Second Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 40:1-11; Psalms 85:8-14; 2 Peter 3:8-14; Mark 1:1-8

I have struggled so hard today to come up with words of comfort. I struggle, because I know that the comfort you desire is not the comfort I have to offer. You hope for such lovely things during Advent: peace and justice and new heavens and a new earth. And the only response I can make is to point to the same old kingdom that our Parent has tried to share with us from the very beginning. The one we find confusing and a bit disappointing. The one that demands from us an unconditional love that feels impossibly out of reach. The one that reveals that eternal life is a banquet hall where murder victims joyfully and eagerly greet their killers with a kiss. Who among us, especially in light of recent events, could possibly be comforted by such truth? But it is the only comfort I have to give.

Second Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11; 2 Peter 3:8-14; Mark 1:1-8

"Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God." What will bring you comfort today? All I have to offer is this: Life is wonderful. If you truly stop to look, there is a beauty and majesty to every moment of life, even the ugly ones, that is a testament to the glory and love of our creator. This is a hard and messy way to look at life, but no one ever said that truth is supposed to be easy. The easy road is to see life as brutal and sinful, and long for a paradise of our own imagination. It's the idea that our world is a mistake or a test, but if we just believe the right things, a new one will be created as a reward. These are the fantasies of children, not the wisdom of the Spirit. She comes to open our eyes to the universe we already have, not to entice us with dreams of someplace else. Will you let her comfort you?

Second Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 40: 1-5, 9-11; 2 Peter 3: 8-14; Mark 1: 1-8

Why do you await the arrival of my Brother like some celebrity red carpet event? Don't you know that he'll sneak in through the back door and tap you on the shoulder when you're not looking? Maybe he's already here! Stop looking for signs of something better and embrace the Spirit that is already present. She's tired of being ignored.