The World Needs A Savior

Second Sunday of Advent – Cycle B

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

Mark 1: 1-8

There is a poem by John Shea written about John the Baptist. At the beginning, John sits in his prison cell awaiting his execution. He knows that it is coming, but he is not bothered by his impending death. As he looks back over his life, he feels as if he is only half a man. Why does he feel this way? Because, as the poem puts it, he is only a half-prophet who can only do a half-job. John's thoughts on the subject are this:

• I can denounce a king, but I cannot enthrone one.
• I can strip an idol of its power, but I cannot reveal the true God.
• I can wash the soul in sand, but I cannot dress it in white.
• I can devour the word of God like wild honey, but I cannot lace his sandal.
• I can condemn sin, but I cannot bear it away.

John the Baptist is aware of both his strength and his impotency. He can point out what is wrong and what should be done, but after that he is helpless. He does not possess the power needed to correct the wrong. This is why John feels like he is only half a man.

John needed more. The world needed more.

The world needed a savior.

The shortcomings of John the Baptist, expressed by John Shea, seem to hit close to home. In essence, that's what we bring to any situation. We can see the world in all of its failings. We can express, often with brilliance and clarity, what is wrong. But like John the Baptist, we need help. We may be inspired – we may be dedicated – but we cannot fix the problems of this world without support from the global community and the grace of God.

We only have to turn on the television or scan the internet briefly to see that the world has gone to hell in a handcart. Viruses such as AIDS or Ebola continue to ravage the poorest of nations while the threat of epidemic plagues us all. Extremists of every kind would rather put a knife to your throat than show tolerance for a differing belief. In this country, relations between law enforcement and the minorities they are sworn to protect and serve seem to have reached an all-time low. Our elected officials are more concerned with party politics than with compromised solutions. Meanwhile, the gulf between the richest and the poorest continues to widen …

The world needs a savior.

With Advent, we are coming closer and closer to the day of the Lord. To paraphrase from the second letter of Peter: “What we await are new heavens and a new earth where, according to his promise, righteousness dwells.” (2 Peter 3:14)

It is the day of God's salvation when kindness and truth shall meet. Justice and peace shall kiss. Truth shall spring out of the earth, and justice shall look down from heaven.

We await the day of the Lord, but it must be an active waiting. Isaiah speaks of leveling the mountains and filling in the valleys. Peter references our looking for the coming of the day of God and our trying to hasten it. John the Baptist says simply, “In the desert prepare the way of the Lord.”

We stand here, as it were, in a desert, an empty wasteland of broken lives and discarded people.

The challenge of Advent is to clear a straight path for God. Our opening prayer said that we must remove the things that hinder us from receiving Christ with joy. But it has to go beyond that. We must put an end to injustices, stop wars and leave discrimination behind us if we are to prepare ourselves for the day of the Lord.

We cannot possibly do it alone. We need the help of the global community and the grace of God to address these issues.

We need a savior.

Deacon Darryl J. Diemer

2nd Sunday of Advent

December 7, 2014

Painting: St John The Baptist by El Greco, ca. 1600