Second Sunday of Advent
Scripture Reading for Today:
Isaiah 40:1-11
Comfort for God’s People1“Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God. 2 “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Tell her that her sad days are gone and her sins are pardoned. Yes, the Lord has punished her twice over for all her sins.” 3 Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God! 4 Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places. 5 Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. The Lord has spoken!” 6 A voice said, “Shout!” I asked, “What should I shout?” “Shout that people are like the grass. Their beauty fades as quickly as the flowers in a field. 7 The grass withers and the flowers fade beneath the breath of the Lord. And so it is with people. 8 The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.” 9 O Zion, messenger of good news, shout from the mountaintops! Shout it louder, O Jerusalem. Shout, and do not be afraid. Tell the towns of Judah, “Your God is coming!” 10 Yes, the Sovereign Lord is coming in power. He will rule with a powerful arm. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes. 11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.
Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13
For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah.1 Lord, you poured out blessings on your land! You restored the fortunes of Israel. 2 You forgave the guilt of your people— yes, you covered all their sins. Interlude 8 I listen carefully to what God the Lord is saying, for he speaks peace to his faithful people. But let them not return to their foolish ways. 9 Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, so our land will be filled with his glory. 10 Unfailing love and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed! 11 Truth springs up from the earth, and righteousness smiles down from heaven. 12 Yes, the Lord pours down his blessings. Our land will yield its bountiful harvest. 13 Righteousness goes as a herald before him, preparing the way for his steps.
2 Peter 3:8-15a
8 But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. 9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment. 11 Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, 12 looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. 13 But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness. 14 And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight. 15 And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him
Mark 1:1-8
John the Baptist Prepares the Way1 This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. It began 2 just as the prophet Isaiah had written: “Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way. 3 He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Clear the road for him!’” 4 This messenger was John the Baptist. He was in the wilderness and preached that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven. 5 All of Judea, including all the people of Jerusalem, went out to see and hear John. And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River. 6 His clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 John announced: “Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not even worthy to stoop down like a slave and untie the straps of his sandals. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!”
NLT
Time Zones
Diane Clifford currently resides in Fort Frances, Ontario, a small town in Northwestern Ontario surrounded by lakes, streams, rocks and trees to the east and fields to the west. The family in faith where she pastors is a group of people who believe that the Holy Spirit has called them into the world to share the love of Jesus in their everyday lives. Diane has always intentionally functioned in a bi-vocational capacity which provides plenty of opportunity to be active in the community, to meet people and to be engaged in the neighbourhood. Diane serves as a member of the New Leaf Network Board.
Twice a year, spring and fall, in most parts of our country, we change our clocks one hour either ahead or back depending on the time of year. Sometimes regardless of the reminders from friends, the media, we forget. Several years ago, when I had just moved to Fort Frances I was on the schedule to lead the early worship service at 9:00 am. It was a beautiful morning and I was relaxing, leisurely enjoying that second cup of coffee when I received a phone call asking if I was coming to worship that morning. I was puzzled because according to my clock, it was only 7:50 am. I had just moved from a different community where the time never changed, and unfortunately, I’d forgotten there was a time change here. I rushed down to the church building totally embarrassed and mortified that I was late. Everyone had a chuckle that morning.
Time zone changes. Do you find it hard? Sleep habits change, meal times need to be altered and somehow you just feel out of synch for a while until you adjust.
Talk about time zones. What about John the Baptist! He was quite content out there in the desert in his solitude, camel skins for clothing, a leather girdle around the waist, locusts for breakfast, lunch, supper, succulent wild honey for dessert, probably barefoot! Then God calls him out of that solitude. Talk about time zone changes. From desert solitude to preaching to crowds from his new time zone, and from that new time zone he announces “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." (Mark 1:7-8)
For John the new time zone brought two major thrusts; two adjustments in priorities, summarized by two simple words - change and prepare.
