Crying in the Wilderness The Rev. Dr. Arlene K. Nehring Eden United Church of Christ Hayward, California Second Sunday in Advent December 9, 2018 Luke 3:1-6 (NRSV) A few years ago, Stephanie and I were back in Boston, where we both attended graduate school and were part of The Old South Church. For much of the trip, we navigated by public transportation, which was great, because the only thing harder than trying to drive a car in the city of Boston is finding a parking place for a car in Boston. Despite our sincere commitment to eco-friendly public transportation, there came a point when we needed to rent a car, in order to visit some friends who lived way past the end of the T-line. I ll never forget that travel experience. It may have been my worst driving experience in Boston in my life. As we came to the end of I-80 and prepared to enter the tunnel that would eventually take us north toward our destination, we encountered a sign that said, Road Construction Ahead! Expect delays. Given all the flashing lights, orange cones, concrete barricades, and red tail lights in front of us, the DOT sign announcing Road Construction Ahead! seemed repetitively redundant. My recollection is that it took us over an hour to travel through Boston s Big Dig zone. For the uninitiated, I ll explain that the Big Dig was Boston s eight-year public works project designed to bury its freeway systems underground and green up the financial district near the Boston Harbor. The plan called for the construction of modern parks on top of a rabbit warren of transportation tunnels hollowed out by massive earth-moving machines and sustained by tangles of steel rebar and only God knows how many cubic tons of concrete. Imagine if the SF Embarcadero freeway had been rebuilt underground, rather than just removed. So there we were, hopelessly stuck in traffic with no cell phone coverage, no radio signal, and no way to communicate the reason for our delay to our friends. The only thing we had to look at besides red taillights and orange construction cones was a giant DOT sign that read: If Rome had been built in a day, we would have hired their architect. Regardless of whether you have ever been stuck in a Big Dig, I suspect that we all have had some miserable traffic experience that we could share. From survivors stories that
I ve heard, I understand that the Bay Area had its kind of Big Dig following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, when the Bay Bridge had to be restored. It seems virtually impossible, today, to live in a place like Boston or the Bay Area, and not get stuck in traffic from time to time, if not on a daily basis. As we imagine ourselves stalled in traffic for one reason or another, and remember the range of emotions that we may have cycled through while contemplating alternate routes to our various destinations, we likely recall the sense of the frustration even resignation that sets in on such occasions, so that we can begin to appreciate the profound emotions the exiles felt before receiving Isaiah s message. II Imagine the historical setting. Isaiah was a prophet who lived in the 6 th Century BC. In today s gospel reading, the first-century evangelist, John the Baptist, repeated Isaiah s words to the inhabitants of Palestine who were living in a foreign country under Roman occupation. The road that Isaiah envisioned in the 6 th Century BC was both literal and figurative. It was the desert trail that led from captivity in Babylon to freedom in Israel, and it was the spiritual path that led from despair to hope. The terrain was rugged. There were no super highways between nations in those days. There were no diesel-powered road construction implements to clear the way. There were no road signs, no flashing lights, no GPS, and no meaningful landmarks to guide weary travelers. There was only a barren, windswept desert. To complicate matters, Isaiah s audience had been exiled in Babylon for nearly a lifetime (586 to 539 BC). Most survivors had given up the hope of freedom or the possibility of returning to Israel in their lifetimes. Many had been born into indentured slavery, and had no memory of their homeland and life in unoccupied Israel. The few who had survived the Babylonian defeat, and who had been marched off to captivity, were so old and infirm that they wondered whether they would survive the trip or recognize home when they got there. And yet, Isaiah envisioned a road that was passable, and explained that it would be built in their lifetimes. He said that the exiles would travel on that road, and they would all be going home. I wonder, if any of us had been alive in the 6 th BC, would we have believed the prophet s proclamation? Would we have believed that God would make a way where there was no way? Would we have believed that God would guide us on a path with no signs, no road markers, and no maps? Maybe. Maybe not. Crying in the Wilderness, Rev. Dr. Arlene K. Nehring, 12/9/2018, 2 of 5.
