Recently President Obama visited Burma (Myanmar) for the
first time. It was an historic occasion,
but it did not occur without a messenger preparing the way. A few months earlier, Secretary of State
Hillary Rodham Clinton spent time there, making sure that all was in order for
this unprecedented occasion of state.
Never before had a sitting President been to this isolated country,
wedged between India on the west, China on the north, and Thailand to the east. Our friends in that land welcomed his visit
as a sign of hope for their future.
The texts
for the second Sunday of Advent highlight the role of the messenger who
prepares for the coming Messiah. The
reading from Malachi, the concluding book of the Twelve Prophets as well as the
Hebrew Bible, portrays the coming of a great king, for whom a messenger is
needed to prepare the royal processional way as he comes to the temple. Only later in a canonical reading is this
text an allusion to the work of John the Baptist.
Two
readings from Luke comprise the Gospel lessons for Sunday. The first, Luke 1:68-79, is known as the Benedictus.
Zechariah offers blessing for John (later known as the Baptizer),
and he describes the remarkable role of his son in going before the Lord “to
prepare the way for him” (v. 76b). As a
gifted storyteller, Luke intertwines the birth narratives of these cousins and
narrates their respective roles. The
role of the messenger, while lesser than the one he prepares for, has dignity
because it is integral to the forthcoming message.
The second
reading situates historically and geographically the beginning of the ministry
of John, who “went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism
of repentance for the forgiveness of sins . . . “ (3:3). His work in a remote corner of Judea sets in
motion the holy purpose that “all flesh shall see the salvation of God” (v.
6). Of the work of his forerunner Jesus
says, “among those born of women none is greater than John . . . “ (7:8). Yet, the one who is “least in the reign of
God is greater than he,” because of what he announced as messenger.
On
Saturday, the first cohort of create
students will celebrate the completion of their degrees. Although they participated in the
commencement service this past May in order to demonstrate the good work of the
Luce grant, they had yet to complete a capstone project. So now, finally, they will hold their diplomas!
The commencement speaker proclaimed
the significance of “setting out in the season of the empty tomb.” In this liturgical season, we will reflect on
what it means set out in the “season of the Coming One.” I believe it will
require that they understand their roles as messengers; persons who understand
that they “must decrease” in order that Christ “might increase.” Preparing the way for others to receive the
Christ grants their ministries the highest dignity.
Through
their participation in a global immersion experience in Myanmar, these students
know that Christ has come to transform culture.
They also know that journeying together strengthens faithful witness.
Molly T.
Marshall
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