Not "Just in Case"

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
December 10, 2023

2 Advent B 

          As we prepare for Christmas this year, I find myself thinking back to last Christmas and the deep cold and violent winds that came the day before Christmas Eve.  We knew the cold and the winds were coming so I did a bit of baking ahead so I would be ready if we lost the power.  I boiled water all day and kept it in thermal carafes so that if the power did go off, we would have hot water for tea.  That may seem a bit excessive, but you  would not want to be stuck in a house with me where there is no power and no tea.  I was not worried about the refrigerator or freezer if the power went out as the garage would have made a fine refrigerator and there was a vast deep freeze just outside the back door.  I kept all my devices charging all day and bought a battery pack just in case.  I was going to be prepared just in case we lost power the day before Christmas Eve.

          One would think that John the Baptist and I would have a lot in common.  We both value preparedness although I find his food and clothing choices questionable.  This morning we hear the very first words in the gospel according to Mark.  We are told that John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness just as the prophet Isaiah foretold, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  And we are told that people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem flocked to the wilderness to be baptized in the river Jordan. Something about John the Baptist and his message about preparing for the one who is coming after him caused people to come out in droves to hear what he had to say and act on his words. 

          Perhaps the people were preparing the way I prepare for a storm-just in case the power goes out, just in case John the Baptist is right, just in case someone is coming who will baptize with the Holy Spirit, we had better be ready. Just in case. 

          But, unlike me, John the Baptist is not doing “just in case.”  This is not a fire drill so that people are prepared just in case catastrophe happens.  This is not the emergency siren going off at noon on the first Saturday of each month so we know what the siren sounds like.  In the reading from Isaiah this morning, we hear the words “The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”  The glory of the Lord will be revealed.  John the Baptist is preparing the people for what is definitely coming to pass.  One is coming whose sandals John is not worthy to untie, who will baptize with the Holy Spirit, and who, in not many more verses in Mark’s gospel will appear and say “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near.  Repent and believe in the good news.”

          John the Baptist is calling the people and us to a season of preparation not just in case we need to be prepared but because we do  need to be prepared for the inbreaking of God.  John calls us to live as people who really expect God to break into our midst.  But how do we do that, short of heading to the wilderness ourselves to look for someone dressed in camel’s hair and eating locusts to give us instructions?

          This morning we hear the words “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”  These are the very opening words of Mark’s gospel and some scholars believe this is the title of the whole work.  On the other hand, I find it interesting that the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ is found in the wilderness.  The voice in the reading from Isaiah cries out “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.  Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill shall be made low.”  John the Baptist appears in the wilderness and proclaims a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  Either way, preparation is about engaging the wilderness and removing barriers so that all people can see the glory of God revealed.  In our own lives and hearts, what barriers do we need to remove so that we are prepared for the glory of God as revealed in the Christ Child?  From what do we need to turn that separates us from the love of God?  That is repentance.  As followers of Jesus, what barriers do we need to remove so that all people can know the love of God as revealed in the Christ Child?  That is the work of raising valleys and leveling mountains.  If folks steer clear of churches because they are afraid of being judged for their gender orientation or marital status or differing abilities or economic status or politics, or because they have never heard the Good News, how do we remove those barriers? 

          John calls us to prepare with the conviction that the glory of God will be revealed and all people shall see it together.  John calls us to prepare because that for which we prepare matters, both to us and to the world and not just for one day but forever.  John calls us to prepare, not just in case something wondrous might happen in our midst but because something wondrous is about to happen.

                                                                                      Amen.