Malachi 3: 1-4; Luke 3: 1-6
In the 57th year of the
reign of Elizabeth the second, when Gordon Brown was Prime Minister of Great
Britain, and Alex Salmond was First Minister of Scotland and Barak Obama was
President of the United States; during the Moderatorial Year of Right Reverend
William Hewitt…
Now with a bit of thought, I am sure
you wold be able to work out what year I am talking about?
It is 2009…
For the readers of Luke’s narrative,
the information he gave them, enabled them to know what the year was, and fixed
the point in history.
They would know when it was that the
Wildman came out of the wilderness proclaiming the year of the Lord.
Declaring that it was time to get
ready; to be prepared.
His message was strong…
His message was uncompromising
His message was prophetic.
Get yourselves ready!
Turn away from sin!
Be baptised and God will forgive you!
The simplicity of John’s message
struck a chord with simple folks; it touched the heart of their hunger
They all knew they needed to connect
with God
They just had lost touch with HOW to
do so
People today are not so different
really
The wilderness some of us encounter may
not look like that desert, but it exists nevertheless.
It may be loneliness
Or a feeling of isolation
Or being overwhelmed by the
world and everything that is happening around us…
The sense of emptiness can touch each
of us at any time, and leads to a seeking of … something.
Something intangible; difficult to
explain or define…
We are seeking something other in our
lives
We are seeking to know how to
connect, or reconnect with God out of the wilderness as we respond to the call
to be prepared.
We respond to the call to “be
prepared” because we can identify with it
This time of year is all about
preparations:
Making lists
Tidying up
Planning meals
Buying gifts
Writing cards
Sending invitations
Accepting invitations
And journeying – near or far there
are also going to be journeys
And the busy-ness of all that festive
cheer is so overwhelming, so all-consuming
That sometimes we forget; we totally forget why we are doing it
What is Christmas all about?
What do we do all of the planning and
shopping and writing and journeying for?
Well I have an answer
It is an answer that came to me out
of the blue – when, if truth be told, I was feeling uninspired, lost in the
wilderness and a little blue myself...
All of the preparations are not only
for me
They are so I can share something
They are so I can show something
All of the preparations are not
simply for the fun
They are so we can all share
something
The something is love
Christmas IS about fun and family and
feasting and friends and the fullness of life
All the preparing
Of house and home
And life and living
And body and spirit
All comes down to love:
In the reign of Queen Elizabeth the
Second; when Theresa May was Prime Minister, and the country was waiting with
baited breath for answers and resolution: the people of Earlston listened again
to the voice crying: in the wilderness prepare for the God of Love
In your wilderness prepare for Love.
Amen
ReplyDelete