December 28
John 1.19-23
19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”
A few of us were speaking of the differences in roads in different parts of the country. Roads around here have to deal with the terrain. With rocks that come to the surface the roads sometimes curve around the formations. Other times they blast the rock to cut through. There are the ravines that cause the need for bridges, built up sections, or just going around.
In Alberta the roads go mostly over straight and flat ground. There are a few places where there are low lying rivers and coulees. One of the things we had to get used to when the kids were in school was driving to Neerlandia. The road from Barrhead was about 20 km. Flat and straight.
One of the things that comes from the flat and straight roads is that the things in the distance are more visible. From the front yard we had in the country we could see one of the dairy farms from a church member. It was about 12km away. Driving to the mountains we would see them come into view about two hours before we got there. The joke in the prairies is that if your dog runs away you can see it to the edge of the province.
John says he comes to make straight the way for the Lord. Isaiah, whom he quotes, speaks of leveling mountains, raising valleys and making a way that is straight. The effect is being able to see that great distance. John comes and will point to Jesus. Telling his disciples, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” We look at discipleship as following Jesus and we saw on Sunday again that we keep our eyes on Jesus. The way being made clear so that no matter where we are, we have a good view of Jesus as we follow him.
The way has been made clear. We turn toward Jesus and keep our eyes on him.
Song – Every Valley
Prayer
God of glory, your splendour shines from a manger in Bethlehem into the darkness of human night. Open our eyes to Christ’s presence in the shadows of our world so that we, like him, may become beacons of your justice and defenders of all for whom there is no room. Amen.