A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord ; make straight in the desert a highway for our God."
We hiked in the desert today. It's not a hospitable place. Rough. Parched. Desolate.
We first worshipped at a small Presbyterian church. I was hoping for more desert talk there. It was a good enough service but we were disappointed that we were already worshipping at the manger. We were told that the Light who came into the world was full of grace and truth and so we were to be filled with joy and tell others, "Merry Christmas."
Ok, I've oversimplified the message a bit. But I kept thinking the Light who came into the world exposes more in me than I want to see and acknowledge. We need the prophets. We need to be reminded of the desert places in our hearts. I thought about words of Alexander Solzhenitsyn; "If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?”
Thankfully, the Light who has come into the world knows the darkness and the desert places of our lives, knows all about our split hearts, and still calls us to prepare for God to live in us and with us. And,of course, that's where the manger, the incarnation, the Christ of Christmas comes in. We cannot open our hearts, we cannot love without the Love of God first coming to us. Our wounded and divided hearts are healed and made whole only through the One who set aside a throne for manger and cross.
Today my prayer is for those who are truly in the desert, in the wilderness; those who grieve, those who suffer pain or loneliness or isolation or persecution or pervasive fear or any form of imprisonment.
Here is our hope.
"Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low;the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Grace and peace.
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