The 2nd Sunday of Advent:
Scriptures: Romans 15:4-13; Matthew 3:1-12
Key Verse: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” (Matthew 3:3b)
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Hello, This is Jade.
Welcome to Yi.kigai
A space for all to explore the intersection between faith and daily life
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It’s no secret that I have no sense of direction. About a month ago, I attended a conference in the south side of Seattle, a part of the city I am not familiar with. Before the conference, which was at a church, I had a meeting with a pastor who stayed at a hotel nearby. When I got to the hotel, I saw several pastors who were there for the same conference. After learning that I was local, they asked me for directions to the church. I showed them the google map on my phone but none of us could figure out the way because of the several entrances and exits around the hotel. A couple of people from the church ended up coming over to guide the pastors to the church since it was within walking distance. To make sure that we wouldn’t get lost, a pastor even waited for us until we were done with the meeting. On our way to the church together, I realized that the way to the church wasn’t complicated at all.
Before Jesus began his public ministry, God had John the Baptist prepare Jesus's way and make his path straight. How did John the Baptist prepare the way for Jesus? Without John preparing the way, the prophecy in the book of Isaiah about what John was doing wouldn’t have been fulfilled. Without John’s baptism for repentance of sin, Jesus’ baptism would have been confused with the purification rite in the Jewish ritual practice. Because of this, we learned that God used Jesus’ Baptism to declare who Jesus was.
In the same way, God uses our baptism to declare that we are children of God by grace through faith. Being the children of God, we are blessed to be on our way to the eternal life that Christ Jesus has prepared for all believers. And being equipped in our faith journey, we make paths straight by walking alongside each other so that all who yearn for the hope of God may see that the way to the kingdom of God isn't that complicated.
There was a prayer composed by the late Bishop Ken Untener of Sa-gi-naw. And this prayer was later drafted for a homily by Cardinal John Dearden in November 1979 for a celebration of departed priests as a reflection on the anniversary of the martyrdom of Bishop Romero in El Salvador. This prayer, called the Romero Prayer, conveys well our faith journey together to the Kingdom of God. Here is the prayer.
It helps, now and then, to step back and take the long view. The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts; it is even beyond our vision. We accomplish in our lifetime only a fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work. Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said. No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession brings perfection. No pastoral visit brings wholeness. No program accomplishes the church’s mission. No set of goals and objectives includes everything. This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We water the seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise. We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that produces effects far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something and to do it well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest. We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker. We are workers, not master builders, ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own. Amen.
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May your coming week be blessed by God’s grace
As together we explore the intersection between faith and daily life
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I know that prayer