Enjoy the Journey!

I always find it a little odd that the Sunday lectionary for Year B has us start the Gospel of Mark in chapter 13 on Advent 1 and then go back to chapter 1, verse 1 on Advent 2.  Even though it seems out of order from a literary point of view, theologically it makes sense as we have Jesus giving us a vision of the kingdom of God that will be established for ever more, and then we have John the Baptist inviting us into that kingdom through faithful commitment and repentance of sins. 

Even while we are in the sacred and secular confluence of waiting for Christ(mas), we recognize in these readings that both John and Jesus were focused less on the Christ then on God and God’s work in the world.  As Christians, we understand the message and actions of God most directly and vividly through the work and words of Jesus, but he himself was not about self-promotion.  Jesus himself might even be a bit embarrassed by all the hubbub made about his birth (even though it is more about economics than religion).  His primary message was to call people toward faithful belief in God, and John points us to Jesus to understand his message of redemption through truthfulness in how we live. 

These messages return our attention back to our own relationships with God, how we understand God at work in our lives, and how willing we are to be changed by God’s presence.  The season of Advent is intended to help us get back to basics, clear away all the impediments we have set up between God and ourselves, and take time to “prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”

It may be helpful to think of a straight line between ourselves and God, not going through another person or situation.  We may even feel a bit vulnerable to be so directly connected.  To that I offer the great wisdom from 1 John 4:18-19 “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because God first loved us.” God wants to be in relationship with us, not to condemn, but to strengthen our spirit in order to do God’s will in the world. 

I encourage each of you, especially in this very busy time to set aside a few minutes a day – anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes – to simply be with God.  You can use a short prayer or verse of scripture to focus you mind. (I did this recently by just repeating the word “love” and it was a wonderful experience!) This is a practical and easy (yes, easy!) way to make a straight path to God.

Enjoy the journey!

In Christ,

Rev. Valerie+

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