Parched and Thirsty

2^nd Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11

Mark 1:1-8

It is Advent and we have three main characters that ask to be preached:  Isaiah, John the Baptist (or John the Voice if you are talking about next week’s John from the Gospel of John;) and Mary.  Mary we will reserve for the 4^th Sunday.  We might be able to kill 2 birds with 1 stone today…such a violent metaphor;)

I just read the following quote from the dedication found in Preaching Mark’s Unsettling Messiah, by David Fleer and Dave Bland:

Over the years, my preaching has become more “confessional” in nature.  I subscribe to what I sometimes call “Jacob Preaching”: when you wrestle with the text all week, don’t be surprised if you’re limping on Sunday!  I am on a never-ending journey to knowing.  Does this make sense?  I want to be an example of someone who hungers and thirsts to know God, who is driven over and over again to the text, for in it is a word from God.  And I know such an endeavor is painful!

-a quote from Royce Dickinson Jr. (1956-2005) found in the dedication of Preaching Mark’s Unsettling Messiah

Following Mr. Dickinson’s lead, I can almost hear the Baptist calling to me through the prophet Isaiah…Come, you could use a little extra wrestling!

In the Isaiah passage we hear:

A voice cries out:

In the desert prepare the way of the Lord!

And then the verbs:

Make straight

Fill in

De-ruggify (my made-up word translation;)

Isaiah didn’t have heavy earth-moving equipment on his mind.

What does it mean?

Where is there parched and thirsty terrain...in my landscape?

And what is it thirsty for?

What might make that desert place less inhospitable and unwelcoming to life?

How might I make the path to God less cluttered and bumpy?

What will it take for me to pick up a heavy boulder or clump of dirt from time to time lest others stumble and get stuck in such a wasteland?

I will have to see it first!  Light would help.

AHHHHHH Advent

Bring on the light!