Musings for Advent 2

Sunday, December 4, 2011
Second Sunday of Advent

Midweek Musings

Reflection by Joshua Brown

INTRODUCTION
John called people to repent, to clear the decks, to completely reorder their lives so that nothing would get in the way of the Lord's coming. The reading from Isaiah gives the context for this radical call: the assurance of forgiveness that encourages us to repent; the promise that the coming one will be gentle with the little ones. Isaiah calls us all to be heralds with John, to lift up our voices fearlessly and say, "See, your God is coming!" We say it to one another in worship, in order to say it with our lives in a world in need of justice and peace.

John of Damascus, theologian and hymnwriter, died around 749
A monk in an abbey near Jerusalem, John wrote many hymns as well as theological works. One of his works, The Fount of Wisdom, remained influential for centuries.

PRAYER OF THE DAY (ELW)

Stir up our hearts, Lord God, to prepare the way of your only Son. By his coming strengthen us to serve you with purified lives; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

FIRST READING

Isaiah 40:1–11

In grand, flowing, poetic lines, the prophet announces that the exile of God's people in Babylon is over. The Lord will deliver Israel and will care for her as a shepherd cares for his sheep. This word can be trusted, because the only enduring reality in life is the word of the Lord.

Comfort, O comfort my people,
says your God.
²Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that she has served her term,
that her penalty is paid,
that she has received from the LORD's hand
double for all her sins.
³A voice cries out:
"In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
⁴Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
⁵Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
⁶A voice says, "Cry out!"
And I said, "What shall I cry?"
All people are grass,
their constancy is like the flower of the field.
⁷The grass withers, the flower fades,
when the breath of the LORD blows upon it;
surely the people are grass.
⁸The grass withers, the flower fades;
but the word of our God will stand forever.
⁹Get you up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good tidings;
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings,
lift it up, do not fear;
say to the cities of Judah,
"Here is your God!"
¹⁰See, the Lord GOD comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
¹¹He will feed his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms,
and carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead the mother sheep.

PSALM (ELW)

Psalm 85:1–2, 8–13

Righteousness shall prepare a pathway for God. (Ps. 85:13)

¹You have been gracious to your ^| land, O LORD;

you have restored the good for- ^| tune of Jacob.

²You have forgiven the iniquity ^| of your people

and blotted out ^| all their sins.

⁸I will listen to what the LORD ^| God is saying;

for you speak peace to your faithful people

and to those who turn their ^| hearts to you.

⁹Truly, your salvation is very near to ^| those who fear you,

that your glory may dwell ^| in our land. R

¹⁰Steadfast love and faithfulness have ^| met together;

righteousness and peace have ^| kissed each other.

¹¹Faithfulness shall spring up ^| from the earth,

and righteousness shall look ^| down from heaven.

¹²The LORD will indeed ^| grant prosperity,

and our land will ^| yield its increase.

¹³Righteousness shall go be- ^| fore the LORD

and shall prepare for ^| God a pathway. R

SECOND READING

2 Peter 3:8–15a

This short letter deals with pressing concerns regarding the final advent of Jesus, especially concerns that could arise over its apparent delay. The author of the letter calls on Christians to anticipate the promised coming of the Lord through conduct dedicated to God.

⁸But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. ⁹The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. ¹⁰But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed.
¹¹Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, ¹²waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire? ¹³But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home.
¹⁴Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; ¹⁵and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation.

GOSPEL

Mark 1:1–8

The Gospel of Mark does not begin with a story of Jesus' birth but with the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord.

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
²As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
"See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way;
³the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
'Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,'"
⁴John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. ⁶Now John was clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷He proclaimed, "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. ⁸I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

REFLECTION

Reflecting on these lessons for the second Sunday of Advent it occurred to me how much of life we spent waiting. We wait on hold for the next representative, we queue at the store to purchase Black Friday bargains, and we sit impatiently in traffic congestion waiting for the cars in front of us to start moving. Additionally the act of waiting can become a source of anxiety. Waiting for a baby to come but not knowing when, waiting for test results after the latest treatment for a serious ailment, waiting to for a job offer in a difficult economy, waiting for the safe return of a deployed soldier or any number of similar scenarios can trigger the nervousness and fear that accompanies waiting.

As we wait during this Advent season, God offers up a method to ease our waiting anxiety. Prepare says the prophet Isaiah! Prepare declares John the Baptist! If you might have a baby n the next three days, PREPARE, with your bags packed and arrangements for the care your children or pets. If you head to the mall on the day after Thanksgiving, PREPARE, knowing that you will wait in line, that traffic will move slowly and that the trip will require extra time. If you wait for Christ’s coming with new heavens and a new earth, PREPARE! While you wait for these things, strive to be found by Christ at peace with a straight path to your heart. A road cleared of all obstacles that keep us from embracing the love of Christ.

At the beginning of last week each time I sat down to dinner I heard a voice in my head recite a line from Exodus. “This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand” the voice said. My wife had reached the point in pregnancy when the baby could arrive at moment. As I awaited the arrival of our son Elijah I took comfort knowing we had the bags packed and all the arrangements in place. By my preparations I knew that I had my “loins girded,” “my sandals on” and “my staff in hand” so I could remain at peace while we waited.

This Advent listen to what the Lord God is saying; for God speaks peace to God’s faithful people.

Prepare the way of the Lord for the Lord of peace, the Lord of comfort and the Lord of love comes!

Prayers

· For all who wait in expectation, anxiety, or apprehension

· For our brother and sisters who serve in the military

· For strength and perseverance among all those who strive for economic justice

· For all new mothers, new fathers and new siblings

· For those who suffer the pain of mental illness

QUOTE

For it is we who must pray for our daily bread, and if He grants it to us, it is only through our labor, our skill and preparation. -Paracelsus

The important work of moving the world forward does not wait to be done by perfect men. - George Eliot

I grew up with six brothers. That's how I learned to dance - waiting for the bathroom.
- Bob Hope