Image: Byzantine icon of St John the Baptist (detail) (https://agiografiaicons.com).
‘Call of the wild’
Andrew Collis
Advent 2, Year C
Malachi 3:1-4; Luke 1:68-79; Luke 3:1-6
“We are all John the Baptists in our own way” (David L. Walker).
We are all “wild” at certain times – naked, vulnerable, human, in touch with the earth and with basic needs/desires …
In our sensitivity to needs, most especially the need of forgiveness (which entails bearing responsibility for our actions rather than self-righteously blaming and lashing out at others), our sensitivity to common life and survival (perhaps in our resistance to the many attractions/distractions of city life), we are drawn, like John, to a wild place.
What kind of place is this for you? Is the voice of the wild one, the outsider, an audible voice? What message do you hear spoken? What about your own voice in the wilderness? What do you hear yourself crying (either silently or aloud)? …
We have the privilege of hearing this gospel in the context of our regular Eucharist – inclusive, we pray, with diverse contributions from all …
The good news of Jesus, the glory revealed in peace/wholeness/right relationship – extending to all – can only be achieved through our participation: through our preparing the way, through our helping to make ready the way of One who makes the twisted paths straight and the rough roads smooth. We are all part of the story.
Thank you for being here for each other … helping to prepare the celebration and morning tea … selecting songs to sing … reading from the scriptures … acknowledging the wisdom of an older tradition, traditional owners whose openness to Country prepares a way for deeper sharing and understanding.
The “transition crew” is preparing rooms in the manse for beloved guests.
How might you prepare the way of the Saviour? … In your preparations for Christmas, what are you preparing for? For whom?
How might we herald a saviour to come? A democracy to come? A just/sustainable, global economy? An egalitarian/thriving/safe/creative community?
Firstly, by acknowledging the shortcomings of the present system/s. Advent is a good time to step aside, to step outside our comfort zones and conventional forms. A good time to try dressing/eating/shopping/socialising/moving about differently. Seeking a new perspective. The repentance John calls for/th is about thinking and acting differently – the Greek term metanoia means a renewal of mind.
Thinking about the SSH … The example of John’s preaching/baptising suggests it’s not simply what we make that’s important, but also what we make possible, what we help to make possible.
In our SSH mission statement, we refer to “possibilities for community” … In this season we are thinking earnestly about the way forward. Revising editorial process – considering new expressions of news delivery, storytelling …
Creating new space for dialogue – social, political, religious – is a faithful response to tabloid sensationalism and the rush to judgement. Our paper is called the South Sydney Herald, not the South Sydney Verdict. Making space for conversation – at a table, within a community newspaper, perhaps meeting at the local library – is one way of giving peace a chance, of heralding peace.
It’s usually said that the name Jesus means “Yahweh Saves” but it can also bear the meaning “Yahweh Makes Space”. Salvation pertains to a realm, a reign of love, a freedom of movement, a kin-dom.
It’s a thinking we might even apply to God the Creator – the God who creates by making space for Creation, for every creature in relationship. Theologian Raimon Pannikar, a Spanish priest with a passion for inter-religious dialogue, says: “The Nothing out of which God creates everything is God.” In other words, God is Making-Space. Love is Making-Space.
Our John-inspired preparations, then, our human vocations as preparers of the way, participate in a cosmic Making-Space. How might we prepare the way of the Saviour? …
Each year we take part in the NCCA’s Act for Peace Christmas Bowl appeal. The Christmas Bowl involves 19 member churches throughout the country and many more throughout the world. Several projects are highlighted for prayer and financial support. Significantly, the projects entail supporting local churches and communities – helping to make possible the hopes and dreams of people who know best what’s most needed.
John the Baptist’s wild call is an incentive to us as we prepare ourselves and others to be full participants of God’s kindom, God’s realm or reign of love, in the world. May it be so. Amen.
Christmas Bowl donations can be made via donation envelopes in the church or via our SSUC link: mycb.link/46613/.
