As a progressive, I believe there are many names for God and many ways to a loving God; this article reflects one of those ways. Take from here what works for you. Celebrate life with joy and peace!
During this Christian Season of Advent, it is a time of anticipation; a time of expectancy awaiting the birth of Jesus, Emanuel, God with us! It all begins with hope; and today we focus on peace; now peace is a word like love in that it covers so much territory, as much territory as the vast universe, in just one word.
Peace! We use the word peace from an inner sense of harmony or well-being, to a negotiated settlement between warring parties and everything in between! Peace is something that seems elusive, it’s an intangible, it’s unexplainable, and it’s also something we can feel when we take three really deep breaths.
In Mark’s Gospel, Mark is quoting from the Hebrew Scripture where the prophet Isaiah speaks of comfort and hope, and offers an image of the way of peace for the people of God; people who have suffered and struggled, people who have been through it all including failure and success. They’ve known despair and oppression and hoping for liberation; feeling abandoned by God and longing for a sense of God’s real presence.
There are people groups still in the USA, in the year 2014, who know about struggle and oppression. There’s something that’s going around the Internet with great popularity – it’s going viral – #BlackLivesMatter! From the pulpit, I must say, black lives matter! As a church and as a denomination, we also know about struggle and oppression, about tragedy and triumph, about ups and downs, and defeat and victory in our 46-year journey.
Mark’s Gospel begins with a call to spiritual renewal from John the Baptist. In the busyness of this season, as we are also preparing for the coming Nativity, the Advent of Emanuel, God with us, we are also called to plunge into the waters of baptism, to experience a spiritual renewal; we are invited to a cleansing, healing surrender to the mystery of connection to God and one another.
How many of you have ever been to the Jordan river? I have not had the opportunity yet, but five years ago, Rep. Toni Atkins, now speaker of the Assembly, brought me back something from the Jordan river. She was there, and broke away from her tour to fill up some vials with water from this river, the River Jordan where John the Baptist baptized Jesus.
I’ve been told the Jordan river is rather cool – the average temperature is between 50-55 degrees. I went to a Web site to verify that and it even indicated the thickness of a wetsuit you’d need to do diving in the river.
There are many people who want to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and be baptized there; baptism is about surrender, you’d need to surrender to the shock of the cold water; I guess it really wakes you up! Maybe John the Baptist knew that sometimes we need to be really awake and alive and alert to the surrender of allowing God to be God for us in all the circumstances of our life.
Back to the prophet. Isaiah describes the challenges of a pathway to peace in a beautiful metaphor that is also a beautiful song in Handel’s Messiah – “every valley shall be lifted…” Spiritual writer, Iyanla Vanzant, talks about “value in the valley.” We all experience valleys; some deeper than others, and some seem like they go on forever, and we wonder if we’ll ever see the view from the mountaintop.
Valleys are a part of life. Peaks and valleys; we all experience them in our spiritual journey, as individuals and as a community of faith. Her point is that our low point can be our turning point!
During valley times of uncertainty and pain and despair and upheaval, it’s a prime time for us to prepare, and to watch the ways how God will use us to lift that valley of despair! I remind you this morning, we are not defined by our hard times, and we are defined by our embodiment of God’s purpose of love and grace.
When you think about it, valleys are more fertile than the mountaintop. It’s fertile ground. MCC was born in a valley of despair. A 28-year-old man who thought that being gay was the end of his world but, God spoke to him in his valley and lifted him and gave him a peace that passes all understanding; a peace he never imagined possible! And because he surrendered and allowed his valley to be lifted, the lives of millions have been changed forever! Praise God for Rev. Troy Perry!
God’s love transformed that valley, and it’s so important for us to continue in creative and consistent ways to share the Good News of God’s inclusive love to so many who need to hear good news from a church! I hear stories all the time of how God is lifting valleys. Right here in this church and all over the world. Everyday someone is discovering help and friendship, and grace and encouragement in a valley. Every week someone walks into an MCC church somewhere or listens online; people who thought they were alone in their valley. Through your sharing your gifts of time, talent and treasure, you are participating with God in lifting valleys all over this world, today! Just think of how many valleys have been lifted here in the last 44 years in this church!
Not only does God lift the valley, but the Spirit declares that “the mountains shall be made low.” Sometimes it feels like theirs is just one mountain after another, to be faced and to contemplate, “How am I going to get around this one?”
It reminds me of a song that, to me, talks about God’s awesome love for you and me: “Ain’t no mountain high enough. Ain’t no valley low enough. Ain’t no river wide enough to keep me from you!”
Just as God can lift the valleys of despair, God can level off the hills and mountains. Sometimes the challenges seem overwhelming and it can threaten our peace and sometimes our faith. Hold on! Hold on to that peace that is beyond comprehension!
Simply put one foot in front of the other and don’t forget to breathe as you go! We’ve come this far by faith. In one of my Advent devotionals Lee read out-loud at our staff meeting this past Monday this sentence that fits so well here: “As you climb a hill, it is sometimes well to look back to see how far you have come instead of always looking at the interminable heights ahead.”
And along that mountain path, God will make the “uneven places level.” What does an “uneven place” look like? Inequality is an “uneven place.” Creating justice is one of the ways to make peace in our world.
We need to be called again, to the root meaning of repentance, which is “to turn” from the politics, practices and religious dogma that cause hatred and division. John the Baptist preached a repentance that was rooted in the spiritual practice of forgiveness; Frederick Bruechner says that forgiveness involves “the freedom again to be at peace inside our own skins and to be glad in each other’s presence.”
Learning to forgive ourselves and each other, and to accept God’s forgiveness, is a pathway to peace.
May we strive to be at peace. As we journey down this Advent road, God grant us the courage to make peace. Peace in our hearts. Peace in our homes. Peace in our communities. Amen.
