Before angels and shepherds, before star and wise men, the prophet Isaiah foretold the coming of the Savior: Prepare ye the way of the Lord.  Make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Prepare ye the way of the Lord.

               - From Christmas Canticles

Our God has said: “Encourage my people! Give them comfort. Speak kindly to Jerusalem and announce: Your slavery is past; your punishment is over. I, the Lord, made you pay double for your sins.” Someone is shouting: “Clear a path in the desert! Make a straight road for the Lord our God. Fill in the valleys; flatten every hill and mountain. Level the rough and rugged ground. Then the glory of the Lord will appear for all to see. The Lord has promised this!”
                     - Isaiah 40.1-5

One can easily envision this scene described so vividly by Isaiah; laborers too numerous to count clearing a path for God in the desert. Perhaps it is the Angel armies of the Holy One descending from the heavens to flatten hill and mountain; perhaps it is the exiles themselves, weakened by their captivity and sluggish in their efforts, yet anxious to prepare the way for their God who promises release. Or perhaps you and I can be seen clearing paths through the desert of our hearts – discarding old resentments, releasing long held fears – preparing the way for the Advent of God’s Christ. Yet we need not choose between these spiritual highway crews for, after all, the story we tell, though one, has many chapters unlimited in time and space.

Then again we need not choose between these highway crews for, after all, their work is partial and incomplete. Try as they may they cannot on their own level the rough and rugged ground. But when Love comes… when Love sweeps across the wastelands of our lives and our world, no mountain will stand unscathed, no rough place untouched. When Love comes the way will be cleared, and will be clear for all to see. On Sunday we will light the fourth candle of Advent, the candle of Love, because Love is on the way.

I have little patience for the blind joy of those who fail to see the sufferings of the world. I am skeptical of those whose joy seems forced, happy no matter what befalls them. But there is another joy a joy that lifts us when we cannot lift ourselves, a peace that grasps us and returns us renewed.
                                                                    -Barbara Gerlach

Always be glad because of the Lord! I will say it again: Be glad. Always be gentle with others. The Lord will soon be here. Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel.
                - Philippians 4.4-7 (CEV)

With all my heart I praise the Lord, and I am glad because of God my Savior. He cares for me, his humble servant. From now on, all people will say God has blessed me. God All-Powerful has done great things for me, and his name is holy.
                - Luke 1.46-49 (CEB)

By the time we reach the third Sunday of Advent, there are fewer pilgrims on the road to Bethlehem. Some get foot sore, others have been distracted by the glitz and glitter Christmas in the big city has to offer. Others, however, lose their way through no fault of their own. They hang in there through hope and even peace, but it’s hard to celebrate the joy of Christmas when you’re grieving the loss of a loved one, marking your third year without a job and nothing on the horizon, or having received news that the chemo didn’t work as well as hoped. Under such circumstances it’s hard to celebrate Christmas joy.

Or is it? Perhaps it depends on the type of joy you’re seeking. There are, of course, plenty of folk who cling to what Barbara Gerlach calls blind joy, which survives by refusing to see the sufferings of the world. They maintain some semblance of happiness by shielding themselves from the darkness… by simply refusing to look at the world’s brokenness. Such blind joy is brittle, vulnerable, and short lived. But there is another joy, a deeper joy given expression, for example, in the exclamations of Mary and Paul cited above. They share in common a focus not on their personal situations but on God, and maintaining this focus they learn a secret about the world: even the darkness is an unlit wick that needs only the touch of God to become a sacred flame (as Francis of Assisi expressed the matter). Joy runs too deep in the creation to be effaced by life’s ills. This is a joy we can all share; this is a joy we can all celebrate; and this is the joy we will seek together on Sunday.

Only by going alone in silence, without baggage, can one truly get into the heart of the wilderness.  All other travel is mere dust and hotels and baggage and chatter.”
                                                                            – John Muir

A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins. The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. 
                                              - Isaiah 11.1-9

The passage from Isaiah 11 cited above paints in poetic strokes an ideal of peace that inspires hope, to be sure, but its overstated imagery also underscores how far removed we are from such peace, and that between us lies wilderness. Perhaps this is why humankind has long recognized that the spiritual life is a journey, a pilgrimage from darkness to light, bondage to freedom, wilderness wandering to homecoming, chaos to peace. This journey is long, difficult, and at times can be treacherous.

Even the journey to Bethlehem on which we embark this time each year comes with no guarantee of completion. As I mentioned in my sermon last week, there are many sure signs that Christmas is on its way, but no sure signs of its arrival, save open and humble hearts, prepared to receive the birth of the Christ child. As we gather in worship this Sunday, the OPCC Kids will continue to explore this theme. They will proclaim the good news through a Christmas drama entitled A Christmas Journey. This play is subtle and insightful, and will provoke reflection on the meaning and spirit of Christmas. It explores, for example, the  many subtle and seemingly innocent temptations that can strip Christmas of its awe and wonder, and turn a holy day into just another holiday characterized by that well known spirit of gimme gimme gimme. Join us as our kids lead us on the next stage of our journey toward Bethlehem where we will kneel in humility and awe before a child and know something of the peace that is coming into our world.