Finding Peace in the Wilderness
Isaiah 40:1-11
Mark 1:1-8
Sermon preached on Sunday, December 4, 2005
by Nicole Diroff
Let us pray... God, we turn to your word for guidance. As we explore these texts, help us to understand your ways. Amen.
Exploring the Scripture Readings
Our reading from Mark is the introduction to his gospel. The very next scene in Mark is of an adult Jesus coming to John the Baptist to be baptized. This gospel does not include a birth narrative. Rather, this brief section of text is Marks way of preparing the reader to meet Jesus Christ, the divine made flesh. And in this introduction, Mark chooses to refer to a text from the prophet Isaiah. I would like to explore with you this morning why Mark might have chosen to refer to Isaiah and what implications that has for us today. I invite you to open your Bibles to this morning's Hebrew text which is located at the beginning of chapter 40 in Isaiah.
First, I think it's important to consider the nature of Biblical prophecy. Prophecy is related to a particular historical situation, yet the words are not exhausted by that situation. The prophetic voice is intended to be reapplied to new situations. Thus, Biblical prophecy is addressed to future generations, just as it is addressed to the current generation. This is what Isaiah means when he says in verse 8, the grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. In other words, this Biblical prophecy is intended to endure beyond the temporary realities of a particular time period.
In order to see how Mark has reapplied Isaiah's prophetic word for his context, I think it's important to wrestle with what Isaiah might have been saying to his original audience.
This requires a brief history review. Throughout the Old Testament, we trace the story of God's relationship with the people of Israel. It begins with a promise to Abraham that God will make of him a great nation. Abraham's descendants are enslaved in Egypt, but delivered by God, and they become much more than a large family, indeed they become a nation, a political entity. Around 600 B.C., however, the Babylonians destroy Jerusalem and force the people of Israel into exile. The people become a mere remnant who are only partially restored to their land at the end of the exile. And, centuries late, this is the Jewish community into which Jesus Christ is born.
The text from Isaiah which Mark quotes is believed by most scholars to be a prophetic word intended for the people of Israel near the end of the exile. Listen to the text again from that historical context,
Comfort, O comfort my
people, says your God.Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that
she has served her term.Jerusalem here is not a place but the chosen people
in exile. Then a heavenly voice proclaims:Clear in the wilderness a way for
the LORD;Level in the desert a highway for our God!
This highway has been understood as the path for the exiles to travel on as they head back from Babylon to Jerusalem. Thus the wilderness becomes the specific territory separating the people from their homeland. Just as the people of Israel journeyed through wilderness after they were delivered from slavery in Egypt, they must again travel through the wilderness to reach the promised land.
The specific context of this prophetic message was expanded in Jewish tradition and reapplied to their general expectation for a savior king. Considering what we might imagine to be the state of roads at that time, it would have been a normal procedure to prepare the highway for a royal visit. Therefore the Jewish people are called to make a straight path for their savior king. Truly, the Jewish people are called to make a
straight path because the LORD is coming. This is the good news and in our text from Isaiah, Jerusalem is charged to proclaim it from the top of a mountain. The prophet says,
Say to the cities of Judah:
See, here is your God!See, the LORD is coming with power, his strong
arm affirms his rule;See his reward is with him, his recompense
precedes him.
The LORD is understood as a royal figure, ready to impose his will, by force is necessary. The strong arm implies a struggle against political forces that oppose Gods will. The prophet then refers to this savior king as a shepherd, saying
Like a shepherd he tends his flock,
he gathers them together with his arm,The lambs he lifts into his lap, the ewes he
gently leads on.
Although the image of a king as a shepherd may be foreign to us, it was common for the people of that time to refer to the king as a shepherd of his people because royalty was expected to have a special concern for the poor...
Now Mark takes this message of good news from the Hebrew Scripture and reapplies it to the time of Jesus Christ. John the Baptist is understood as the prophet who prepares the way, and Jesus the Lord is the coming one. John the Baptist appears as a voice crying out in the wilderness, calling on the people to make straight the way for the one who is to come. He proclaims a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, and thus participation in John's ritual of baptism expressed a persons willingness to change before the coming of God's kingdom. Not surprisingly, the first words attributed to Jesus by Mark are related to this
kingdom. In verse 15, Jesus says, the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near;
repent, and believe in the good news.
Thus, in the introduction to his gospel, Mark refers to the prophetic tradition of Isaiah so that his audience might greet John the Baptist as the one who prepares the way for the savior king, who is Jesus Christ.
Understanding Wilderness and Straight Paths Today
We are now challenged to pull this prophetic text into our context. This text, which had a particular message for the exiled people of Israel and had a particular message for the people in the days of the birth of Jesus Christ, also has a message for us.
I would like for you to take a moment and consider; where are the wilderness places today and who is living there?...
The word, wilderness is often associated with dangerous places, with uncivilized and unpredictable places. Places we don't want to touch. Therefore, when thinking about wilderness places today, we may begin somewhere across the globe. Yet as I contemplated this question myself, I found wilderness very close to home. I found wilderness in my neighborhood and in my own life.
I think that wilderness can be understood in terms of blurred vision. Those things that isolate us and block our awareness of God. There are so many distractions that place us in the wilderness.
During this time of Advent, a time intended to be a season of heightened awareness, I am drowning in school work; writing final papers and preparing for final examinations. The stress of this particular time of year, places me in the wilderness.
Walking down the street, I meet a woman who earnestly asks, why are you going that direction? She is clearly afraid of something that others are not aware of. She is suffering from blurred vision.
Sitting in a coffee shop, I watch a woman who at first appears to be employed by the there because she is constantly wiping down the tables, checking how much milk is left in the containers, and pushing the trash further into the trash can to make the place seem cleaner. She does not work at this coffee shop, though, she lives her life distracted by an obsession to get things in order, and she too is in the wilderness.
I receive calls from family members and friends who are wrestling with depression, grief, and eating disorders. Those closest to me are frequently living in wilderness places and living with blurred vision.
Out of this context, consider the voice from Isaiah crying out:
In the wilderness prepare the way of
the LORD,Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up, and every
mountain and hill be made low;The uneven ground shall become level, and the
rough places a plain.Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together.
Our entire landscape is going to be radically shifted. A straight path is going to be made through the wilderness. Valleys will be lifted up, mountains made low, and uneven ground will be made level. The wilderness will be radically transformed. Our blurred vision will become focused and clear, and the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together. It doesn't matter what is isolating you or what is blurring your vision because all people, as one community, will be able to see the glory of the God. Can you imagine it? For me, this prophetic image of a straight path for all brings with it an amazing sense of peace.
May we prepare the way for the Christ this season with this peace. Amen.
Benediction
Knowing that the wilderness will be transformed,
Go into the world preparing the way for Christ the king.
And as you go, may the grace of Jesus Christ, the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit go with you.
© 2005 by Nicole Diroff. All rights reserved. Please consult the author at tabernacle@tabunited.org if you wish to use the text of this sermon, in whole or in part.
