“Make Straight In The Desert A Highway For Our God”

 Finding Joy in a Hazardous World — Pinnacle Presbyterian Church

WED EP Reflection 121620 (Mark 1: 1-8)

“Make Straight In The Desert A Highway For Our God”

The Gospel of Mark takes us back to the prophecy of Isaiah for a special reason. The prophet Isaiah is called the most evangelical of all prophets because he announces the Good News of Salvation, namely in Isaiah 40:3, “A Voice cried out in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” Hebrew translation can be complex but this one is really clear. It tells us about the voice of him who cries in the wilderness. Mark tells us that this person is John the Baptist, who appeared in the wilderness proclaiming the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. This might appear to be a bold claim but it is not far-fetched. Isaiah’s description truly fit John the Baptist. The message, the imagery and significance of John the Baptist in the wilderness are profound. “Make a highway for our God in the desert.” This sounds labor intensive! Is it easy to make a highway in the desert where the sand is constantly shifting? Not it isn’t. I think this is a metaphor to signify an inner preparation to let God have his way in our lives, to remove all obstacles that prevent the life of God to dwell in us. This is not easy to achieve in our own strength; we need divine grace and support.

We live in a world full of corruption. This corruption comes in all shapes and sizes, some visible and others subtle. At times, we are born into this corruption and it does not train us to discern right from wrong. Mark’s Gospel traces this journey of discipleship for us, a journey of discovery of Jesus Christ the Son of God, a journey in which we get to understand that we can have the upper hand in our decision to discern right from wrong and fight corruption and darkness with the help of God. Many years ago, I went to court for a house ownership dispute. Despite a whole range of proofs and witnesses that I had, the judge simply ignored it all. I felt betrayed by authority, the bitterness of the injustice invaded my soul, and all I could do was endure the situation and pray. This word of making straight the path of the Lord, meant to forgive and count my blessings. I was healthy and was provided for, so losing the house unjustly was painful but not worthy of losing my soul.

I am thinking not only of that particular injustice for me and my family, I am also thinking of many other horrendous injustices in the world. What is our responsibility with regards to making a highway in the desert for our God? These hardships are indeed a wilderness, and we are encouraged to cry out to our God, to encounter the divine in the Gospel of Mark. For those who are determined to encounter God, it becomes a special journey: If you are fighting sin in your life, cry out to God in your wilderness and expect divine rescue! If you are born a victim of injustice or born into privilege, still cry out to God for divine grace and faith to remove obstacles to divine life dwelling in you. For some people, the things to remove from our lives might be self-pity or a belief that the only salvation to expect is a reversal of roles in the ‘injustice’ system. For others, the things to remove from our lives might be a conviction that the suffering of other people for the benefit of others can’t be helped.

My prayer is that we would be open for God to challenge us, to discern and understand what does the Lord require of us. Consult the Holy Scriptures and learn from God. Is the Lord challenging us to reconsider some of our pre-conceived notions? How are we fighting sin and darkness in a world that is full of corruption? Perhaps this journey of encountering God is overshadowed by the process of repentance and forgiveness of our sins that John the Baptist was talking about: “Make straight in the desert a highway for our God!”

John the Baptist’s life is a sobering reminder to all of us that “making straight in the desert a highway for our God” is not for the fainthearted. His journey was one that challenged the darkness all the way to his last breath when he was decapitated. What does your journey look like?

Lord help us all!

 

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