Straight to God

Mark 1:1-13

          Israel had been waiting for the Messiah, the leader, the savior. As a nation that had been held captive and were then a nation that was under the tyranny of Rome. The prevailing belief was that the Messiah would be a military leader, a warrior.  God has quite a sense of humor it seems. Israel expected a warrior king and was graced with a pacifist savior who was a social rebel, far from what they expected or could easily accept. Jesus had a way of turning the tables.

         So it is with a sense of amusement that I read the line here that says "make his paths straight". I am absolutely sure that the image I have conjured up is nowhere near what the writers of this passage had intended. One of the wonderful things though about holy scripture is that it conveys truths and speaks to all people of all time. So I laughably say "make straight? me? never".

        The path that the Lord provides seems never straight in a linear sense. Our journeys seem to a waltz on the floor of time with Jesus leading. The waltz of love we dance is circuitous, beautified and made interesting by the very uniqueness of our personalities, our love and experiences.  But in a cosmic sense, with God, our journey is arrow straight, speeding to God, our creator, our wholeness, even if we are far from straight ourselves.

         When John Baptized Jesus and the clouds opened and the voice of God proclaimed You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased’ it is a sign of how each of us are beloved. God is pleased with each one of us. How could God be displeased with his own creation? We may act errantly, we may not cooperate with our nature or his love but as a creation we are wholly loved, beloved children of God.  Once we recognize our citizenship and being heirs to the kingdom, we must act differently. We must act in concert with God. That has a very simple meaning, we must love ourselves and love one another as God loves us. Now, knowing ourselves may not be that easy. We have to get to know ourselves, accept ourselves, gay or straight, no matter who we are or how God created us. Once we accept who we are and cooperate with God's love, we are headed 'straight' to God.  

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
   who will prepare your way;
the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
   “Prepare the way of the Lord,
   make his paths straight” ’,
John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’

And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.