The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
'See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way;
the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
"Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,"'
John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, 'The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.'
Not long ago my least favorite Gospel was Mark. Being a man of many thoughts and words, I used to like Mark the least for being shorter than the other synoptic Gospels. However, I have become more appreciative of the Mark's Gospel because Mark doesn't waste much time, he gets right to the point. His Gospel is about the Good News of Jesus Christ and that John the baptizer was the one preparing the way for the salvation Jesus would bring to those who believed in him. What Mark's Gospel is not short of is challenges in either interpretation or in the messages of the narratives contained within. John's mission was to inform those listening that God was coming to God's people to baptize us with the Holy Spirit so that we may be changed within to bring about radical change to a waiting and dark world.
As I have been pointing out all through the Season of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit represents the feminine nature of God. Thought Tradition is full of masculine pronouns to describe the Advocate of God, the very nature of the Spirit as Comforter, Sanctifier, Consoler and Life-Giver have very feminine connotations to them. As God is the Creator of women and men in the image of the Holy Trinity, so God is beyond gender descriptions. Yet we can related to God the Holy Spirit as Mother as much as we can related to God as Father. Jesus himself though appearing as a man, also had a feminine nature to him. Most of the Wisdom literature refers to the Wisdom of God in feminine terms. Jesus is known not only as the Son of God, but also as the Wisdom and Word of God which can be translated in the feminine.
The Baptism Jesus brought was a changed heart and mind. A change from seeing ourselves as dominant while demanding that others submit. God's perfect revelation in Jesus was born into a society in which to be male was to dominate and own a female. The female was thought to be the weaker of the human species. That is why the translations that suggest that the Bible has the concepts of heterosexuality and homosexuality are very mistaken. The Biblical writers themselves had no such concept. The male was understood as the dominant the strong, while the female was seen as the subordinate, the weaker. Therefore the idea that any man the stronger of the two would suddenly wish to make himself like the weaker was seen as the cultural taboo which is what the word "abomination" in Hebrew "toevah" means. It is interesting that most conservative Christians with their anti-LGBT rhetoric seem to be bent on being sure that heterosexual people continue to dominate and benefit at the submission and expense of those who are not. All most LGBTQ people want is to be allowed to live and love in peace with the rest of the world. Yet, because of the human nature to dominate what is considered weaker, there are many groups of people not limited to LGBT that wind up losing as other groups win big time.
God came in Christ to help us understand that the underprivileged are also important to God. Jesus also came to call us out of our need to dominate those considered weak. This understanding has everything to do with the words found in the Magnificat found in Luke 1:46-55. God comes to lift up the lowly, while the proud are scattered in their own conceit. The hungry walk away filled with good things, while the rich are sent away with nothing. Those who were considered strong and dominate are now weaker and subordinate. Because God knows and views all of God's people as loved unconditionally and all inclusively.
As we have been preparing the way during Advent, we have also been praying and waiting for the return of Christ. What a different return Christ would have if we could only allow ourselves to see every human person as having their own integrity, dignity, value and respect. So that we would not do anything to diminish who another individual is, because each person is created, redeemed and sanctified because we are all loved by God. We might actually understand why we must love one another as God in Christ has loved all of us. As we prepare to celebrate the Incarnation in which God was born into human history in Jesus Christ in the midst of all of our mess and poverty, may we also anticipate God's return by being willing to walk with one another in the midst of our poverty and mess. We are all facing the reality of the economic disaster of the days we are living through. We all have the things we need most. What we do not need is more separation between the have's and have not's. We do not need more prejudice, apathy and violence. We can always use more friendships, love and a willingness to reach out to those marginalized by society and the Church. We would do those things because it is what God in Christ came to do. It is recognizing God's goodness and love in every person with no reason to denigrate anyone.
Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen. (Collect for the Third Sunday of Advent, Book of Common Prayer, page 212).
God our heavenly Father, you have blessed us and given us dominion over all the earth: Increase our reverence before the mystery of life; and give us new insight into your purposes for the human race, and new wisdom and determination in making provision for its future in accordance with your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Future of the Human Race, Book of Common Prayer, page 828).
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen. (A Prayer Attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, Book of Common Prayer, page 833).
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