The Rev. David Sellery
John says, “I am not the Messiah. I am not the Prophet. I am not Elijah. I am merely a voice crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare, prepare yourselves. Repent and be cleansed by God’s forgiveness, so that you will be ready for the coming of the Messiah.’ Because, though you do not recognize it, He is coming now. A new thing is happening. A new earth, a new heaven is being created. The kingdom of God is at hand. “

So often we are blind to the Kingdom of God that is at hand, to the Christ staring us in the face in the form of a neighbor, our enemy, a child, a bereaved mother. God calls out to us in the beauty of a sunset, the ugliness of burnt out buildings inhabited for forsaken people, the starved child, the radiant parent, and the selfless teacher who inspires others with hope. God is constantly calling to us in many different guises, saying “Recognize me. Follow me. Join me in ushering in the Kingdom of God. I am with you now and though you may not see me or hear me, the Kingdom of God is at hand.” John points beyond himself to this truth. He calls us to repentance, so that all the muck of life that has stopped our spiritual ears and covered our spiritual eyes may be washed away and we may see and hear clearly with the eyes and ears of faith. Only then can we truly recognize the messiah coming to us and rejoice, rejoice that our Savior has come and that the Kingdom of God reigns within us, that God is creating a new heaven and new earth right now.

Israel had waited 400 years to hear this prophetic voice, to hear again of the promise of the Messiah. John was saying, “The Messiah is already coming, but you are not prepared. And, therefore, you cannot see Him for what He is doing right now.” If we live life not expecting God to be present, not expecting miracles to happen, not expecting the Messiah to confront us, most likely, even when God comes to us, we will not recognize it happening. Sometimes, it is true; God does manage to shock us into seeing the truth. But more often, God deals with us so graciously that we can easily ignore Him, if we choose to do so.

What do we expect? Do we expect God to be incarnate in our lives, in the pain of the world, in the daily situations we face, in the success of world, in the new things being born, the rays of hope? Do we see God’s hand in those things? So much of the world around us dazzles us with bright lights, bold poster, and seductive advertisements. We are bombarded with images, the cacophony of radio, loudspeaker, voices, screeching brakes and horns to name a few. Sometimes it is difficult to see or hear anything because so much assaults us. I remember coming out of the subway at Times Square one night and being almost overwhelmed by the sea of faces, flashing neon signs and lights, and confusion of noise and voices. It was almost impossible to see the stars or event the people’s faces, except as images whizzing images of people – many of them seemingly self-absorbed in their own world of anxieties’ – and to think about the questions being raised by the words flashing at me.

Advent calls upon us to wait, to be still, to prepare, in order to see to hear the good news that the Kingdom of God is at hand, that the Messiah is coming to us now. Only when we recognize that truth can we rejoice. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing; give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (I Thessalonians 5:16-18).

Copyright 2014, David Sellery. Used by permission.