Valleys Raised -- Mountains Laid Low

We are taking it easy with Advent. As the autumn skies move to winter, as the days lengthen and the dark descends we linger and keep company with the the following verses from Isaiah:

3A voice cries out:
‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
5Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’

If we were not so involved with our lives, that is, if we could step back and have a little distance on our experience, we would find that life, indeed, is very interesting. We are immersed in mystery and have very little control over what happens to us or to those we love. At times we feel that we have entered the bare place, without landmark and assurance -- the wilderness. It is right here, on the brink of desolation, that we hear it: the voice -- a call. Isaiah says, "a voice cries out." For some of us this is an inner call, for others it comes through the senses, for still others it is found in the love that we experience with lovers and friends. This voice calls, but it does not reassure, it does not make it all better, it does not take away pain. It simply speaks and says, "PREPARE."

About ten years ago, a friend of mine was having trouble moving out into the world. He spent much of his time in bed late into the morning, lingering on the couch into the afternoon. He was not satisfied with much in his life -- his work, his faith, his relationships, his prospects. As he spoke of this time he spoke words from the Christian tradition. He called it his "dark night of the soul." One night deep into this time he had a dream. A large figure, maybe it was more a presence came to him, suggesting that he "clean up," that he was getting a visitor. It was four in the morning and my friend got out of bed, took a shower, shaved, had breakfast and began to clean the house. Then he waited. No one came. So, he cleaned the garage. He finished with the house so he cleaned the yard. Then he washed the car. It continued on like this when he thought of himself -- so he resolved to quit doing things that he thought unhelpful to himself and others. As he cleaned up, he noticed: he was the one who had come to visit. He had come to occupy his own life, his own loves. From that point, he looked at life anew.

Life is a mystery. At times the mystery, darkness, seem to overwhelm -- not knowing about one's life and destiny becomes more than we can bear. A voice calls in the night; a voice in the wilderness, as Isaiah puts it, calls to us: PREPARE. For what? we might ask. Just simply prepare, make straight a path. As we prepare we are invited to notice our lives, to notice the hope that is already present to us-- the light that shines even in our darkness. Notice -- that though the valleys seem low, there is a way through. Notice -- that though the mountains seem insurmountable there is a way over. Notice -- we are the ones who come to visit -- hope lives in us.

Jesus was born into a dark time. Mary and Joseph on the move to be counted by Roman occupiers, could only find accommodation in a stable in Bethlehem. When Jesus was born only a few folks knew about his birth -- there were a few working stiffs on the night shift, watching the sheep, some angels, and of course Mary and Joseph. The rest of the world was clueless. Yet, new life came in this night. God had visited God's people.

Christ is the one who comes to visit. When we are in the midst of our 'dark night,' as the voice calls and we notice hope, as we discern peace, as we awaken to love, as we come home to ourselves, we come home to the light that has been lit in our darkness, we come home to Christ. Jesus was born in a stable. Here the light was lit. Now it is Advent. As we move into the darkness of our lives, the mystery of life itself, simply notice that hope lives in the deep down of things. PREPARE.

Blessings,

David