Texts: Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13; Hosea 6:1-6; 1 Thessalonians 1:2-10
"Righteousness will go before him, and will make a path for his steps," (Psalm 85:13).
"Come, let us return to the LORD; for it is he who has torn, and he will heal us; he has struck down, and he will bind us up, After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. Let us know, let us press on to know the LORD; his appearing is as sure as the dawn; he will come to us like showers, like the spring rains that water the earth," (Hosea 6:1-3).
"You turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, and to wait for his son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead - Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming," (1 Thessalonians 1:9b-10).
This Sunday, the texts from Mark and Isaiah exhort us to make our paths straight. So often, we think of this as something that we do for ourselves, something we do for God. We read the Bible as a list of do's and don'ts, a rule book... but more than anything, it is a story that reaches forward and back, encompassing more than any single pericope can communicate. It is God's action over time that inspires how we imagine God's action today and for the future. The Psalm and Hosea, in particular, stick out to me: the primary actor is God. If we think about the role of humanity and the role of God in the story of salvation, God is the dynamic character. What happens throughout the story presents a dynamism in the life of the humans, but humans are more static than they are active. Think about it: how long has humanity tried to do-it-themselves? How frequently has humanity thought that they worshipped true gods only to have them crumble in the face of disaster? How often have humans thought God was taking too long to fulfill the promises (see: Abraham, Jeremiah, the disciples, the early Christian community... and probably everyone in between)?
It is God who binds up, it is God who heals, it is God who comes and dwells among us. It is this God that turns us from ourselves, from our sin, from our gods of self-indulgence and fear, to Godself. As we await Christ's Advent, let us be turned from our false gods, let us watch as the desert highway is made straight by His righteousness and His peace. It is tempting to believe that it is we who are responsible for this shift, but, given the Story of which we are a part, we look for God's action, even as we remember God's decisive action for us in Christ.
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