RBWords

     I cannot read this passage from Isaiah (quoted by Luke) without the majestic music of Handel's MESSIAH and especially the aria, "Every valley...!"  going through my mind!  Nowadays, in this country, what Isaiah (and Baruch in the first scripture) has in mind would require an incredible "environmental impact" statement!  A plan to tear down mountains and fill in valleys would arouse protest!  However, poetic prophetic language is meant to be dramatic and imaginary.  It inspired Handel and it can inspire us every Advent!  It inspired John the Baptist.

 

     Advent is a time when we are challenged to remove obstacles to the "coming of the Lord."  These can be of many kinds.  There are, of course, the personal and interior obstacles of sin and division that prevent an interior acceptance of the coming of the Lord other than on the secular level.  There are also the obstacles that we see our brothers and sisters struggling with: poverty, hunger, political oppression, losses of loved ones in disease, war or loss of jobs and health.  Where do we see barriers and pits or winding and rough roads in our lives and the lives of others?  As I begin another parish mission about "Advent Discipleship" at the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock, Arkansas, I will be challenging the parishioners to look at those mountains and valleys in our lives, and those crooked and rough roads.  We may find ourselves to be voices in the wilderness of what has become the secular "holiday" (even the word, "Christmas," is struggling) season.  Advent disciples by necessity become Advent prophets. 

 

     While we are at it, however, I recommend listening to Handel's MESSIAH (the parts taken early from Isaiah) and let it inspire your discipleship.  We may not be as dramatic as John the Baptist, but we can accomplish dramatic things in small ways. AMEN