Sermon | Year A - The Year of Mark

December 7, 2008 | Advent 2

Isaiah 40:1-11; Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13; 2 Peter 3:8-15a; Mark 1:1-8

On Wednesday, while teaching confirmation, we had a good discussion pointing out how there was so much war in Biblical times. That is true. War was a constant event in the ancient world. It is why cities had walls built around them. There were constant wars in the Middle East as well as in Greece, Italy, North Africa, and all over the Mediterranean.

In those days, the prestige of a nation rested not so much in a nation’s art, literature, and culture, but on the loot gathered from conquered nations. Kings would boast and build monuments of the slaves they took, and the more people killed in the process, the more the king boasted.

Today's readings find themselves in the middle of such a mindset. The first lesson marks the end of Israel's exile in Babylon. Long before, Babylon had come and conquered Jerusalem, burned the city, destroyed the temple, and taken a large portion of the population off into exile. Now, Isaiah says that the end of that exile is ending. Finally, the people will return home.

The Gospel reading is 500 years later, and has John the Baptist speaking. For 500 years, after returning from Babylon, different nations controlled Israel. First the Persians ruled, then, the Greeks. Now, the Romans are in charge. They control Israel, and the people are longing to throw off Roman rule.

The gospel reading for this morning was the opening eight verses of the Gospel of Mark. Mark gives us a quote from the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah foretold of one who would come to make straight the paths before the coming of the Lord. Then, so there will be no mistake about to whom this text refers, Mark introduces the wild and wooly prophet of the New Testament, whom he calls John the Baptizing One.

This is how Mark bridges the distance of roughly five centuries. Mark reduces that time gap of half a millennium by following the words of the prophet Isaiah with the words of John the Baptist. In doing so, Mark reveals that the story of God's love, begun in the creation, is ongoing. As foretold long ago, so now God’s story takes up anew with the Good News of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God.

Once again, God is doing something new and different just as he did when God called Abraham and Sarah, and just as he did when God called Moses and gave the 10 Commandments. God is setting Israel and the world on a new course.

When John the Baptist began speaking, the Israelites wanted was what all people wanted in those days. The Israelites wanted their procession of slaves and conquered people. They wanted their city filled with loot. They wanted their armies lording over defeated nations. They wanted the Romans out; and they wanted what other nations had: the glory of victory and the humiliation of their enemies. They wanted their turn to be the ones parading in triumph.

However, God had different plans. God had bigger plans. God had something else in mind.

Prepare the way for the Lord. This was Isaiah’s message, and it is John’s message as the New Testament opens more than five centuries after Isaiah. Isaiah goes on with a not-too-comforting message, reminding us of how fleeting human life is from God’s perspective. He writes, “All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass.” Isaiah, having reminded the people of how temporary they are, then reminds them of the everlasting nature of God’s word. What is this about?

When we think of the word of God, we usually think of the Bible. That is accurate. The Bible is the word of God, and it is enduring and everlasting. However, when Christ makes his appearance, the word of God also takes on a fuller meaning.

The Gospel of John says, “The word became flesh and lived among us.” In other words, Jesus is also God’s word. Jesus is the fulfillment of the written word. Jesus is also that which will endure and never pass away. Our lives are fleeting, but Christ the living word of God is forever.

When John the Baptist said, “Prepare the way of the Lord,” the Israelites were understandably thinking of loot, plunder, victory, glory, power, and all nations submitting to them. They were thinking in fleeting and transitory terms. God was thinking in ways that were eternal.

Isaiah goes on to say, “He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.” Isaiah speaks of sheep rather than conquering armies. He talks about a shepherd rather than a triumphant Caesar.

The Bible is God’s living, true word, which speaks to us each day. Christ is the living word of God who takes us beyond today and into and through sin and forgiveness, life and death, resurrection and eternity.

It is ironic that during this most material time of year with all the shopping and spending, we get this message from Isaiah talking about how these things are fleeting and transitory. However, in the midst of it, the word of God, both the written word, and the living word of Christ, is able to make themselves heard. They are able to speak for they are eternal. They are true. They are greater than the things for which we grasp. That is what counts. It is what mattered at the time of John the Baptist, and it is true now. Rejoice for Christ the bridegroom is coming. Prepare the royal highway for the king is coming. He is a shepherd who takes us through our sins into forgiveness, and from death into life. Amen.