Mark goes on then to introduce John the Baptist as the person who will prepare the way for the Christ.
Have you ever seen a Christmas card with a picture of John the Baptist? His image just doesn’t sell in the sentimental world of angel choirs, Christmas cookies, loving families, shepherds in the field and wise men bearing gifts. Instead we have an odd looking fellow who has been living in solitude in the wilderness of Judea. He fed on honey and wild locust and dressed in garments of camel hair with a leather belt around his waist. He studied the Scriptures, and we are told he especially was drawn to the prophetic ministry of Elijah, after whom he modeled his own ministry. Some of the other gospels, particularly Luke, goes into much more detail on his preaching. What is consistent is John’s announcing that Jesus is coming: “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” (1:7-8) As I read to you this morning, that’s about all that Mark says about John, other than he baptized Jesus in the Jordan.
Each Sunday of Advent we prepare a little more for that wonderful birth of Jesus. Even though Jesus and John were cousins, born only three months apart, possibly playing together as children, in their adulthood it is John that prepares the way for Jesus. Each of us is important in preparing the way for Jesus to be born into our hearts and into the world. Last week we focused on the importance of hope, coming out of the darkness to prepare for the Christ child. This week I want to focus on Peace.
World peace seems pretty slim, then and now; according to one resource ‘in almost 3600 years of recorded history, the world has known only 292 years of peace (less than 8%). During this period there have been 14,351 wars, large and small, in which 3.64 billion people have been killed. There have also been in excess of 8000 peace treaties that were made and broken.1 Pretty gloomy isn’t it!
In spite of this history of the lack of peace, I will remain hopeful that we will move to more sustained periods of peace in the world. However, today I want us to look more towards inner peace, a peace that strengthens us from the inside-out—the kind of peace that we can feel even though we are struggling with both inside and outside problems. Maybe some of you are in a wilderness place where you feel lost, alone, without that comfort of Isaiah 40. Maybe you are completely overwhelmed. Yet I am here to proclaim that it’s still possible to be peaceful inside. The peace that Jesus brings is not the absence of problems or trouble. The peace that Jesus brings is a new way of looking at God and knowing God is always with us.
Let’s go back to John the Baptist. John calls us to repent, kind of an old fashioned word that we don’t use much today, but it means to STOP where we are, to turn around and examine where we have just been and consider if a change is in order. Repentance is not merely feeling sorry and giving things up. It is a complete turn around in one life. It is turning from something disastrous to something wonderful. One of my resources said it’s like turning from a dead end to an open highway, or like turning from a stagnant puddle to a bubbling spring. So I urge each of you to ask the Holy Spirit if there is anything in your life that is not pleasing to God. Is there anything that dishonors God, anything that has become more important to us than God? Is there anything we need to repent of, anything that God wants us to do that we are not doing? I think that John was asking us to turn away from everything Jesus spoke against, anything that creates barriers between human beings. We need to turn away from everything that oppresses others or ourselves. We need to turn away from anything that does not reflect justice, compassion or peace. Maybe before you go to bed tonight or if you are a morning person, get up early enough tomorrow to spend some quiet time listening and talking to God.
There’s actually been research done at Duke University on what can help us have peace of mind. I want to briefly share the eight things they came up with:
Believing in something bigger than ourselves is why most of us are here on Sunday morning. The Peace that comes through the birth of baby Jesus brings us a new way of looking at God, and gives us the assurance to know that God is with us always and all ways. The next step is for us to bring light into the world by the life we lead. My prayer is that we can all become the signs of hope and peace in the darkness that surrounds so many. May our lives reflect the Love that is God. God with us, Emmanuel. And peace on earth, goodwill to all. AMEN.
Scripture: Isaiah 40:1-11, Psalm 85, Mark 1:1-8
Welcome to the second Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of Peace. In a time when there is so much violence and conflict: wars, abuse, terrorist attacks and so forth, the world is certainly a place in need of Peace. Isaiah foretold a time when there would be such a peace—that a child would lead all natural enemies such as the wolf and the lamb, the calf and the lion to lie down together. The prophet in Isaiah 2 says that God shall judge the nations and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore (Isa 2:4) and in our reading today he is talking about comforting his people and then we hear, “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,” (Isa. 40:3), the same refrain that opens the Gospel of Mark. Both Isaiah and Mark continue with “prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” (Mark:1:3 and Isa 40:3.) Mark goes on then to introduce John the Baptist as the person who will prepare the way for the Christ.
