Readings:
Sermon:
This time of the year can be a struggle for many of us and I include myself in that. I’ve had many conversations lately about the shortening days, the increased hours of darkness and that feeling of everything shutting down early. The earth is preparing to ‘winter’. Everything on the earth is preparing to rest and wait. The trees, the animals, the birds…..and yet we humans seem to resist it at every turn.
We’re swept along with the need to do, and carry on doing especially on the run up to Christmas so it’s especially important for us to take a lead from the natural world and think about ‘wintering’ ourselves. Of switching off from the outside world and hunkering down; of letting things go or leaving things be for a time to simply ‘winter’.
Throughout scripture there are many examples of what I’m referring to as ‘wintering’: otherwise known as the wilderness. The wilderness is so much more than just a wild and barren place; it has a special spiritual significance in the relationship between God and his people.
- It’s where Moses encountered the burning bush and was called to lead God’s people out of Egypt.
- It’s where the Israelites wandered for forty years while they learnt what it was to be the people of God.
- And it’s where Jesus filled with the Spirit spent forty days and nights immediately after his baptism being tested by the devil.
So when we hear those words form Matthew in our Gospel ‘John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming, ‘Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near’ – we know that something of real significance is about to happen.
John has been in this geographical and spiritual wilderness for most of his life up until now. We know that his mother Elizabeth and her sister Mary were with child at the same time so I think we can safely assume John’s been in the desert for many years.
This is perhaps a measure of the importance of the work that John has been preparing for. That kind of spiritual preparation that can only occur in the space and (yes) even the isolation of the wilderness.
That‘s not to detract from the fact though, that the wilderness can be a place where it might seem that God is very far away; we may even feel that our prayers seem to go unheard. They can be challenging, lonely and difficult times.
After all those years – when the word does come to John – his voice is the drum roll; his is the voice announcing that salvation is near. Something new and exciting is about to happen. It’s a real turning point in time as he begins to ‘proclaim a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.’ The people that went out to hear John did not go out by accident. They were called by God to go out and hear this wild man preaching in the wilderness of the desert.
The thought of entering into the wilderness at this particular time of the year can seem a bit of an unsettling prospect for some. But – when God does call us into the wilderness – there is much that we can learn from him and much that we can learn about ourselves.
Firstly we can trust in God’s presence - God will never leave us and though it might feel sometimes as if we’ve been totally abandoned – just as the Israelites did in the desert. We are assured of God’s presence with us always. He doesn’t call us into the wilderness to abandon us – he calls us so that we can learn to lean on him. To trust him.
Secondly we can depend on God’s provision. Now that might not look like our idea of provision but we have to trust that God will provide. We can become so dependent on the trappings of life that we begin to think we actually can’t exist without them, perhaps even more so at this time of year.
We are called into the space of advent to put aside all that separates us from God; in order to understand better just how generously he does provide for us.
And so this Advent we are called to encounter John in the wilderness again. When we arrive, we hear his voice urging us to ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight.’ Clear down the decks. It's only after we step into the wilderness, when all is pared back or placed aside, that we can learn again our deep need of the One who is coming.
Perhaps that is the purpose of Advent - to be reminded of just that. And of course to heighten our joy even more when we encounter the Christ Child once again.
The wilderness might seem a daunting or uncomfortable place - it may not offer us an easy time, but it is a time to embrace if we can.
It’s a time for waiting and listening carefully for the voice of God. Our faithful God on whose presence and provision we can utterly depend. And when it comes, who knows where it might lead us?
Questions:
- What are the things that prevent us from ‘wintering’ or entering the wilderness?
- Where might God be calling us to change direction or rethink our priorities?