I am the LORD, your God, who grasp your right hand; It is I who say to you, “Fear not, I will help you.”
The afflicted and the needy seek water in vain, their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will open up rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the broad valleys; I will turn the desert into a marshland, and the dry ground into springs of water. I will plant in the desert the cedar, acacia, myrtle, and olive; I will set in the wasteland the cypress, together with the plane tree and the pine, That all may see and know, observe and understand, That the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.
The word of the Lord.
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There’s plenty of talk about COVID vaccines. When will they be administered? Who will get them first? And, eventually, when will society at large return to normal?
These are questions I’m sure none of us ever thought we’d be asking. We ask them in times of war, not peace. And yet, when will we return to normal?
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In our first reading, the prophet Isaiah shares a word of comfort with Israel. The Jews have just been through some of their darkest days, having spent decades in exile.
Now they’re beginning their long journey home.
I’m sure many wondered, “What shape will my home be in? Will I be able to recognize it? Where will I find the basic necessities? When will I find a new normal?”
Questions a bit like the ones we are asking today.
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Fully aware of the challenges Israel faced, the Lord declared through the prophet Isaiah, “I will level the mountains. I will quench your thirst. I will turn the desert into a marshland, planting trees to give you shade.”
God will do everything necessary to keep Israel going.
Life will return to normal.
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The Lord makes this same promise to us.
We have long journey ahead.
From the first vaccine being administered to the last child returning to school; from breaking every chain of isolation to this church being filled with worship once again.
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God.
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way. A voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” John the Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. People of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins. John was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. He fed on locusts and wild honey. And this is what he proclaimed: “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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It’s amazing to me how quickly technology changes our habits.
For example, I remember as a kid being driven to the local Blockbuster, perusing the shelves, looking for the newest movie to rent. Now kids just turn on their smart TV’s.
Or, can you remember listening to the car radio as a kid?
When you’d drive out of town, you’d have to fiddle with the dial and get that little indicator to rest on a new station “just right” – not too far to the right, not too far to the left.
“Just right.”
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Today we just hit the “SEEK” button and the radio finds the next available station. I guess this is considered progress and we should be happy about it.
But fiddling with an old radio provides a great image for Advent. We had to WORK to find the right station; one click too far to the left or right filled the air with static.
After finding the right station, however, we could hear beautiful music.
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Our readings this week remind us that we can’t just hit the SEEK button and PRESTO find God’s voice magically speaking to our hearts.
It takes a little more effort than that.
You see, there’s an awful lot of static in the air…especially this time of year.
There’s the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. Jolly Christmas carols three weeks before the big day. Siblings quarantined at home, stepping on each other’s toes. Emails in our inbox. Text messages on our phones.
Facemasks on our faces. And an invisible virus wreaking havoc on our world.
How do we cancel out the static? How do we fine tune our hearts in order to listen to the voice of the Lord as we prepare for Christmas?
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We must enter the desert.
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As the prophet Isaiah says in our first reading, “A voice cries out: In thedesert prepare the way of the Lord. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed.”
John the Baptist says the same.
If you want to hear the Lord speak, then you must meet him in the desert.
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The desert has one of the harshest, most uninhabitable climates on earth.
It’s deathly hot by day and frigidly cold by night. The air is dry. Water is scarce. There are no established trails. If you want to find your way among the dusty sand dunes and rocky crevices, then you must find it yourself.
It’s there – in the wasteland, in the howling desert – that God will speak to us as we prepare for Christmas.
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At first glance, the invitation seems unpleasant. Who wants to enter such a harsh climate?
I much prefer the couch, or at least the comfort of the church!
Yet we can be there and here at the very same time. While sitting in the comfort of church, many of us are also feeling parched within.
The desert is a place of grief, sadness, and discomfort.
It’s where we go when a sudden illness strikes a loved one; when children tire of learning online; when our faith dries up; when our job is lost; when a virus grips the soul of our nation.
Often enough, we don’t choose to venture into the desert; it comes to us. Life takes hard, unexpected turns, and suddenly POOF there we are.
But this is the ideal place for the Lord to speak. In the desert, the static is gone. Our focus becomes less on superficial things, and more on meaningful things like faith, health, and family.
So, what is the Lord saying to us in the desert of 2020?
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In the words of the prophet, Isaiah, “Comfort. I will comfort my people.”
These words were first heard by Isaiah’s peers, who were also in the desert. A foreign army had invaded their land, robbed them of their king, threw them out of their homes and cast them into exile.
But from that place, the Lord cried out, “Comfort! I will comfort my people.”
Then God delivered them from their distress.
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In what ways do I need to be comforted by the Lord this Advent?
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Maybe I need my faith renewed; inner peace restored; or hope instilled for a brighter future.
In order to achieve this, first we must fiddle with the dial of our hearts – fine tune it like an old car radio – until all the static is gone. That happens best through prayer.
Jesus summoned his disciples and said, “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way.” The disciples said to him, “Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place to satisfy such a crowd?” Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” “Seven,” they replied, “and a few fish.” He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets full.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Many have wondered, how could Jesus feed thousands of people with only seven loaves and a few fish?
The easy answer is, “Because he’s God! He can do anything.”
While true, there may be another possible explanation.
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As the Gospel tells us, the crowds have been following Jesus for three days. Many within the crowd are sick and poor. But not all of them.
If you and I had the opportunity to follow Jesus for a few days, we’d pack some food before going.
Could it be, that Jesus knows enough people within that crowd have bread stuffed inside their pockets?
If he can convince them to share their bread with others, then a crowd of thousands can be fed in a matter of minutes.
This would be, perhaps, an even greater miracle – a moral miracle – transforming thousands of human hearts from selfishness into selflessness.
In so doing, Jesus teaches the crowds an important lesson in discipleship – when problems arise, we should see ourselves as part of the solution.
Jesus will do his part. But we must do ours, as well.
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Think about some of the problems we face in our world.
There are staggering levels of poverty, violence, and hunger. Just as crowds sought to be fed by Jesus, so millions seek to be fed and clothed by us.
We cannot fill every stomach and quench every thirst, but we can offer our “seven loaves and a few fish.” We can make a difference.
Locally, we can also bring Christmas cheer to a person who feels alone – make a call, send a letter, pay a personal visit. Isolation is one of the invisible side effects of COVID.
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Much like today’s Gospel, it’s easy to identify problems in our world. So why not see ourselves as part of the solution?
