A Sermon preached on 10th December 2017,
Advent II, at St. Augustine’s, Wiesbaden
Isaiah 40:1-11, 2
Peter 3:8-15a, Mark 1:1-8
Last week, on the
first Sunday in Advent and of the new Church year, Douglas+ struck lucky and got
to preach on one of the apocalyptic passages in Mark, so all about suffering, the
sun darkening, the moon not giving any light, the stars falling from heaven,
and the powers in the heavens being shaken. All I get is the beginning of Mark’s
Gospel, which is the Gospel most of our readings will be coming from this
church year. This is because these first 8 verses also introduce John the
Baptist and the second Sunday in Advent is John’s Sunday.
The beginning of Mark
is a very abrupt beginning! Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury has
this to say:
“Mark pushes Jesus
on to the stage without a word of introduction. He doesn’t tell you who this is
beyond the name and his function – no family background, no Christmas story.
The curtain goes up with a clatter and there on stage is the central figure …
the anointed one.”[1]
And that was just the first verse. Mark then moves immediately on to introducing
John the baptizer. He also has no back story but just “appeared in the
wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
(Mark 1:4)
One reason why
Mark introduces John so early on is because Jesus’ active adult ministry begins
when John baptizes him, an event that follows the passage we heard today. The
other reason is because his story about Jesus is good news, and there can be no
good news without a messenger. John, as
a new prophet in Isaiah’s and Elijah’s succession, is the first messenger, the
one who announces Jesus coming: “The one who is more powerful than I (…) coming
after me.” (1:7)
Announcing
something or someone is then one role of a prophet. We see that in Isaiah, who
in this morning’s reading is tasked by God to announce that Israel will soon
return from exile. Previously Isaiah had had to announce judgment and punishment,
now salvation! That leads us to another role of a prophet often described as both
“comforting the afflicted, and afflicting the comfortable.”
Comforting the
afflicted is certainly the role we see given to Isaiah. God’s first very clear instructions
to him are: “Comfort, O comfort my people.” (Is. 40:1) And the passage that
follows is full of words of comfort. The path back to Judah will be made easy
and the Lord himself will lead the people home. “The word of (…) God will stand
forever.” (40:8) God is described in
tender, almost feminine terms: “He will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry
them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.” (40:11) And Jerusalem
will become much more than just a city of the Jews. It will be a herald of good
tidings to all of Judah and beyond. (40:9) The glory of the Lord, which was supposed
to be contained in the Holy of Holies in the center of the temple, will be
revealed to all people! (40:5) At the end of a week when the President Trump
foolishly, dangerously and shortsightedly announced that for the US Jerusalem
will be recognized – just – as Israel’s capital, this passage is a reminder
that even in the Old Testament God’s prophets were preaching against an
exclusive and for a universal Jerusalem, open and welcoming and belonging to
all nations.
But Isaiah’s
comforting words come with a couple of hidden barbs. The affliction that they
are being comforted for and released from, their exile, was itself the result
of judgement and punishment: “Cry to her that she has served her term, that her
penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her
sins.” (40:2) Israel had gone wrong, they had left God’s way of justice and
peace. And before they get too proud and start putting “Israel first,” Isaiah
reminds them of their mortality and that all human things and empires will
fade:
“All people are grass;
their constancy is like the flower of the field. … The grass withers, the
flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever.” (40:6-8)
Turning now to
Mark, it would appear that John the Baptist’s specialty is more afflicting the comfortable!
In Mark’s hurried story telling we don’t
hear what John calls some of the people who come to see him on the river
Jordan. We have to turn to Matthew and Luke instead to hear John say to the
crowds “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Every
tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the
fire.” (Luke 3:7-9) But even in Mark John’s teaching is uncomfortable. He wants
people to change – and we never like doing that. To repent means to turn around
and go the right way. He promises, looking ahead to Jesus, even more change. To
receive the Holy Spirit, which like wind or breath is constantly on the move,
is to be open to surprises, to new developments and by acknowledging God within
us to keep our feet firmly on God’s way, wherever it may lead.
And yet this
message is also a comforting one. Those who came to John were suffering. They
were afflicted by guilt, uncertainty and by fear. John offers two comforts.
Release through confession and baptism and hope when he points forward to Jesus
who offers reconciliation with God and one another. Change is necessary for
comfort. When we read between the lines, John’s message is not unlike Isaiah’s.
God offers us comfort, we believe in the person of Jesus, but we have to be
ready for it.
But we don’t just
have this passage so we can hear about John the Baptist’s deeds as a prophet
and herald … and then forget about them until next Advent. We have this passage
because we are John’s successors in preparing the way of the Lord and as
modern-day prophets. The Quaker writer Antoinette Doolittle has this to say:
“Every cycle has
its prophets – as guiding stars; and they are the burning candles of the Lord
to light the spiritual temple on earth, for the time being. When they have done
their work, they will pass away; but the candlestick will remain and other
lights will be placed in them.”[2]
We are the lights
– because we have to light up the way. We are the prophets who have to afflict
the comfortable, and remind them that too often their comfort comes at
another’s cost – today’s poor, the Global South, and also when we ignore all warnings
about the environment, of future generations: our children and children’s children.
And we must remind them that their comfort is as short lived and as likely to wither
as the grass and the flowers of the fields. Only the word of God will stand forever.
Likewise, we comfort
the afflicted by working for change today, bringing justice and peace. We offer
encouragement and strength by giving them, to use the language of the first Book
of Common Prayer, comfortable words about the one whose way we follow. Like John,
we point to the one who has the power of God. To the one we are not worthy even
to be a servant too, and yet who accepts and welcomes us as his sisters and brothers
and partners. To Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. Amen.
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