Church of the Holy City

Make Straight a Highway for Our God

Make Straight a Highway for Our God
Rev. Dr. David J. Fekete
December 9, 2012

Isaiah 40:1-11 Mark 1:1-8

The Common Christian Lectionary again calls our attention to apocalypticism. Apocalypticism refers to the Great Day of the Lord, when God will come to earth and renew the land, restore the kingdom of Israel and judge the whole human race. In both Isaiah 40 and in Mark 1, which refers us to Isaiah 40, we have the idea of the Great Day of the Lord.
John the Baptist says that the Great Day of the Lord is at hand, that it is happening in his own time. Many Christian theologians believe that the Great Day of the Lord–or the apocalyptic event of the renewal of the earth–that this cosmic event happened during the time of Jesus Christ. They believe that Jesus was its herald and that the whole world changed during the time of Christ. They thus believe that Jesus Christ ushered in a new time and kingdom to last forever. In this belief they distinguish between Judaism and the Law of Moses, and Christianity and faith in Jesus. They say that the ways and words of the Old Testament have been superseded by the words and the apocalyptic kingdom ushered in by Jesus Christ found in the New Testament. Stated in its strong form, these Christians believe that the Old Testament was rendered null and void because the New Law of Christ replaces it.
Let’s look a little at the words of the prophets that the New Testament calls our attention. The gospel of Mark begins with a reference to two different prophets. It begins with a reference to Malachi, “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way.” This is a reference to the Great Day of the Lord that Malachi prophesies about. He says,
See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; . . (Malachi 3:1).
This version of the Great Day of the Lord is frightening. Some of its words were adopted for the Catholic Requiem,
But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. . . . “Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the LORD Almighty, “Not a root or a branch will be left to them. But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall” (Malachi 3:1-2; 4:1-2).
So the first reference in Mark sends us to Malachi. In Malachi we find that a prophet will precede the Great Day of the Lord. We find also that this will be a day of judgement. The arrogant and the evildoers will be burned like stubble in a fire. But for the righteous will come the healing son. They will leap like calves released from the stall. Since this is a day of judgement, John baptizes for repentance. For it is by repentance that we make ourselves ready for judgment.
The second reference to the prophets that we have in our Mark reading is Isaiah 40. In Mark we have the words,
A voice of one calling in the desert,
“Prepare the way for the Lord,
Make straight paths for him.”
This passage refers us to Isaiah 40, where we read:
In the desert, prepare
The way for the LORD;
Make straight in the wilderness
A highway for our God.
This chapter of Isaiah is an apocalyptic passage, too. It talks about the coming of God to the earth. This version of the coming of the Lord is gentle, compared with that of Malachi. When the Lord comes, He will tend His sheep like a shepherd, and carry us close to His heart,
You who bring good tidings to Zion,
Go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem,
Lift up your voice with a shout,
Lift it up, do not be afraid;
Say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power,
He tends his flock like a shepherd;
He gathers the lambs in his arms
And carries them close to his heart;
He gently leads those that have young (Isaiah 40:9-10,11).
As in Malachi, this passage calls for repentance as well. It calls for repentance by means of metaphor. We are to make a straight pathway for God.
In the desert, prepare
The way for the LORD;
Make straight in the wilderness
A highway for our God.
Every valley shall be raised up,
Every mountain shall be made low; . . .
And the glory of the LORD will be revealed (Isaiah 40:3).
Handel picked up some of the words from Isaiah 40 for his masterpiece, “The Messiah.” The words we just heard are penitential words. By means of poetic symbols, Isaiah enjoins us to prepare for the coming of the Lord. Elevating every valley means lifting us upward out of sin into heavenly joy. Making mountains low means symbolically lowering ourselves, humbling our arrogance, ego, and selfishness.
There is no doubt that the writers of the gospels saw the coming of Jesus as the fulfillment of this Great Day of the Lord. Every gospel has a reference to these prophesies in the beginning, making it clear that the coming of Jesus was the coming of the Day of the Lord that the prophets spoke of throughout the Old Testament.
