Advent Week Two: Untangling the Present

Advent Week Two

Untangling the Present Prayerfully submitted by Karen Bruner

Mark 1: 1-8 The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight” John the baptizer appeared[e] in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with[f] water; but he will baptize you with[g] the Holy Spirit.”

As I started to pray about how I might approach “untangling the present”, I immediately thought of the phrase in terms of a “present” meaning “a gift.” Certainly that is the very fundamental idea of Christmas: Jesus’ birth—and John’s proclamation of His coming birth–IS the gift, or present to the world.

But the other definition of present hit me: being, existing, occurring at this time or now; current. This year, 2020, we are living in the very intricately tangled present of a pandemic reality: together, yet apart, each of us living in our own tangled circumstance as we make our way in this unknown pandemic wilderness.

We are entering the 4th season of COVID. Winter is a season I have always relished. Most people wouldn’t say that winter is a season they enjoy or look forward to, but I love the calm, the quiet, the anticipation of spring. I like looking at the bare trees, relieved of their leaves, stark branches and limbs against a blue sky creating a unique architecture. I notice the hawks waiting patiently for prey. I appreciate what I ordinarily can’t see when the trees are leafed out. What has been hidden is revealed. I try to be present in what this season offers to me, different yet beautiful. The hope and certainty that the next season will come, and the season after that.

John chose to live in the wilderness to remove himself from the distractions of the world and to be in a place where the people could give him their undivided attention.

Wilderness conjures an image of starkness and lack of material comforts, not necessarily a place one would choose to go, a “winter” of sorts. Yet it provided the needed backdrop for his message. He delivered words of incredible hope and knowledge that one greater than he would be coming. He baptized the followers in the river Jordan, where they confessed their sins, challenging them to prepare themselves to relate to God in a new way. In reading the notes accompanying the scripture, I discovered the baptism ritual John performed was unique and unprecedented in Jewish custom. The Jews often baptized non-Jews who had converted to Judaism. But this new baptism was different: “to baptize a Jew as a sign of repentance was a radical departure from Jewish custom.” Unprecedented, a word we now hear daily.

The days are shortening, there is less sunshine, and temperatures are dropping. The ability to get outside is limited. Winter is here. There is great uncertainty about how our holiday traditions will be realized. They will certainly be different. I would even say unprecedented. But one unchanging, universal truth always remains, God’s unyielding love for each of us. We are immersed in His love for us. I pray that His love might be revealed to you in ways which we are unaccustomed to but comforted by. That what might have been previously hidden, is revealed. That we can each lean into God’s love and the beauty and simplicity of a child’s birth 2000 years ago that continues to change the world.

Questions:

When will I take a moment today to turn down the noise of my life, and the outside world, to fully see God breaking through into the world? What did it reveal?

How will “letting go” and consenting to the presence and action of God lead me to a new spiritual beginning?

What are ways you have experienced God’s unyielding love?