The Rev. Dr. Hilary B. Smith
Preparing Ourselves
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.” There are two major ways that we prepare the way of
the Lord. One way is the personal way—it is the way that we prepare ourselves
to receive all that God offers to us. Another central way is the way that we
act in the world to prepare the way for God—this the way that we communicate to
others grace we have known. The account of John the Baptist provides us with
ample opportunity to address both ways of preparing for God. This week the
focus is on the personal preparation; next week, we will consider the way we
prepare the way by being witnesses to the Good News.
The idea that the people of
God need to repent in order to be prepared to encounter the holiness of God has
a long history—long before John the Baptist, leaders of the faith community
called on the people to change their ways. Times of exile and alienation were
followed by a desire for a close connection with God.
Psalm 85 is a prayer of faith
and one that acknowledges the mercy of God, which is the hope of the people. The
people acknowledge that they have been sinful, and at the same time they are
sure that God has forgiven them and delivered them in the past and that God
will do so again. In verse two, the translation of “forgave” is from the verb
“to remove” or “to lift away.” The action of God transforms the lives of the
people in an absolute sense—sins are removed through grace because God is
merciful—because of who God is—all we need to do is to be open to the
transforming love of God.
The heading or the title of
this psalm is “For the Nation’s Welfare.” God is the salvation of the nation –
this prayer is about what is good for the people. In verse seven, the plea is
made that God will “show the people” the steadfast love of God. The sense of
the word “show” here is that God will do something to reveal just what the love
of God can do for the people – God will act, God will reveal, God will make
clear through action the depth and steadfast love God has for the people. This
is the hope held by the people of God.
The response to the faith
that God will act to help and to save, that God will forgive and care for the
people is this:
I will listen to what the
LORD God is saying, *
for he is speaking peace to his faithful people
and to those who turn their hearts to him. (Psalm 85:8)
The people will listen to
what the LORD God is saying. The people will direct their attention to God and
be open to God’s direction for them in their lives. Another translation for “to
those who turn their hearts to him” is “to those who turn to him in their hearts.”
It is also translated as “if we do not go back to our foolish ways.” The psalm
refers to repentance—the same repentance that John the Baptist proclaimed to
those who had come out to see him in the wilderness. Turning to God in our
hearts strikes me as a stance of deep devotion. Many can seem to be religious –
but what is on the surface does not necessarily go deep.
Advent is a time to listen to
what God is saying. Advent is a time to listen with devotion as we seek to know
the salvation God has given to us through Jesus Christ. To hear the words of
grace and hope—hear the message of our salvation, is what we are preparing to
do – as much as we prepare by sending cards and shopping – at least as much as
that, we listen to hear the word of Peace that God offers to us and to all.
We need to be intentional in
our preparation. That was the message of John the Baptist. John challenged the
people of his time to prepare for the coming of Christ by turning to God in
their hearts. The Gospel of Mark does not start with the story of Christ’s
birth. Rather we hear that the beginning of the Good News is the gift of God’s
messenger, John the Baptist who calls the people to repentance. The beginning
of the Good News is the call to personal preparation.
Now, we distinguish the
season of Advent from the season of Lent. Yes, both are times of preparation
before a celebration of great importance. Advent has in fact been known as
“little Lent.” In recent years, however, there has been a move away from
thinking of Advent as a shorter version of Lent. We, like many Episcopal
Churches, use blue hangings in Advent instead of purple to distinguish it from
Lent. Advent is much more than a “little Lent.” It has its own distinctive
character.
But at the same time,
repentance is still apart of Advent. Repentance is still a part of Advent
because whenever we prepare to receive God into our hearts, whenever we are
seeking a deeper union with God, we are turning away from those things that are
not of God so as to be closer to God. It is not that we repent and then God
will accept us.
God came to us, and God comes
to us again and again, not based on who we are but on who God is. As we seek to
know the God of our salvation more fully, we turn to God. Just as a plant
seeking nourishment turns toward the sun and away from the darkness, we to
stretch ourselves toward the source of our life.
As Psalm 85 expressed so well
the day it was first prayed as it does today, we turn toward God, preparing the
way for God, because it is God who promises peace. The peace mentioned in psalm
can mean many things – salvation in its many forms, well-being in an abiding
sense. The people flocked to John the Baptist in the desert because he was
offering what nothing else could, a way to be ready for the realization of
their deepest wish.
Who is this God of the Hebrew
people; who is this God of which John the Baptist speaks; who is this God who
comes to us, is born into our world to embrace us. This is God who will give up
everything to be with us. This is God who brings us to repentance when we
encounter such love – love for us.
Jonathan Bryan gives us a
great image for single-mindedness with which God seeks us in his book Nonetheless,
God Retrieves Us. Bryan’s book is a discussion about how his golden Labrador
retriever, Jocko, helps him understand God – he gets some great analogies from
Jocko’s behavior that help us to understand God.
There are of course many ways
in which Jocko and God are not alike. I look forward to the insights that
Jonathan Bryan will share with us on Wednesday when he is with us for our
discussion of his book.
We forsake our sins because
they promise nothing of value. We pray that through the grace of God we can
forsake our sins that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our
redeemer. We prepare this Advent to greet the Prince of Peace, whose love for
us transforms us. Amen.
********************************
All analysis of Psalm 85 quoted here is taken from Robert G. Bratcher and William D. Reyburn, A Handbook On Psalms, United Bible Societies, New York, 1991, pp. 744-750.
Jonathan Bryan, Nonetheless, God Retrieves Us,
iUniverse, Inc.,