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
