The Second Sunday of Advent, Dec. 4, 2005

BCP: Isaiah 40:1-11; Psalm 85 or 85:7-13; 2 Pet. 3:8-15a,18; Mark 1:1-8

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

Those of us who observe Advent are staking our faith on a world-view which is, to many, as out of date and out of touch as the Church we represent. After all, we find in Advent the reassurance that the taste we have of heaven is true, that something better is held for us by the God and Father of Jesus Christ, that we will see the evil of this world righted.

But many walk away from this. Take the Hindu philosophy. To its followers the simple news is that no hands of any God hold our future, that there is no righting of this world, that the best path for the future is that of negation, of detachment, of denial.

It is not an irrelevant exercise to think on Advent as a Hindu. The world has more than 800 million of them. True, the majority of them live in India, but two things should keep our attention on them.

First, are we not called to go to them in some way with the good news of a living Savior? And second, almost everyone touched by the New Age has absorbed Hindu thinking, and almost every Gen Xer has come to similar views. These last have totally relativized truth, and if they think of a god at all, he is silent and absent.

As the people who embrace the truths of Advent, we can live our world-view. Isaiah reminds us of the essence: Repent, and lift the valleys.

Repentance. The penitential aspect of Advent comes from placing us next to the glory of the Lord. Our life is as passing as grass. His is the might and the tenderness of a shepherd. Before the glory of the Lord we see our falling short of his holiness.

Lifting valleys and lowering hills. On this 50th anniversary of the arrest of Rosa Parks (Dec. 1) she comes to mind as one trying to make things right. The leaders of the black community of Montgomery asked her if she were willing to make a legal cause of her arrest. Her simple reply was, “If you think it will mean something to Montgomery and do some good, I’ll be happy to go along with it.” She went from that to lying in state at our nation’s capital. (Yes, it does remind us of another Advent voice of another woman who expressed willingness to do the Lord’s bidding.)

If we buy into Advent far enough, we can live out truths that others seek.

Look It Up

Repentance can be another form of moralism, of just doing things wrong. How do John and Isaiah move it away from that?

Think About It

Can you remember conversations that reflect the Hindu world-view? What is a good response that can challenge their view?

Next Sunday

Next Sunday, The Third Sunday of Advent, Dec. 11, 2005

BCP: Isaiah 65:17-25; Psalm 126 or Canticle 3 or 15; 1 Thess. 5:(12-15)16-28; John 1:6-8,19-28 or John 3:23-30

RCL: Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11; Psalm 126 or Canticle 3 or 15; 1 Thess. 5:16-24; John 1:6-8, 19-28