WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
December 7th 2008
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“It’s All about Comfort, Right?”
Second Sunday of Advent
Communion Sunday
Isaiah 40:1-11; Mark 1:1-8
It was a cold day, a bit too cold to enjoy the garden, but it was the day after thanksgiving, so it was good to be out and about. As I went walking through the Olbrich botanical garden in Madison Wisconsin, I marveled at the silent beauty. The silence was only broken when Emma said: “I bet this is really pretty in the summer.” A bit taken back I replied: “I think it is really pretty right now you just have to work harder to see it.” She looked at me as if to check on whether I was serious or not. Realizing that I was not, “Ok daddy,” is all she said.
I am sure that she is right. The spring and summer versions of that garden are probably quite amazing. However, after two winters working on a tree farm I came to appreciate the beauty provided in the winter landscape. The truth is that when a garden is in full bloom or in its fall glory, we do not have to do much but open our eyes and enjoy, even if that means braving our allergies. But, despite the cold, I believe the barrenness of winter is beautiful and has much to teach if we will just work a little harder to see it.
You do not have to be a fan of gardens to understand what I am saying. We are, after all, a people of the wilderness story. The story of our faith is all about encountering God in the barren places. It took forty years of wandering in the barren wilderness to be prepared for the Promised Land. Moses is spoken to by God in the wilderness; God speaks to the prophets in the wilderness. The messengers of God always find themselves in the wilderness. The wilderness is a barren place where clarity of purpose is often found. John goes into the wilderness to proclaim the good news, and Jesus will go into the wilderness in preparation for his earthly ministry. The wildernesses, the deserts, the barren places of life are really our places.
That may not sound much like good news. It may seem even more difficult when we consider that our calling is to share this story. Just imagine the marketing campaign: “Come to our church it’s a barren, wilderness… a real wasteland!” Not particularly appealing. And add to this that we are a people of the wilderness story in a culture well practiced at avoiding wilderness. It is not that we do not offer a word of comfort but the comfort we are offered is not what most might expect.
The comfort from the words of the prophet is directed to those who have suffered. Comfort is promised in the form of a vision where the inequality of the world comes to an end. Those at the top are going to be brought down and those at the bottom will be brought up. God’s great leveling of the world may not be perceived as comfort if you stand at the top. But at the heart of this passage is that this vision of comfort has more to say about wilderness than about comfort.
Wilderness is never a place where one wants to go, at least if we have a choice. Have you ever encountered a wilderness place, a place of solitude, a place of pain and discomfort? A place where hiding or distraction was no longer an option? The wilderness places of our lives can be as different as each one of us. In fact, no one can name the wilderness places in your life for you. However, if we enter into our wilderness story of faith long enough I am sure it can speak to those places where everything seemed, or seems, barren.
The good news found in the invitation of John the Baptist is that the wilderness is no longer a place for the select few. God invites all people to see the wilderness places, the desert places, and the barren places of our lives for what they have the potential to be: A place of divine encounter. In this second Sunday of advent we are being called to look a little longer, and work a little harder to see the place of beauty in the barren places of our lives. This is not a message where we run out and tell people who are suffering to look for God in their barren places. Instead, and this is critically important, we are called to give witness to where we have seen God working, and speaking in the barren places of our own lives. Advent is an invitation into the wilderness places, but it is also a reminder that the wilderness is not the end of the story. During those long solitary days working on the tree farm in the dead of winter I found that spring never looked as beautiful as when it followed the long cold winter where I longed for even a hint of the hope of spring. Amen.
December 7th 2008
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“It’s All about Comfort, Right?”
Second Sunday of Advent
Communion Sunday
Isaiah 40:1-11; Mark 1:1-8
It was a cold day, a bit too cold to enjoy the garden, but it was the day after thanksgiving, so it was good to be out and about. As I went walking through the Olbrich botanical garden in Madison Wisconsin, I marveled at the silent beauty. The silence was only broken when Emma said: “I bet this is really pretty in the summer.” A bit taken back I replied: “I think it is really pretty right now you just have to work harder to see it.” She looked at me as if to check on whether I was serious or not. Realizing that I was not, “Ok daddy,” is all she said.
I am sure that she is right. The spring and summer versions of that garden are probably quite amazing. However, after two winters working on a tree farm I came to appreciate the beauty provided in the winter landscape. The truth is that when a garden is in full bloom or in its fall glory, we do not have to do much but open our eyes and enjoy, even if that means braving our allergies. But, despite the cold, I believe the barrenness of winter is beautiful and has much to teach if we will just work a little harder to see it.
You do not have to be a fan of gardens to understand what I am saying. We are, after all, a people of the wilderness story. The story of our faith is all about encountering God in the barren places. It took forty years of wandering in the barren wilderness to be prepared for the Promised Land. Moses is spoken to by God in the wilderness; God speaks to the prophets in the wilderness. The messengers of God always find themselves in the wilderness. The wilderness is a barren place where clarity of purpose is often found. John goes into the wilderness to proclaim the good news, and Jesus will go into the wilderness in preparation for his earthly ministry. The wildernesses, the deserts, the barren places of life are really our places.
That may not sound much like good news. It may seem even more difficult when we consider that our calling is to share this story. Just imagine the marketing campaign: “Come to our church it’s a barren, wilderness… a real wasteland!” Not particularly appealing. And add to this that we are a people of the wilderness story in a culture well practiced at avoiding wilderness. It is not that we do not offer a word of comfort but the comfort we are offered is not what most might expect.
The comfort from the words of the prophet is directed to those who have suffered. Comfort is promised in the form of a vision where the inequality of the world comes to an end. Those at the top are going to be brought down and those at the bottom will be brought up. God’s great leveling of the world may not be perceived as comfort if you stand at the top. But at the heart of this passage is that this vision of comfort has more to say about wilderness than about comfort.
Wilderness is never a place where one wants to go, at least if we have a choice. Have you ever encountered a wilderness place, a place of solitude, a place of pain and discomfort? A place where hiding or distraction was no longer an option? The wilderness places of our lives can be as different as each one of us. In fact, no one can name the wilderness places in your life for you. However, if we enter into our wilderness story of faith long enough I am sure it can speak to those places where everything seemed, or seems, barren.
The good news found in the invitation of John the Baptist is that the wilderness is no longer a place for the select few. God invites all people to see the wilderness places, the desert places, and the barren places of our lives for what they have the potential to be: A place of divine encounter. In this second Sunday of advent we are being called to look a little longer, and work a little harder to see the place of beauty in the barren places of our lives. This is not a message where we run out and tell people who are suffering to look for God in their barren places. Instead, and this is critically important, we are called to give witness to where we have seen God working, and speaking in the barren places of our own lives. Advent is an invitation into the wilderness places, but it is also a reminder that the wilderness is not the end of the story. During those long solitary days working on the tree farm in the dead of winter I found that spring never looked as beautiful as when it followed the long cold winter where I longed for even a hint of the hope of spring. Amen.
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