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Wednesday, December 07, 2011
Do You Hear What I Hear?
Isaiah 40:1-11; Luke 3:1-6
I was counting down the ninety seconds for my eye drops to do their healing thing, a nightly ritual now that I've been diagnosed with the beginnings of glaucoma. Suddenly I heard three sharp shots. Resisting the instinct to drop to the bathroom floor, I rushed instead from room to room turning out all the lights. Finally, in the front room, I peeked out the window hoping I'd see -- nobody at all. And that's exactly what I did see. Whew.
In the morning I told Joanne, who I thought had slept through it all, about the mysterious episode. She said, "Yes, I heard it too. I thought if I just lay there in the dark maybe it would all go away. And then I heard some people laughing." So my three pistol shots turned out to be probably three firecrackers.
She did not hear what I heard. And I certainly missed a major part of what she heard.
Our Gospel story the preceding day, interestingly, was all about hearing accurately. It told of John the Baptist's unusual ministry out on the banks of the Jordan River.
Matthew's Gospel tells us that John had the look and bearing of a wild man, dressed in rough duds fit for a trek in the wilderness, totally unconcerned about grooming, an ascetic all the way down to his daily diet of locusts and wild honey.
Luke's Gospel quotes John quoting the prophet Isaiah, both calling themselves "voices crying out in the wilderness" for people to prepare to meet God, who was sure to show up at a moment's notice. Wake up! Shape up! Be on your toes!
And people heard about John's dramatic words and actions. And they came from far and wide to hear for themselves what this new prophet had to say. About God and people. About sin and salvation. Very serious stuff. Next best thing to fire-and-brimstone, if you know what I mean.
And that, good friends, was the official Bible reading for the second Sunday of Advent, halfway through this special season of anticipating the joyous festival of Christmas. You well may ask, "What the...?!"
I well may answer, "Slow down some, come in close for a few minutes. Listen in, so you can hear what I heard as I made my way towards preaching on this fascinating story."
Listen to the GODcast!
posted by Jack Buckley at
5:32 PM
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