Advent 2 Year B

Advent 2 Year B Mark 1:1-8 The Rev. Benton Quest

I really can’t believe how far we have come; some of the images we have in the Bible are so distant from anything that we usually experience. We talk about lighting candles to bring light into the darkness. But we are a people who are hardly EVER surrounded by darkness. We have electric lights; we have televisions. We have portable DVD players. Even for those of you who may have a portable DVD player in your car, you still have to admit that it is odd to see a car driving down the road flickering with the light of a television.

For us, a candle does not so much bring light; for us, a candle is usually used just for atmosphere. When we want light, we just flick a switch. If we wanted light, we would normally not think about lighting a candle. But in Biblical times, lighting a candle was the means of bringing light into a house; and with this light, one could be safe and more productive.

This same difficulty in understanding would also go for our understanding of a voice in the wilderness. Do you realize that just 100 years ago, the loudest sound you might hear during the course of an average day would be the bray of a donkey? In the noisy world of today, the bray of a donkey would probably not even be noticed.

To people of Biblical times, candle light would have meant safety and productivity, not just a warm light to soften the look of fine lines and wrinkles. To the people of Biblical times, a voice in the wilderness would have been a call to something important, not just some kids playing by the creek. Both of these symbols probably resonated more deeply with our ancestors than they do today. But part of our job as followers of Christ is to explore these symbols and see how they can take on a richer meaning in our lives today.

Today, especially, we are talking about the voice in the wilderness. For us, a voice in the wilderness would be something that we would probably more away from if not ignore all together. But from a Biblical perspective, the voice is something that calls us to look up from our daily lives and to try to figure out what all of the fuss was about.

We also need to ask why John was calling people out into the wilderness in the first place. There was water in the town, why not baptize them there. Why make people leave the town and come out into the wilds.

Well, to truly make a change, we need to get out of our normal surroundings. Whe we remove ourselves from the “usual,” we can truly see our lives with fresh eyes. It is not coincidence that when you go on a retreat, you leave, you often go out into the wilderness. You do to someplace that is beyond your normal surroundings. I had a professor in seminary who said that we go to foreign countries not to learn about that country’s culture, we go to foreign countries to learn about our own culture. It is in going out into the wilderness that we can most clearly see our life. So John calls us out into the wilderness so that we can take an honest look at our lives. John calls us out, away from the grind of life se we can learn about ourselves and see those things that may be tripping us up.

You may not have considered it, but our Sunday worship experience is also to be one of those “wilderness” experiences. Worship draws us out of our daily life. Worship calls us to see life from a new perspective. What happens here, in this sanctuary, is NOT supposed to be like what happens out there. What happens here is supposed to give us a fresh perspective on what happens out there.

Now, of course, as Christians, the ultimate voice calling us out into the wilderness is that of Jesus. Jesus calls us to move out of our daily lives and look back with a fresh perspective. Jesus calls us to be different from the world that surrounds us. But what are some of the other voices we hear? What other wilderness are out there? Who else is calling us to take a fresh look at our lives?

We have voices from the past that call us into the wilderness. People like Augustine, John Chrysostome, and Luther call us still to look at our scripture in ways that still feel new and challenging. Another voice from the past was Martin Luther King Jr. He called us into the wilderness of equality for the races. He called on us to see the privilege that Caucasians enjoy without even realizing the privilege. He called on us all to spread that privilege to all the people, not just keep it in a select group.

But we also have voices calling us today: We have Gene Robinson and Catherine Jefferts Shori, both of whom are voices calling, not only us in the Episcopal church, but to all people of faith; calling us away from our antiquated views of what represents a Christian or a family, and toward a view of seeing all people with the love that Christ has for all of us.

When we listen to these voices, what we hear are those who are not speaking the easy message or the popular message. What we hear in their message is a call to live a truly authentic life; a life that values others as much as we value ourselves. The call out into the wilderness is not necessarily pleasant, but it is a journey that is important for us to make.

It is also a call that will not be silenced. John called out from prison. Martin Luther King called from the jail. Jesus calls us from the cross and continues to call us from beyond the empty tomb. Even when we try to stop up our ears, the message will continue. The voices in the wilderness will continue to sound until we listen.

But we don’t get off that easy. Listening is not a passive thing. We don’t just hear the voice, we act upon the voice. And not just act, we go out and spread the word. We become the voice. When we hear the message, we become changed. When we take the message of Christ into our lives, we can’t help but pass it on.

When the people responded to John’s message in the wilderness, they received the gift of baptism. When we respond to Christ’s message in the wilderness, we not only receive the gift of baptism, we receive the gift of forgiveness, and love, and caring, and acceptance. When we receive the word of Christ into our hearts, we become a new creation. The light that we represent in the Advent candles brings light into our lives and changes the atmosphere of our souls.

During this time of waiting and preparing, keep your ears open to the voices in the wilderness. Keep aware of how you are being called to move beyond the hustle and bustle of the world and go out into those places that are scary and unknown. Listen for those voices that are urging you to broaden you horizon. And then, do more than just listen. Then Act!