Advent 2: Going into the Wilderness ... John the Baptist

In this, the second week of Advent we hear a voice ... a voice calling in the wilderness!  This is the voice of a prophet.  Luke puts John the Baptist in the same company as Isaiah.   Prophets love the wilderness, as a solitary place to wander in the presence of God and as a place of solitude in the soul seeking the presence of God within.

Coptic Icon of St. John the Baptist c before XIX public domain

Source: http://www.globalfolio.net

As an introduction to this week's Gospel, read these 2 commentaries on the passage that accompany the text in this fresh new 2012 contemporary paraphrase called The Voice Bible: Step into the Story of Scripture.  Then as you read the text allow yourself to feel as John felt as he preached in the wilderness to seekers of God ...

Commentary 1 (from The Voice Bible)

More than any other Gospel writer, Luke wants to situate the story of Jesus in secular history. In particular, he gives details of the emperor, governor, and other client rulers. With a toxic mixture of cruelty and might, these authorities lord their power over the common people. Yet these high and mighty are— as Mary’s poem described— destined to be brought down in the presence of a new kind of king and a new kind of kingdom. Jesus will exercise His authority in a radically different way— not through domination and violence, but through love, healing, compassion, and service.

Commentary 2 (from The Voice Bible)

John’s father Zacharias is a priest who serves in Jerusalem at the temple. Among their other duties, priests perform ritual cleansing necessary for Jewish worshipers who become ceremonially unclean— perhaps through contact with outsiders (non-Jewish people), perhaps through contact with blood or a dead body, perhaps through a physical illness. But when John appears on the scene, he hasn’t followed in his father’s footsteps. He’s not fulfilling the role of the priest, but rather of the prophet. He works far outside of Jerusalem, and he baptizes people in the Jordan River, not near the temple. It’s as if John is performing a symbolic drama: If you want to be in tune with God, the temple and its normal routines can’t help you anymore. Instead of being cleansed there, you should come out to this radical preacher and let him cleanse you in the river. And his message isn’t a polite, tame message. It’s fiery and intense! God isn’t interested in just routine religion. He wants changed lives!

Take a deep breath and prepare your own heart for a journey into the wilderness this week.  Perhaps God is calling you to change this advent season.  Why not create a breath prayer to breathe the prayers of your soul in the wilderness ... Use this one or create your own (6-8 syllables is an optimal prayer for breathing) ...

            Breathe in … Wilderness God (pause)      Breath out … Prepare my heart!  (pause)

When you feel centered on God and ready to move into the text, pray 

Open my heart to receive your word as I wander in the wilderness with John seeking Your Presence, O Great God of the Wilderness.   Amen.

Lectio (Read) the Passage.  

Take a deep breath and read the passage slowly, taking in the details as they are told by The Voice Bible.  If there is a word or phrase that captures your attention, pause on that word or phrase for a few moments before continuing.  Stay with your word or phrase as long at it feels right to do so before moving on in your prayerful journey into the Word.

Read Luke 3:1-6 (The Voice Bible) slowly with "soft eyes."  

Our story continues 15 years after Tiberius Caesar had begun his reign over the empire. Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod ruled Galilee, his brother Philip ruled Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruled Abilene.  In Jerusalem Annas and Caiaphas were high priests in the temple. And in those days, out in the wilderness, John (son of Zacharias) received a message from God.  John brought this divine message to all those who came to the Jordan River. He preached that people should be ritually cleansed through baptism as an expression of changed lives for the forgiveness of sins. As Isaiah the prophet had said, A solitary voice is calling: “Go into the wilderness; prepare the road for the Eternal One’s journey. In the desert, repair and straighten every mile of our True God’s highway. Every low place will be lifted and every high mountain, every hill will be humbled; The crooked road will be straightened out and rough places ironed out smooth; Then the radiant glory of the Eternal One will be revealed. All flesh together will take it in.”

Meditatio (meditate) on the passage as you read.

Read the passage a 2nd time all the way to the end ... Was there a new word or phrase that captured your attention as you read this time or are you still drawn to the precious word you received before?  If so stay with your word again, if not listen for a new word.  Take time to reflect on how this word or phrase is touching you ... why is there energy emanating from text?  How might God be calling your attention to the story of your life?

Oratio  (pray) through the passage as you read. 
Read the passage a 3rd time all the way to the end once again.  How are you being drawn to prayer through the story that emerges in your heart.   How do you respond to this God of wilderness wanderings?  How drawn are you to the solitude you find in this place?   What will you say to God about your story and your life right now?

Contemplation  (contemplation = awareness of God) Rest in the Presence of God ...
Spend 10 minutes in the silence or as long as you are able, playing soft unknown instrumental music can help you to hold the space ... before moving back into the world.  How have you been transformed by God through praying the scriptures ... allow your word or phrase to emerge when needed to keep you grounded and connected to God.

If music is a pathway to God for you, you might want to listen to this Advent Song on Youtube called Waiting in Silence.  The words are often hard to make out but perhaps that helps one to sink into the music itself as the nature photos move through the music ...

You may want to pray with the Coptic Icon of John the Baptist found above.  This is a striking Icon, the fruit of much prayer and contemplation as it presents us with a snapshot of who John the Baptist is and was, one who lived a life of sacrifice so that the Eternal One could be known.  Take this Link for MOSAIC'S "How to pray with an Icon."

May your Advent Journey be blessed with a sense of the wilderness!  May you find yourself making a way for Christ the Eternal One to fill your heart and be revealed in the life you live!  Peace ...