Mark 1: 1-8
The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121023.cfm
No one of us should be surprised by the technological advancement in our time. While we may certainly be amazed at what is possible, we’ve become a society that more or less has come to expect such “cool stuff.” The ominous warning about Artificial Intelligence (AI) should make us all pause, though in some areas there seem to be definite benefits such as in medicine. Our newer cars feel like computers on wheels with all their safety gadgets and elaborate GPS guides.
This Sunday we see a far more primitive and basic method of warning to keep us on the right path. The figure of John the Baptizer, literally known as “John the dipper,” appears essentially out of nowhere in the desert. He cries out in the manner of the prophets hundreds of years before whom the people felt had become nothing but a voice from their past history. The call of the living prophets had not been heard in centuries and here is John, preaching with zeal in the manner of the prophets, and promoting a unique water ritual which emphasizes cleansing from sin rather than a more Jewish interpretation of entering the waters of the Red Sea and escaping to freedom on the other side.
As Mark tell us: “John the Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” The baptizer, a strange and unsettling figure in some ways, stands along the shore of a well-known river and apparently engaged the hungry crowds through his charismatic preaching and his cleansing baptism in the Jordan River. No guiding technology, no books, newspapers, or internet, websites or blogs - just a voice of conviction and his charismatic persona made the people take notice. Stay on the right way to welcome the One who is coming. Get ready and clean up your act!
The force and presence of this “voice” in the desert has become the quintessential call of the Advent season passed on from generation to generation as we “Prepare the way of the Lord.” His words are not words of comfort as we may define that word. He calls for deep conversion, to confess one’s sins, and to be washed clean. We see obvious allusions to baptism and the sacramental cleansing from the guilt of original sin to enter into the life of grace in the Holy Spirit.
We hear the same in the first reading from Isaiah to a people who had suffered “double for all her sins. John’s message rang true in the heart of the likely hundreds who were attracted to him. So, this fiery figure of John, like a television or radio announcer about to present a significant person of great notoriety, prepares anyone who would listen for Jesus' formal coming. As he (Jesus) is about to appear, we must be prepared and ready.
Jesus is the humble servant of God, the Lord who now enters our lives in human history. But he is also a warrior who is ready to battle the forces of evil and darkness and Satan himself. John sets the stage and raises the bar of expectation that someone, mighty and strong will in fact profoundly move history in a new direction. John’s voice, then, is to be heard over and over again down to our own time, since the call to conversion is a daily invitation.
We know there is something innate in the human spirit that long for someone more powerful than us. Those who study the power of an addiction, for example, may feel the pull of the addiction is more powerful than them. It could be alcohol, smoking, drugs, gambling, or even technology. It could be something less but some repetitive behavior that I feel impossible to live without and that which consumes my time in an unhealthy way. In its darkest most destructive form, an addiction can destroy not only the person who is the addict but his/her family as well. That power over us can only be overcome through hard work and in its purest form through faith as well.
We also long for community. We are social creatures; made for one another and God intends us to live in relationship not isolation. In the challenging condition of our present time the experience of isolation and loneliness has become a not uncommon problem among so many. Apart from God, we are on our own! We pray for protection against this spiritual virus of personal isolation.
John’s voice promises all a way to follow that will free us from powers which can destroy rather than build up. As Isaiah speaks in our first reading this Sunday: “Comfort, give comfort to my people . . . every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low . . . then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed.” Jesus’ coming among us provides the WAY to freedom and peace. In his coming the isolated are brought to community and the powers that destroy our freedom are broken though an embrace of his role and his way in our life. To center our lives on Him is to allow him to keep us on the road, to warn us when we veer off, and to call us back through forgiveness, a more comfortable ride indeed.
So, we are ready to welcome a God who is mighty and strong yet at the same time gentle and comforting. In the end, this God will visit us not with force and fear but with mercy, gentleness and love. Yet, we must prepare, and we must accept whatever process we need to turn our lives around and to welcome him at his coming. We draw strength from the Eucharist, from the grace of forgiveness in reconciliation, and comfort from the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Almighty and merciful God,
may no earthly undertaking hinder those
who set your in haste to meet our Son,
but may our learning of heavenly wisdom
gain us admittance to his company.
Who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
(collect of Mass)
No comments:
Post a Comment