This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’” Matthew 3:3
Each season of Advent we talk about John the Baptist, and I wonder what on earth would make someone want to live in the wilderness? But, then I realize that many people experience times in their lives when wilderness is all around them and they don’t know how to find their way out of it. They look and listen for someone who will help them turn things around. They might even settle on the advice of someone with a prickly personality who is dressed in very strange clothing.
John’s message to us is one that offers hope and repentance – opportunity to turn things around in our lives. He proclaims that the kingdom of God has come near, that even people who are surrounded by wilderness will be empowered to make changes. The One who is coming after him will help us learn to live kingdom lives and will accompany us as we dream about a more hopeful future.
What is it that we dream about? What do we hope for? Maybe it’s that a torn apart family or friendship can be reconciled, or that we can survive a Christmas with an empty place at the table. Maybe it’s that restoring a flood-damaged home might be a memory by this time next year, or that we might begin a new year filled with increased joy.
My dream is that the promise of the coming One ignites a fire within us to imagine a more peaceful and loving world and then stirs us to take one small step along the straightened path to help make it happen.
O loving God, help us to notice signs of your kingdom in the world. Empower us to change our lives so we might follow your straight paths out of the wilderness and into the hope of a new future with you. Amen.
The Rev. Paulette Obrecht is interim pastor at St. Mark’s Community Lutheran Church in Reeders, PA, and serves on the Advisory Committee of Lutheran Congregational Services.
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