SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT C

[cappie]

 Today in the Gospel  the reader and listener find themselves with John the Baptist in the wilderness and John is proclaiming that the world is about to change. To be ready people must themselves transform and change. John invites people to do this by proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins and then, in the words of the prophet Isaiah, he calls out for a change in the natural world so that all shall see the salvation of God.   Paths must be made straight. The valleys shall be filled. The mountains and hills shall be made low or flattened. The crooked shall be made straight. And the rough ways will be made smooth. And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. Luke reminds us that John says this is in accordance with the words of the prophet Isaiah. John announces a new way to change a heart and be ready for  a home with God-the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. God initially created the world. And now, that creation is going to take on an entirely different appearance.

 The raeding from Baruch tells one story of change in the natural world. In Baruch, God has told Jerusalem that mountains, hills, and valleys will be altered so that Israel may walk safely in the glory of the Lord.

 Now, in St Luke, the world must change so that the way of the Lord will be easier and safer. If the world undergoes a change, if empty things become filled, and high things become low things, and crooked things become straight things, and rough things become smooth things then people will see the salvation of God.

The story in Luke continues beyond our Gospel, and John says that it is more than baptism that will help you see God when God comes.

 St Paul picks up on that story in his letter to the Philippians. Paul is referring to Christ coming again when he asks for those in the church to have an overflowing love that will help them determine what is best. If they do this, they will be pure and blameless in the day of Christ, for they will have produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ.

John the Baptist gives examples of what Paul is saying. In the verses following our Gospel for today, John describes a time of overflowing love where people in need are clothed by those who have more than they need and people who have food share it. And no one is asked to pay more than they owe. Even though the words here are John’s, the message does not change. The world is crooked, and it can be made straight. Those who are empty can be filled. Those who are high shall be brought low. Rough ways will be made smooth. And, the natural world, the world as we know it, the world we are surrounded by, will change by our actions of love. We will be ready for the day of Christ, and we will be ready to see the salvation of God.

This year, like every year, we celebrate that Christ, the salvation of God, is coming. And, in Christmas, we celebrate the reality that Christ really does come. So, we are merely weeks away from celebrating the truth that Christ will indeed come again, Christ is coming soon. And there is work to do.

Is the world safe for the coming of Christ? Have the paths been made straight? Have you readied the paths? A woman is just over eight months pregnant, and she is readying herself for a journey over hills and through valleys. Christ is coming and the triune God will be with us once again in this particular time and this particular place. You still have time, a little bit of time before the world changes.

Advent reminds us that the One who has come into the world and is always coming into our lives in new ways is the source of our salvation. We don’t need novelty and “magic bullet” solutions to our concerns. We simply need to return again and again to the rock-solid foundation of our lives: God and God alone. 

A man is waiting quietly in the wilderness asking that you change and that you then change the world so that Christ can safely come back, and all will see the salvation of God.