The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way… a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”
Mark 1:1-3
This is the start of the Gospel of Mark. And what is surprising is that Mark skips over the whole narrative of the birth of Jesus. No manger. No shepherds watching over their flock. No wise men. Mark starts his gospel with a prophecy from the Book of Isaiah, and then jumps right into telling about John the Baptist who proceeds to baptize Jesus in the river Jordan.
The words he quotes from the prophet Isaiah, foretell of the coming of the Lord. I believe that Mark is telling us, as John the Baptist tells the people of his time, we each have a responsibility. In Biblical times when an ancient monarch intended to pay a royal visit to his far-flung subjects he would send out, months ahead of time, a corps of royal engineers to prepare the roads on which he is to travel. They clear away fallen rocks and trees. They fill in ruts and potholes, and smooth over the rough spots.
So, in essence Mark is saying to turn away from all the ugliness in our lives and turn toward the righteousness of God. Let the divine corps of engineers do its work in our lives, to take away all the ruts and potholes, the rough places. Why? Because the Good News is that the Lord is coming and we each need to offer Him a straight path to our being, our heart, our soul, our lives.
What are those rough places, those ruts, those potholes that we need to clear out – to turn away from? We need to take action, start straightening and smoothing that road. Whether it be an apology to someone you’ve hurt, or a habit that you need to change, or an attitude of selfishness that you need to be rid of, or setting different priorities or goals in your life?
In this Advent Season, we can rush through this time, not stopping to be “on watch.” Not stopping to brush away the rocks along our path that cause us to stumble. Not stopping to comfort those who are in dire straights, to help those who are in need.
Advent is a time where each year we need to be reminded again to prepare, to get ready, to straighten out the roads in our lives so that we can more fully let Christ enter, for the Lord has come to be with us, to live right beside us, so that we can live more fully. And to Mark, to us, that is Good News!
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