Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation.
In Hebrew דֶּרֶךְ, the “way” or “the path” is very, very common in scripture. There is the sense that to follow God is to walk a particular path, a particular way—one that involves repentance.
I received an email from Advent Word this past Wednesday with musings around the word “path”. The message read:
“In this pilgrim life, we are called to an ongoing journey, with God and toward God. And yet there is this amazing sense that, the more we travel the path away from what we know, the more familiar the landscape will become. My journey does not actually lead me away from myself, but toward it. You are called by Jesus to become more and more authentically who God created you to be.”
This quote is from Jim Woodrum, a brother of the Society of St. John the Evangelist monastic order as he pondered the word “path.” Brother Jim makes good use of theologians who have gone before him—Paul, Aquinas, Merton—come to mind. Always, but highlighted during Advent, we do not necessarily walk a peaceful path, but there is a path to walk that leads to peace.
This path that each of us follows to become our true self, who we authentically are called to be, only comes about when we are right with God, when we can rest in the grace of God—the true peace in our hearts and in our world. The song of Zechariah presages his own son’s ministry, that we are only at true peace when we lay aside our selfish ambitions and passions, or that we at least turn those ambitions and passions over to God. Indeed, we may live in between times (Jesus has come, and yet God’s reign is not complete), and during this time we do not fully walk in the way of peace; however, Zechariah in his song, promises that his little boy, John, will prepare us to bridge those in between times as we live in hope toward God’s reign.
And as baby John, son of Zechariah, grows up to become John the Baptist who figures in our Gospel reading—John’s message is indeed good news. As Christians, even as Episcopalians who are called every time we gather in this sacred space to make confession and repent, we live in a day and age that doesn’t make too much of repentance. So, we hear these words now and some of us get a little disturbed, as if some pastor is going to chase after you yelling about sin and damnation. However, let’s take it at face value, that John’s message is good news, and that true repentance prepares the way of the Lord, even if it makes us uncomfortable. Perhaps being uncomfortable allows us to truly repent and set our burdens all the way down—all of the “I wish I were” “wish I had been”, “if only I had,” “sorry I did”…. we can set all these down any time, but particularly in Advent, to make way for the coming of Jesus.
The email quote I received is pretty spot on, but perhaps it is a tad limited. It is very much focused on the self. Of course, most of the time it is we individuals who repent, but there is more to it than the individual journey, there is more to it than just yourself becoming authentically you. We are never alone; we live in community. We often use this phrase “we are never alone” as a mantra to combat loneliness, but we are also responsible as to how we are as a community. There is a responsibility we have towards the communities we inhabit and participate in.
If you give it some thought, the Bible is always more communal than individual. We pray “our father”, not “my father.” Rarely do you hear “my Lord,” but often “our Lord.” We are people of God who belong to each other.
The prophet Malachi asks us to look inside ourselves, but don’t limit yourself, because you are not defined by only yourself. The passage speaks of a people. The covenant was not made with one person. We need to look inside our congregation, our denomination, our church and our nation. The promise of restoration and refining is a sure thing. It will happen. It is under God’s control and in God’s time. God’s refining does not wait for us be ready, or for us to feel good about it. It is God’s promise and so in some sense then, it will always be good news. When we are refined and purified as God promises, it will be good.
But this turn towards community, if it’s a true turn, will always find its roots in love, in αγαπή, the self-giving type of love. This is what Paul prays for in his letter to the Philippians. Αγαπή is the first named hope of his prayer. And αγαπή is the overarching theme of the letter. It is God who is at work in you in community. It is God who enables you both to will and to work for God’s good pleasure. May God continue to do that work in me, in you, in US, and may Advent be a time for us to open ourselves again to that work, the work of αγαπή. -Sarah Colvin
Malachi 3:1-4
Philippians 1:3-11
Luke 3:1-6
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