Wilderness

The gospel of this 2nd Sudnay of Advent puts us right smack in the middle of the desert, the wilderness, face to faace with John the Baptist, one of the stars of Advent, the one who comes to announce the arrival of the Messiah, "One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the things of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy SPirit."

Wow!

Let us look at the word and place of the wilderness, the desert.

The term “wilderness” has two different but related meanings, referring to something judged to be wild and bewildering. It is probably the unknown (bewildering) and uncontrolled (wild) character of the place that earned it the name “wilderness.”

There is also another way of understanding the meaning of desert or wilderness.
A careful look at the root of the word midvar (hebrew) reveals the word "davar" (hebrew) meaning “word” or “message.” The Hebraic notion of “desert” or “wilderness” is that holy place where God’s word is unbound and completely free to be heard, experienced and lived. We go to the desert to hear God’s Word, unbound and completely free.

Think about this for a moment. In order to hear the Word of God, we must be willing to enter that place that leaves us bewildered that place of chaos that plAce where we have no control. It is there God invites us to come and listen.

We all have places like thT in our life. We have to fight the urge to get rid of them but rather enter and listen a new. This is what advent invites us to do!


John the Baptist is the Advent prophet. His image is often portrayed in the finger pointing to the one who was coming: Jesus Christ. If we are to take on John’s role of preparing the way in today’s world, our lives also will become the pointing fingers of living witnesses who demonstrate that Jesus can be found and that he is near.

We must find that place within us, that desert, so that we can hear the WOrd unbound and free and let it move us. Thus we become like John the Baptist.

John gave the people of his time an experience of forgiveness and salvation, knowing full well that he himself was not the Messiah, the one who could save. Do we allow others to have experiences of God, of forgiveness and of salvation?

John the Baptist came to teach us that there is a way out of the darkness and sadness of the world and of the human condition, and that way is Jesus himself. The Messiah comes to save us from the powers of darkness and death, and to put us back on the path of peace and reconciliation so that we might find our way back to God.


The way out of the wilderness of our lives is to first enter the wilderness where the word of GOd can truly be heard. Thus, we let the word, take root and begin to grow and direct our lives into meaning and purpose.