Mosaic from the arch of an Arian Baptistry. End of the fifth century. Ravenna,
Isaiah 40:1-11
Psalm 85:8-13
2 Peter 3:8-15a
Mark 1:1-8
Travelling around the UK this summer, we were confronted with potholes everywhere. The potholes were even TV news! So, when I looked at the readings for today, I wondered, as it says in Isaiah 40, how we can “prepare the way of the Lord…make straight in the desert a highway for our God”?
I have many potholes in my life. Most are small, some bigger, a couple deep, and some are like the little cracked edges at the side of the road. I have much work to do before the road I prepare for the coming of our Lord is straight!
There is hope. Peter tells us, because “the Lord is not slow about his promise…but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.” Peter continues, “In accordance with his promise we wait, wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home. Therefore…strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish.”
John the Baptist was sent as a messenger to prepare the way for our Lord, and it was John who not only “proclaimed a baptism for the forgiveness of sins,” but told us that while he was baptizing with water, Christ would baptize with the Holy Spirit.
May we remember the hope of our baptism, as we work at repairing the potholes of our lives, in order to prepare a straight road for Christ’s coming.
Doreen Davidson
