Sermon for Advent II, Yr. A: Out of the Wilderness

Advent II, Yr. A: Out of the Wilderness

Isaiah 11:1-10; Romans 15:4-13; Matthew 3:1-12

Many people tell me that they encounter God while in the

outdoors. I believe it. (But I still don’t think it’s an excuse not

to attend Church on Sunday.)

Whether contemplating the majestic coastal land in which we

dwell or thinking of the vast prairies of the Great Plains

where I grew up, God’s creation astounds me.

The prairies still especially get to me: so vast, you can see

the sky forever, almost like looking out on the ocean. The

grasses and the sky appear endless, gorgeous, and, yet, so

seemingly empty.

Yet, as I would look out across the prairie wilderness, I knew

that it was not empty all. There are many living things to

discover there.

When we hear of the “wilderness” in scripture it is not a

wooded place. It is a vast deserted place. To see God in tall

trees and mountains is one thing but to be able to recognize

God in a vast emptiness is another.

Everyone enters a wilderness at some point. We go there

due to illness, emotional stress, or spiritual dryness. Some of

us are there for a time. Others live with chronic situations of

mind or body.

Whatever our wilderness, it is often difficult to find God in the

midst of it.

All of us experience difficult times. It may be a grief that

won’t go away. It may be problems with family or work. How

can we learn to look for God when everything seems so

desolate?

As a younger person, I experienced terrible bouts of clinical

depression. And I will testify that I found God in that

wilderness in very surprising ways.

I experience the presence of God in lofty and joyful things

but I have really gotten to know God in the wilderness. I

have found that some of the most profound pointers to our

salvation come out of the wilderness.

The People Israel wandered there for 40 years. Through that

exhausting exodus, they came to know God in formidable

ways.

John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness proclaiming,

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

He was out there living off the land. It was in the wilderness

that John could really hear God’s voice. It was out there that

he came to fully understand his mission.

Right after Jesus was baptized, he was sent into the

wilderness. God declared him his well-beloved Son and then

sent him to a desolate place for forty days. At the end of

those days Jesus was tempted by Satan. He was tempted to

escape the wilderness, but he held firm.

Jesus knew that to be ready for his mission he first needed a

quiet, empty time. This must be why we hear in the Gospels

that Jesus often went off to a deserted place to pray. In the

emptiness he heard from his Father.

Just as Elijah found that God was not in the mighty wind, the

earthquake, or the fire but in a still small voice uttered in

shear silence.

Jesus and John both emerge from the wilderness calling for

us to repent. Not repentance in the sense of getting tangled

up in guilt and shame. But to confess our sins, turn back to

God, and through his mercy, to move forward in his Grace.

In this sense Jesus and John are saying, “Look, I just spent

a lot of time in a very deserted place. I know the way out.

Repent and turn back to God!”

Advent is a wilderness time. It is a time of quiet reflection in

preparation to receive again the Good News of God

incarnate in Jesus Christ.

At present, some of us may not have any choice but to be

quiet and reflective. Afflictions of mind, body or spirit may be

sending us there.

I have found that when I am flat on my back from any kind of

ailment that it can be an opportunity to get back in touch with

myself and with God.

It can be a time for me to count my blessings and ask God to

forgive me for taking them for granted. It can be a time to

offer up my own emptiness and suffering for the well-being of

others who are suffering. This is what Jesus did for us on the

cross.

Advent reminds us not to run from the wildernesses. We

know that Jesus and all of the great saints suffered much

and in the end they found the true glory of God. They found

the holy one Isaiah prophesied about who is, “The spirit of

wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might,

the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.”

The true meaning of The Feast of the Holy Nativity does not

come to us from some high and lofty place. It comes from

right among us. A child born in a manager under very difficult

circumstances.

God becomes human and walks this whole journey with us.

When we are able and willing to follow him into the

wilderness, we will come to understand the glory he has in

store for us.