“A voice in the wilderness”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Sunday, December 10, 2023

Mark 1:1-8 (Forward, p. 42) CEV p. 1026

Historians have long credited Winston Churchill has being a lone ‘voice in the wilderness’ after his party fell from power in 1929. Provided with secret inside information by a small group of people knowledgable about the inner workings of Germany’s Nazi government, Churchill continually warned the British Parliament about the dangers he saw looming on the horizon, the dangers posed by the new German government and its policies. But he wasn’t taken seriously and was ridiculed or ignored instead.

Churchill isn’t the only person in past or present times to serve as some sort of ‘voice in the wilderness’. Even today, we have numerous people who might, ultimately, be able to lay claim to that title—only time and history will tell. Some raise an alarm about climate change or global warming or other environmental issues. Others make much ado about political instability and infighting, blaming extreme elements, whether on the left or the right, for the problem. Others point out what they see as systematic injustices based on colour, religion, gendre, sexual orientation, ethnicity, country of origin, age, finances or other like factors. Whether any of these will truly be ‘voices in the wilderness’ remains to be seen.

John the Baptist, however, truly was a voice in the wilderness—both in literal and in symbolic terms. In a literal sense, he was indeed in the wilderness, the Wilderness of Judea, a very rough and God-forsaken piece of territory. Interestingly, though it might well be considered to be the very ‘last place’ for an encounter with God, wilderness in general had a strong tradition for this very thing. We have Moses in the wilderness, the nation of Israel itself and Elijah all have critical encounters of God in such places. It was as if the wilderness was a model—and a crucible—for such decisive moments. And so, John the Baptist is not an anomaly, not in any sense.

And, it makes all the more sense, when the prophet Israel actually predicted, prophesied, that this would happen (see Isaiah 40:3).

But then, too, there is a certain symbolic sense to John’s ministry. The Jewish people had been in a spiritual ‘wilderness’ for oh, so many years. There had not been heard the voice of a prophet for some 400 years, and the religious authorities, occupied as it was with infighting and jockeying for power and influence, had not been much of a help. The public, solely let

down by those who ‘should’ have helped them, were needy, desperate and eager for some good news of the coming kingdom of God. And so, John was just the person they needed, calling them away from their sin and back to God, and preparing the way for the coming Messiah. All of this was rather important—and necessary!

But, what about today? Are there any like-minded, like-guided ‘voices in the wilderness’, calling us, warning us, not about some environmental or political or social crisis, but calling us instead to a crisis of faith—or the lack thereof. During the season of Advent, we are invited to consider the three comings of Christ, firstly, as the Incarnate Son of God, that is, as a babe in Bethlehem; secondly as our Saviour, that is, in our hearts and lives; and thirdly, finally, as the King and Judge of all of humankind. And so, is it not rather appropriate that we should have a ‘voice in the wilderness’, one pledging with us to make use of whatever time remains, to make sure that He is our Lord and Saviour, and to make sure that we are ready when He comes again in glory and power”. Maybe, we need just this kind of ‘voice in the wilderness’ to speak to our world, our hurting and broken world, in its hour of need! Amen.

Forward notes: “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight” (verse 3).

“Advent is a powerful time to make straight the paths of the Lord. I come to Advent every year eager for a new phase, a clearing of my spiritual decks. Actually, I step away from my regular routine for renewal three or four times a year. Just as John the Baptist left distractions behind and went to the wilderness, I too go to the wilderness, or the closest thing to it in the Northeast: the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Sometimes I take provisions on my back and sleep in tents and crude shelters in the forest, with trusted companions or alone. Sometimes I retreat with just my dog to a house in a small mountain town where I spend most of the time writing and walking on paths. Through my journal and my wanderings in the woods and mountains I call out to myself, renew my faith, listen for God’s guidance. I clear out the cobwebs of my harried mind so that I can hear the arrival of Emmanuel.

Moving Forward: “This Advent, how will you make straight the paths of the Lord?”