Also, it appears that the gospel writers think of Jesus as the incarnation of God that the prophets spoke of. The very first words of Mark state this, “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” The words “Son of God” in Aramaic do not mean God’s child. When the word “son” is used, it means a member of that category. So “son of man” would mean “a man,” “son of righteousness” would mean “a righteous person,” and “Son of God” would mean “God.”
Since God was coming into the world in the person of Jesus Christ, John the Baptist cried out for repentance, in order for the human race to be ready for the coming of God and the Great Day of the Lord. We re-enact this historical event each Christmas. As we anticipate Christmas Day, we examine ourselves and prepare for the Holy Day of Christmas which celebrates the coming of Jesus into the world. So the weeks of Advent in the Christian calendar are a time for reflection, repentance, and pledging life anew. The prophet Isaiah calls for us to make a highway for God. He asks us to make a road on which God can come to us. He asks us to clear away the blockage of sin in order to let heavenly light into our hearts and minds.
There is a sensible way of going about this spiritual refining process. We can’t make ourselves wholly pure in one day, one month, or one season. But we can identify one aspect of ourselves that we want to reform. Just one. If we try to become wholly pure all at once we will feel as if the mountain we are to make level has completely toppled on us and buried us under its earth. But we can manage one aspect of our character that we want to reform.
When we think of sin, many different ideas can come to mind. There are the unhelpful and unhealthy ideas of guilt and shame that do little for our wellbeing. But there are constructive ways of thinking about sin as well. We can think about whether we are keeping the Ten Commandments. We can measure our emotional life against the two great commandments, Love God and Love our Neighbor. We can think of shortcomings that are holding us back. Or we can think of coping mechanisms that are no longer useful. However we think of sin, the main question we should be asking ourselves is this, “What is blocking God’s love from my heart?” However we answer that question is what constitutes sin. That is, sin is nothing but what blocks God’s love from filling our hearts. To the extent that we banish sin, we become that much more filled with God’s Holy Spirit. We are elevated into heaven’s delight; we enter more deeply into a loving relationship with God; and we look upon our neighbors as fellows, friends, and companions.
Seen constructively, as a means to let God’s love enter our hearts more fully, repentance is nothing to hide from. Sin is not something to fear, or even to be ashamed of. The injunction to repentance means that we all have sin in us. “All we like sheep have gone astray,” says Isaiah (53:6). God alone is perfect. But God does give is the power to become His very children. The Apostle John puts this beautifully in the beginning of his gospel,
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (1:12-13).
The Day of the Lord is every day. It is every day that we turn from maladaptive behaviors, thoughts, and emotions, and turn toward God. That is what we mean in the benediction we sometimes say, “May the Lord bless our going out and our coming in.” God blesses our going out of sin and coming into goodness and love. That is how we become children of God. We have God’s promise that He will lead us like a shepherd through this process and hold us close to His heart. Christ has indeed ushered in a new period in human history. And He continues to usher in a new day in our lives when we repent, and allow God to baptize us with the Holy Spirit.

PRAYER

Dear Lord, in ancient times the prophets spoke of a day when you would come to earth and set things straight. And on that ancient Christmas Day 2000 years ago, you did come to earth and bring your message of healing and love. What the people then expected, and what we long for now, is that you would set the world straight. But we accept things as you allow them to be, not as we would have them. We know that your Divine Providence guides all the affairs of this world from the greatest international affairs to the smallest individual hope and prayer. Your Great Day of Judgment is every day and every moment of every day, as we turn from sin and turn toward your shining face. Your Great Day of judgment occurs each time we choose what is good and right, and turn from what is evil and wrong. Walk with us, dear Lord, as we pilgrimage here on earth, and lead us into eternal blessedness in your home where we will live with you forever.