In the Gospel of Matthew, we hear the words that John proclaimed. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”(Matthew 3:2) Repentance calls us to change – to admit we have taken a wrong turn and that we need to head in a new direction. We experience that time change when God moves us from the earth’s time to his time. Some of us may recall the days when we lived only in the earth’s time and suddenly our world was turned upside down and we found ourselves with one foot in earth time and the other in God’s time. John the Baptist steps on to the world stage with these words – repent - prepare the way – level things off – straighten things out. One word contains the heart of his message – change.
Change is not easy. Change is a daily thing and right now in human history, we find ourselves in a time of unbelievable change. It’s a change we cannot control and that makes it so much harder. Generally, we like to be in control, don’t we? We like to know what is coming so we can plan and be ready. Change is a call and a challenge to grow, but it is also a reality of life itself. To live is to change and to grow is to change much. The words of John the Baptist call us out of that time zone where we feel comfortable and safe.
Sometimes I think of John the Baptist in his camel skins, long beard and urgent cry to repentance and wonder what that looks like today. Where is the Holy Spirit calling us today as individuals and as families in faith to change in this season of the pandemic? Could this be a time zone change? There is a world full of people that are hurting, feeling isolated and alone, hungry to know they are loved, that they have value, that life has a purpose beyond the earth’s time zone. I look around our own small community and see the effects of addictions, the domestic violence that many people experience, human trafficking, homelessness, hunger, and lack of self-worth and ponder how we reach into those pockets of despair and hopelessness and shine the light of Jesus in the darkness where so many people live. As the church we need to change direction, moving out from our buildings into our neighbourhoods, our communities seeking justice for the oppressed, walking alongside our brothers and sisters, hearing their stories and bringing the healing love of Jesus with our presence. Called to bring love not doctrines and structures, not judgement and condemnation but the love of Jesus. It really is all about love! During this season of the pandemic, it’s both a challenge and an opportunity for the church to really be the church – a sent-out people on a mission of love.
Quoting the Prophet Isaiah, John states: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” (Isaiah 40:3) Prepare for what? We are always preparing for something aren’t we? A trip perhaps, well maybe not right now during COVID, meals for sure, special events like birthdays, anniversaries, preparing for retirement. But head and shoulders above and ahead of these, we are called to prepare for the coming of the kingdom of God – a new world where he will reign.
Advent is a reminder that although we live in this time zone, we also live in God’s time zone, and that requires change. To prepare the way means to live as Christ-followers in our own immediate circles, our neighbourhoods, our communities. It means living out the Shema – love God with heart, mind, soul, strength, love our neighbours as ourselves – love all of God’s creation.
Advent is the time to reflect on our own personal relationship with the Creator of the Universe, and also for our faith communities to ponder God’s call to change and to prepare our hearts and our lives for service in the Kingdom, to reveal through our words and actions the love of Jesus – God with us in the flesh. Preparing the way means that from the manger to the cross to the ascension, to this very moment, in each life, in every life we proclaim that Jesus reigns!
Called to change and to prepare!
We pray in the words of Sister Anita Constance - God of newness, God of change, keep us faithful to the process of life that bids us to grow – to be holy and whole. Continue to bring us to that quiet place within, and, there show us who we are, not to condemn us but to offer the hospitality of fullness and life. Grant that we may yield to the sands of time that sift through our hearts, softening edges and rubbing us smooth, that we might be a better fit in the palm of your hand. Amen.
Thank you for reading the New Leaf Advent Reader, a collection of reflections from writers across Canada. If you are enjoying the reader, sign up to receive the readings in your inbox each day here: SIGN UP
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One of the ways we have been connecting online since the pandemic pushed us online is through our Learning Centre, a weekly interactive Zoom call on a topic with a Canadian voice of wisdom. For the season of Advent, we will be featuring a few of our writers and making space to reflect together on the Advent Reader articles. Join us for the interactive sessions on Thursdays at 1:30 pm (Eastern time) or sign up and view the recordings of the sessions afterwards. SIGN UP for the Learning Centre Advent sessions.
