The Second Sunday of Advent - December 7

He Is Coming
Isaiah 40:1-11
Mark 1:1-8

‘Tis the season for Handel’s Messiah—both in the concert hall and in the Sunday Scripture Readings. For those of us who know Messiah, this morning’s reading from Isaiah is very familiar. “Comfort ye. Comfort ye, my people” are the opening words of Messiah. Make straight in the dessert a highway. Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill laid low. And this passage from Isaiah also serves as the template for the Gospel reading from Mark.

I know both of these passages well, but as I reflected on them and read about them this week I was given a new perspective.

This is the Second Sunday of Advent. And Advent is a season of preparation. I’ve always seen preparation as the task required of us during Advent. “Let every heart prepare him room” is Advent’s command. Preparation for Christmas is necessary. And Advent is when we do it.

But there are two interesting things that emerge in these readings. (1) It’s not the people to whom God is coming who have the responsibility of preparation. It’s not real clear in Isaiah who does, but it’s not God’s people. The heavenly voice is speaking to someone other than God’s people when it says: “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem… and prepare the way of the Lord.” Others (an angelic host?) are being commissioned to speak to God’s people and to prepare in the desert a highway for God. And in Mark it’s John the Baptist’s job to prepare the way. Our collect, too, identifies the prophets as the ones who have the responsibility to prepare the way for our salvation. It’s not the people to whom God is coming who have the responsibility of preparation.

And (2) He’s coming. Regardless. He’s coming. In neither Isaiah nor Mark does God say, “If you’re ready, I’ll come.” Or when you’re prepared, I’ll come. He’s coming. As one commentator put it, it’s as though God says, “Ready or not, here I come” (Mark Allan Powell). 

But we are given this time. This time in Advent. Time for preparation. But it’s a gift, not an obligation. This time to prepare is a gift, not a requirement.

Think about a child coming home for the holiday after being away at school. He is coming home, for sure. You’re very excited that he’s coming. But isn’t it nice to have a little bit of time to clear out all the stuff you’ve stored in his room since he went away? So he will feel welcome when he arrives.

Or a child or spouse returning from a military deployment. She’s coming. Thank God, she’s coming. But isn’t it a gift to have a little time to do the shopping and prepare her favorite meal for the day she returns?

John the Baptist reminds us that repentance is one way to prepare for Jesus’ coming. A way to clear out the stuff that has accumulated in our hearts and souls. To make Jesus welcome. It’s a gift. Advent time to prepare.

But he’s coming. The Lord is coming to God’s people.

He is coming to the frenzied whose lives are filled to the bursting point, and he’s coming to the lonely, whose lives are empty of relationships and activities. He’s coming to the angry and to the arrogant. He is coming to the oppressed and the oppressors. He is coming to people who are struggling, poor in stuff, and to those rich in stuff who are often poor in spirit. He is coming to the forgotten and the famous. He is coming to the faithful and the negligent. He is coming to individuals, families and societies who bask in peace and to individuals, families and societies who have only known conflict. He is coming to people who are prepared and to people who are not.

He is coming.