Second Sunday of Advent
December 7, 2008
Isaiah 40:1-11; Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13; II Peter 3:8-15; Mark 1:1-8
Prepare the Way
3 Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting,
“Clear the way through the wilderness
for the Lord!
Make a straight highway through the wasteland
for our God!
4 Fill in the valleys,
and level the mountains and hills.
Straighten the curves,
and smooth out the rough places.
5 Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
The Lord has spoken!” — (Isaiah 40:3-5)
Over the last few posts about Advent, I have emphasized that Advent is a season of preparation for the arrival of the Christ child in Bethlehem. II Peter also reminds us that Advent is a season of preparation for the Lord’s return.
14 And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.
15 And remember, the Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him—
We are also reminded in Peter that Advent is a season of waiting. Patience is not something that comes easy to any of us. Trust me on this one. Our culture only makes it worse. We are so accustomed to having everything right away or instantly. We have been waiting for the Lord’s return for a long time. The Jewish people were waiting for the arrival of the Messiah for four-hundred years. Today’s passage reminds us that there was someone coming that would prepare the way of the Messiah. His name was John the Baptist. John was reminding the people to prepare themselves for the coming of the Lord — the Messiah — Jesus — Emmanuel — God with Us. They had waited so long for this Messiah — someone who would change the world — someone who would get them out of the bondage they were in. John the Baptist reminded them that this Messiah was coming. Mark describes what John the Baptist told the people.
1 This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. It began 2 just as the prophet Isaiah had written:
“Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
and he will prepare your way.
3 He is a voice shouting in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming!
Clear the road for him!’[c]”4 This messenger was John the Baptist. He was in the wilderness and preached that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven. 5 All of Judea, including all the people of Jerusalem, went out to see and hear John. And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River. 6 His clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey.
7 John announced: “Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not even worthy to stoop down like a slave and untie the straps of his sandals. 8 I baptize you with[d] water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!”
Jesus is coming — Can you sense the anticipation? Jesus is coming — Is your heart prepared? Jesus is coming — while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.