Have you ever seen a Christmas card with a picture of John the Baptist? His image just doesn’t sell in the sentimental world of angel choirs, Christmas cookies, loving families, shepherds in the field and wise men bearing gifts. Instead we have an odd looking fellow who has been living in solitude in the wilderness of Judea. He fed on honey and wild locust and dressed in garments of camel hair with a leather belt around his waist. He studied the Scriptures, and we are told he especially was drawn to the prophetic ministry of Elijah, after whom he modeled his own ministry. Some of the other gospels, particularly Luke, goes into much more detail on his preaching. What is consistent is John’s announcing that Jesus is coming: “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” (1:7-8) As I read to you this morning, that’s about all that Mark says about John, other than he baptized Jesus in the Jordan.
Each Sunday of Advent we prepare a little more for that wonderful birth of Jesus. Even though Jesus and John were cousins, born only three months apart, possibly playing together as children, in their adulthood it is John that prepares the way for Jesus. Each of us is important in preparing the way for Jesus to be born into our hearts and into the world. Last week we focused on the importance of hope, coming out of the darkness to prepare for the Christ child. This week I want to focus on Peace.
World peace seems pretty slim, then and now; according to one resource ‘in almost 3600 years of recorded history, the world has known only 292 years of peace (less than 8%). During this period there have been 14,351 wars, large and small, in which 3.64 billion people have been killed. There have also been in excess of 8000 peace treaties that were made and broken.1 Pretty gloomy isn’t it!
In spite of this history of the lack of peace, I will remain hopeful that we will move to more sustained periods of peace in the world. However, today I want us to look more towards inner peace, a peace that strengthens us from the inside-out—the kind of peace that we can feel even though we are struggling with both inside and outside problems. Maybe some of you are in a wilderness place where you feel lost, alone, without that comfort of Isaiah 40. Maybe you are completely overwhelmed. Yet I am here to proclaim that it’s still possible to be peaceful inside. The peace that Jesus brings is not the absence of problems or trouble. The peace that Jesus brings is a new way of looking at God and knowing God is always with us.
Let’s go back to John the Baptist. John calls us to repent, kind of an old fashioned word that we don’t use much today, but it means to STOP where we are, to turn around and examine where we have just been and consider if a change is in order. Repentance is not merely feeling sorry and giving things up. It is a complete turn around in one life. It is turning from something disastrous to something wonderful. One of my resources said it’s like turning from a dead end to an open highway, or like turning from a stagnant puddle to a bubbling spring. So I urge each of you to ask the Holy Spirit if there is anything in your life that is not pleasing to God. Is there anything that dishonors God, anything that has become more important to us than God? Is there anything we need to repent of, anything that God wants us to do that we are not doing? I think that John was asking us to turn away from everything Jesus spoke against, anything that creates barriers between human beings. We need to turn away from everything that oppresses others or ourselves. We need to turn away from anything that does not reflect justice, compassion or peace. Maybe before you go to bed tonight or if you are a morning person, get up early enough tomorrow to spend some quiet time listening and talking to God.
There’s actually been research done at Duke University on what can help us have peace of mind. I want to briefly share the eight things they came up with:
- The absence of suspicion and resentment. Nursing a grudge was found to be a major factor in unhappiness.
- Not living in the past. An unwholesome preoccupation with old mistakes and failures leads to depression.
- Not wasting time and energy fighting conditions you cannot change. Cooperate with life, instead of trying to run away from it.
- Forcing yourself to stay involved with the living world. Resist the temptation to withdraw and become reclusive during periods of emotional stress.
- Refusing to indulge in self-pity when life hands you a raw deal. Accept the fact that nobody gets through life without some sorrow and misfortune.
- Cultivating the old-fashioned virtues—love, humor, compassion and loyalty.
- Not expecting too much of yourself. When there is too wide a gap between self-expectation and your ability to meet the goals you have set, feelings of inadequacy are inevitable.
- Finding something bigger than yourself to believe in.
Believing in something bigger than ourselves is why most of us are here on Sunday morning. The Peace that comes through the birth of baby Jesus brings us a new way of looking at God, and gives us the assurance to know that God is with us always and all ways. The next step is for us to bring light into the world by the life we lead. My prayer is that we can all become the signs of hope and peace in the darkness that surrounds so many. May our lives reflect the Love that is God. God with us, Emmanuel. And peace on earth, goodwill to all. AMEN.
posted by Sermons given at Deering Community Church @ 10:00 AM
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