Good News in the Wilderness

Gospel Text: Mark 1:1-8

I drive up weekly from Connecticut where I am in seminary - to New Hampshire.

In Worcester, Massachusetts, the halfway point there is a billboard that reads:

 “Lust will drag you down to hell.”

The billboard is pitch-black and has a huge flame on the corner.

I recently researched this billboard and it turns out that it belongs to a group called “Gospel Billboards”.  Gospel means “good news”.  And yet this billboard appears to be anything but good news.

I also researched the bible verse that the billboard supposedly referred to, which was a misleading translation, taken out of context, lacking the integrity of the passage and certainly lacking the integrity of the good news. 

At the same time, I remember that is surprisingly easy to create these misleading oversimplifications.

The opening line of the gospel of Mark is “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ…” So we may ask why does the good news sound like such bad news?

After all – too often we hear the message of John the Baptist only as “Repent!” in a guilt-riddled tone when the message of John the Baptist is actually a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, anticipating Christ. It is not guilt, but joy.

We read Second Peter saying “be found by him without spot or blemish”.  Second Peter actually says “Therefore beloved, while you are waiting for these things,

strive to be found by him at peace without spot or blemish.”  To say “Be found without spot or blemish” leaves out “beloved,” leaves out “Strive” and it leaves out “peace.” We are beloved children of God. “Strive” reminds us that we are imperfect. We will mess up. But “strive” does not make the effort any less important. And we must never leave out the hope of “peace.”

Perhaps the problem with messages that only speak to the fear of brokenness

is that they ignore the hope for wholeness. Messages that only speak to the darkness do not have the light of God.

This is the second Sunday of Advent. Liturgically, it is a season of penitence.

It is a time that we are encouraged to self-examine.

Every week  of the year, we pray for forgiveness in our services through the Confession of Sins. And what do we confess?  “What we have done, left undone, thoughts, words, deeds” However, those are all ways that we sin, not the deeper sin itself.  In the confession, we pray for two sins:

            “We have not loved you with our whole heart. 

            We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.”

And in every service – what always follows the confession of sins is the absolution.   God grants us forgiveness, when we truly repent. Both sides of the message must be heard the confession AND the absolution. The message of repentance from John the Baptist is expressed as a voice crying out in the wilderness.

What do we mean by wilderness? The Greek word for wilderness also translates into  a place of loneliness…a place of abandonment. Likely, most of us have felt this way before: abandoned, neglected, hurt.  Perhaps some of us are currently in our own wilderness.

A wilderness of loneliness

A wilderness of fear

A wilderness of anger

Our nation appears to be in its own wilderness. The last two nights Boston and other cities around the country held demonstrations against the deaths of unarmed black men. While there are many interpretations of the complex web of issues surrounding each case, we find that again and again our country continues to struggle with racism.

Last week, I was in conversation with one of my black friends who is a pastor.

His wife is pregnant with a little boy. He spoke to a group of us in tears, sharing his fears for the safety of his son. Rather than decorating nurseries, he shared how he stayed up all night speaking with his wife about how they will explain these issues with his son. He – and others are afraid for the safety of their families.

Our country is in a wilderness. This young pastor and his pregnant wife are in a wilderness.  And we are in our own wilderness, in our day to day lives. Many people experience heartbreak and guilt on a daily basis and live in their own wilderness, living with this painful sense of guilt. Not spending enough time with their children or family members. Not fulfilling your role as a partner or spouse.

Forgetting birthdays, anniversaries

Sometimes we are simply not responsible for these things. Sometimes we take too much responsibility for difficult situations. But other times, we avoid taking responsibility for our actions. It hurts to know that we hurt someone. It hurts to feel vulnerable. But many other times, perhaps even more often than we realize,

we don’t repent because we don’t believe we are worthy of forgiveness.  And so, we enter arguments to “prove we are right” when we know we are wrong. We avoid discussing the situation  or even thinking about it.  We continue hiding the fear: “I am not worthy”. Part of the good news is that we are. We are all worthy of God’s merciful forgiveness.

As we look in the wilderness of our day to day lives, we must remember that it is not the voice of God saying “Lust drags you down to hell”, but the spirit of God that is sent to rescue us. And in the wilderness of our world, as we look to the events in Ferguson, in Cleveland, in New York, around the country, we know that there are no easy answers. However -  in some way or another, we must search for healing.

The creator made us all in God’s own image. We are made good. We repent of our sinful behavior and continuously recommit ourselves to good through our baptismal covenant. And while the promise for forgiveness and salvation is sweet

it is not always readily apparent to us.

When the school year started, I could make my drive home before sunset. As autumn faded into winter, the seasons changed. The time changed, and the sun began to set earlier and earlier. Now, I drive mostly in darkness throughout my entire ride in the wilderness. But as I drive to New Hampshire in the darkness, I maintain my hope for the light of day.

What I have found is that some days – I don’t find the sun at all. They say “The sun will always rise tomorrow” , but sometimes you really can’t see it. Some days – the brightest color is gray. Sometimes you can’t see the sun for days – weeks –months. Sometimes you can’t see the sun for the whole season. But in these times when it is dark not only for the night, but sometimes for the entire season,

I live on the hope for spring. I hope for the coming of the light.  And I remember that when the sun comes, I will forget the night. I will forget the winter, basking entirely in the warmth of the light. the warmth of the sun on my face. I wait expectantly for the sun.

We wait expectantly for the Son of God. As I drive home to New Hampshire, from Connecticut, in the wilderness of Massachusetts highways, halfway, I reach Worcester and I see the infamous billboard. But I refuse to look at the fire and interpret it as hell-fire. I look at the flame and instead I choose see the light. The light – shining in the darkness.

Therefore, it is in this way that I encourage you to enter into the season of advent with repentance. Not because you are unworthy – but because you are worthy. Not because of the bad news, but because of the good news. We all walk in the wilderness, anticipating Emmanuel, anticipating God with us.

The good news is -

God comes to us in the wilderness.

Joshua