III Against this bleak backdrop came Isaiah s proclamation announcing: The day of liberation is here! Your penalty for infidelity has been paid. Grace abounds. Liberation is at hand. Remember that Israel understood their defeat by the Babylonians and captivity in Babylon as God s punishment for national infidelity, for worshipping foreign gods, for trusting in earthly rulers, and ignoring the needs of the poor and foreigners. This home-going news which Isaiah announced was the mark of a great reversal of circumstances, and a sign of God s forgiveness and grace. The exiles were about to be freed! They were going home but not by the usual route along the river that led west from Babylon. 1 No, instead, the exiles would return to Zion by cutting a new trail southwest of Babylon, straight through the Arabian Desert. Cyrus would lead the charge, Isaiah said, and the pilgrims themselves would build the highway on which they would travel. They would fill the valleys, level the hills and mountains, and pave the way as they went. 2 Like Boston s Big Dig, or the rebuilding of the Bay Bridge, this Palestinian highway project would be a massive undertaking and extract a great deal from its road crew physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Each person would be challenged to place their faith in God above earthly rulers. Each would have to pick up a shovel or a pick, and start building that road and guiding others along it as they moved down the highway to Zion. God would lead the way, Isaiah said. No one would have to remember the directions, because God would make a way where there had been no way. And, no one would be left behind. God would carry those who were too weak to walk. 3 IV Jesus first followers and Christians in every generation since he walked the earth, have celebrated the exile s liberation and return to Israel, and have come to understand John s reprise on the prophet s theme as God s promise to redeem Israel, to free the nation from foreign occupation, and to renew God s covenant with the people. John s reiteration of Isaiah s hope-filled words was a reminder to first-century Jews and Gentiles alike that what God had done in the past, God would repeat in the future, and what God had done for Israel, God would do for the whole world. 1 See notes for Is. 40:3. Howard Clark Kee, et al. eds. The Learning Bible: Contemporary English (New York: American Bible Society, 1995), 1294. 2 Author s paraphrase of Is. 40:1-5. Some scholars have referred to this journey as the Second Exodus. Fred B. Craddock, John H. Hayes, Carl R. Holladay, and Gene M. Tucker, eds. Preaching Through the Christian Year: Year B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press, International) 1993, p. 9. 3 Author s paraphrase of Is. 40:1-5. Crying in the Wilderness, Rev. Dr. Arlene K. Nehring, 12/9/2018, 3 of 5.
I wonder if any of us had been alive in the 1 st Century AD, would we have believed the prophet s proclamation that God would make a way out of no way? Would we have believed that God would make a way where there had been no way? Would we have believed that God would guide us on a path without pointers? Maybe. Maybe not. V To further understand today s text, it is important to know that in the Bible, the wilderness wasn t just a literal desert sprinkled with cacti and camels. It was (and is) a metaphorical place symbolizing those in-between places of discontinuity where we all dwell from time to time those places where people were (and are) searching, hungering, and thirsting for something more, something better. In the midst of this wilderness, literal and metaphorical, came a man named John who said things like, Prepare the way of the Lord. He was a man who made outlandish claims that people didn t normally make, and he made promises that seemed too good to be true. Many dismissed John as a lunatic, but a few heard and hung on his every word, and those few lived to tell the story that Jessie read today and see it come true. I don t know what your wilderness experiences have been or may be, but one can imagine. One can imagine that facing the holidays after the death of a loved one who has provided an emotional compass, a guiding hand, a sense of direction, or a soothing word for you can feel like a wilderness experience. One can imagine that a person s experience of mental illnesses or cognitive diminishment may feel like a wilderness experience. As one slips deeper into depression, as one experiences an increasing amount of anxiety, or as one feels more confused or forgetful, the whole world can seem like a wilderness. One can also imagine that trying to find and maintain gainful employment, efforts to keep a roof over our heads, the need to feed a family and to pay the bills in an environment where everything goes up except your wages, can feel like a wilderness experience. The list could go on. The wilderness is vast and complex, and it takes many forms in today s world. There is no clear path through the woods or the desert. But there are trail blazers and trail guides among us, who clearly and distinctly say things like this: Life doesn t have to be like this anymore whatever the this is. We can also dare to claim our own power, trust that there is help, and take steps to join God in building the highway that we are meant to travel on. For the grieving, one way that we may participate in this road construction is by continuing to put one foot in front of the other, and pushing ourselves to do what needs to be done, and maintaining some semblance of routine and return to normalcy for ourselves and our dependents. We can also reach out and accept others care and kindnesses, and advice and support. Crying in the Wilderness, Rev. Dr. Arlene K. Nehring, 12/9/2018, 4 of 5.
For the mentally ill, one way that we may participate in this road construction is by receiving the news that life doesn t have to be this hard. There s professional help for the way we are feeling. There s a medicine that can make a difference. There s a counselor that can help. There s a support group to join. There s a number to call. There s an appointment that can be made. There are others with whom we can share the struggle. We do not have to go this way alone or remain in the wilderness forever. For the economically challenged, relief and restoration are possible too. We can prepare God s way by organizing and advocating for fair and just wages and labor practices. We can join organizations and forge alliances with others to create and maintain affordable housing. We can sign up for healthcare coverage and help others enroll in affordable healthcare plans. We can participate in the letter writing campaign today and hold the line on public charge rules for people who want to make the U.S. their permanent home. We can stay involved in our PTAs, volunteer in our children s classrooms, and monitor and advocate for better schools at our local Trustees meetings, and at the state and federal levels. We can forge coalitions across racial, ethnic, and religious lines in our neighborhoods, school districts, and the Eden Area, so that we can prevent and heal the social divisions that threaten our children s safety, and the safety of all of God s children. Indeed, the wilderness is vast and complex. That s why God sends prophets like Isaiah to proclaim the vision of redemption and release. That s why God sends evangelists like John to remind us that what God has done for others, God will do for us. And that s why we continue to build the road to Zion while we re traveling on it. VI Friends, remember the good news of the gospel: we are not alone in the wilderness. Our cries do not fall on deaf ears. God hears and answers our prayers. God makes a way out of no way and invites each and every one of us to be engaged in the construction of this holy highway that runs from despair to hope. So grab your hard hat and shovel, and join me in this grand and glorious project. Amen. Crying in the Wilderness, Rev. Dr. Arlene K. Nehring, 12/9/2018, 5 of 5.