Advent Week 2: Preparing the Way
This week’s Advent theme is peace. And to be honest, the fact that peace is a theme of Advent feels like a cosmic joke. There hasn’t been peace on Earth since the inception of humankind. So to talk about peace feels like feeding some sort of delusion. And more so, since so many Christians, particularly those who fall on the more conservative end take such a passive approach to peace. Ironically, when it comes to other political issues they are at the forefront of action: overturning Roe V. Wade, seeking to ban medical care for trans people, and decimating the Voting Rights Acts: all of these require intentional organizing and action.
Yet when it comes to fostering peace, many simply shrug their hands up and say: that we will only have peace when Jesus returns. (And for some, even not immediately then, since a segment of conservative Christians believe Jesus’ second coming will at first usher in a time of horrific violence). These very same people who ensure that they have colleges that feed into the conservative political pipeline, who spend thousands of dollars supporting right wing-politicians, who will protest and march to deny women, nonbinary people, and trans people reproductive rights, suddenly find themselves impotent when it comes to advocating for peace.
We can’t pass legislation to stop mass shootings in the US because guns don’t kill people, people do and as long as people are violent, it will do no good. No, we can’t end poverty and provide medical care and affordable housing for all, it will be too expensive, although we can send Israel billions of dollars in military aid to continue their ethnic cleansing.
No, we can’t condemn the genocide against Palestinians, we need to support Israel because 1) doing so ensures Jesus will come back quickly and 2) we need to protect ourselves against all the evil predominantly Muslim countries in the US. We can’t stop racism because it’s an individual heart problem people have to accept Jesus and be transformed. We can’t stop the ethnic cleansing going on in Sudan and Ethiopia because these countries have been embroiled in violence for decades and are too unstable. Only a divine miracle can stop the violence, so we might as well not try.
Mainline Christians, to be honest, are often only marginally better. To be fair, at the denominational level, quite a few denominations will at least make statements decrying various forms of violence and some denominations and individual congregations even take concrete action to combat injustice. That is great. But for too many other individual congregations, a sense of hopelessness has set in. Part of this has to do with a harsh reality: a lot of these congregations, especially these smaller congregations are struggling to keep the lights on week after week and they cannot address larger issues of injustice.
Many of these individual congregations are in the midst of dying-whether gracefully or not, And I understand individual congregations’ inability to focus on larger issues. And that inability and unwillingness to speak out against injustice, is reminiscent of the conservative’s passivity towards working for peace, except in this case, even the cop-out of, “there will be peace when Jesus returns” is not necessarily a given. This inaction is fueled not by indifference but by despair and when they make statements about Jesus’ return bringing peace it is not meant to be dismissive towards any action, but it is a reaction of how little, they and most of us feel we can do in the face of injustice.
This week’s gospel reading is a call to “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” How do we do that? I argue it’s not as the religious right does by ignoring injustice and oppression on the one hand, while actively organizing to create an inequitable society on the other hand, nor is it the resignation and despair of many mainline churches.
We prepare the way of the Lord by ensuring that our actions demonstrate the hope that we claim to have. And these actions will vary based on each of our skills, times, abilities etc. I do not believe that the only meaningful actions for justice are major actions; not everyone can quit their job and devote their lives to organizing 24/7 or go and provide direct service to a war zone. The reality is that many of us are struggling to survive and may not have the capacity at this moment to speak out against any number of social justice issues. That does not make us bad people.
I believe, however, that we each, can in our small way prepare for Jesus’ return. For some that may be simply holding onto hope and waking up each morning even in the face of horrific loss and devastation. It may mean putting one foot forward even after the loss of loved ones, employment, housing, etc. For others, it may mean attending local protests for worldwide issues, it may mean donating money to organizations and nonprofits serving marginalized groups, it may mean quitting one’s corporate job and traveling halfway around the world, it may mean signing a petition, or it may mean resting and trying to heal after a devastating illness.
The point is that preparing for Jesus’ return and advocating for peace, does not always look like winning the Nobel Peace Prize. It can look small and insignificant. But what matters is taking action. In Mark’s passage this week, people began the preparation process by being ducked in water. Yes, yes I understand the theological and practical significance of baptism.
But if one didn’t, that action would seem both strange and insignificant, correct? But for those being baptized, it was the start of a new life. Similarly, as we grapple with wanting to hold onto the hope of peace, and recognizing how far we as a society and a world have to go, let us not be afraid to take small steps towards the type of peaceful and just world we want. Let us not be afraid to take steps to prepare for Jesus’ arrival.
Image: Candle, lit in the dark. Text: Preparing for Jesus’ return and advocating for peace, does not always look like winning the Nobel Peace Prize. It can look small and insignificant. But what matters is taking action.