2 Advent, Yr A (2025) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield
2 Advent, Yr A (2025) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield
Isaiah 11:1-10 St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
Matthew 3:1-12
In the name of the one, holy, and loving God:
who was, and is, and is to come. Amen.
When I first read today’s Scriptures passages,
I was struck by the beautiful and peace-able imagery of Isaiah:
“A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
“The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
“His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD….
“The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
“the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.
“The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
“The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
“They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain;
“for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.”
Wow!
What lovely images of wisdom and Peace and tranquility.
Wolves and lambs… living together,
leopards and goats… laying side by side,
young children tickling the bellies of snakes.
And no harm or destruction will come!
I wonder if this imagery also moved the heart of John the Baptist.
Today we hear that John appeared in the wilderness…
wearing clothing of camel’s hair cinched up with a leather belt…
eating locusts and wild honey.
But John’s life did not begin in that manner.
John was a descendant of Aaron,
of the tribe of Levi,
the priestly family of the Israelites.
John was born to parents who were well-off and respected.
He was well educated
and likely had the best that life had to offer.
And yet, today he is out in the desert,
looking a bit wild and disheveled.
I wonder what drove him out into the wilderness.
I wonder if texts like this one from Isaiah
drove him out to the caves in the wilderness to seek the voice of God,
to listen to where God might be saying.
It seems that John’s heart was captured by God’s promises,
and he committed his life to helping fulfill them.
John committed his life to pointing the way toward new life.
He committed his life to pointing the way toward Jesus.
And that commitment required letting go of some things.
He let go of his own safety and religious standing
as he called the Pharisees and Sadducees a brood of vipers,
calling on them to let go of their arrogance in being descendants of Abraham.
John let go of his own self,
proclaiming that One more powerful than he was coming after him…
One who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire…
One who carried a winnowing fork to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Because of John’s lineage and education,
he knew of God’s promises
and of the prophecies of the coming Messiah.
John spent his later years always pointing beyond himself:
“Look for the One who is coming.
Take stock of your life,
and let go of anything that is not bearing fruit.”
When John speaks of the burning of the chaff,
it strikes me that the chaff doesn’t even have to be horrible stuff!
It could be stuff that just doesn’t serve a purpose anymore.
The chaff protects the wheat until it is ready to harvest,
and then the chaff is no longer needed.
Perhaps the life of the temple was the chaff that John needed to let go of…
in order to prepare his heart and life
to preach and point the way toward Jesus.
Perhaps John needed some stillness and solitude…
to hear where the voice of God was leading him.
Many years ago, when we lived in Georgia,
I was tangentially connected to a ministry to folks on death row and their families,
called Possum Trot Ministries.
I received their newsletter this past week with a story from Mary Catherine Johnson,
who, for the past 10 years, has directed their New Hope House,
which provides housing for family members and friends of those on death row.
When I read her story,
I immediately thought of Isaiah’s imagery and John the Baptist’s journey.
She tells of the beginning of her journey,
living a comfortable life in Atlanta with everything at her fingertips,
when the Director of Possum Trot asked her to come join them in ministry.
She said,
“Did they really expect me to give up my life in Atlanta
to live on a dirt road in the country
and engage in death row ministry full time?”
Long story short…
after ministering for a week to a family whose member was soon to be executed,
she experienced levels of empathy and compassion that eclipsed her fears and doubts.
And she moved to that house on the dirt road.
Ten years later she writes…
“As I write this, I am listening to a gorgeous piece of music…called
Recomposed by Max Lichter: Spring 1,
a reinterpretation of Vivaldi’s famous violin concerto, “Spring” from The Four Seasons.
Richter speaks of this piece of music:
‘…It’s like shining a light through something from a fresh angle.’
Johnson continues her story:
“I play [this] almost every morning
to bring my head and my heart into alignment
with God’s intentions for that day’s work.
“The violin notes serve as a bridge between past and present,
enabling the integration of previous eras with my current vision….”
Isaiah, John the Baptist, Jesus…
all pointed to the fulfillment of God’s promises,
in the midst of difficult and dark times.
So, this Advent, I wonder:
In what ways are we called to lead lives that point to Jesus
and to God’s promises of new life?
What chaff that used to be useful in our lives…
do we now need to be let go of?
There are a myriad of ways to answer these questions…
we are each unique.
I want to bring to your attention a continued ministry with renewed vision in Clyde:
The Pigeon River Cooperative Wider Circle Ministries….
otherwise known as Wider Circle.
A number of you have served in this ministry at Clyde Central UMC in cooking, serving, and cleaning.
Two days after Hurricane Helene they began making simple meals.
We are now offering hot meals Tuesday – Saturday from noon – 6.
But, beyond hot meals, which are certainly needed during these days and times,
we want to engender a place of belonging and safety and Peace.
We want to engender a place of hope.
We want the circle to grow wider and wider…
a circle of community…
and a circle of God’s loving embrace.
For some folks, Wider Circle is their church…
it is where they experience God’s welcome and love.
So, in addition to the monthly meal that St. Andrew’s provides,
I invite you to stop by any time they are open
to offer a hand in cooking, serving, or cleaning…
or simply to offer your heart and a listening ear….
Pointing the way to Jesus’ love and compassion
and the fulfillment of God’s promises of redemption and restoration.
Wider Circle is just one way to embody God’s love.
I invite to you take some time to listen this Advent…
listen to where God is calling you
even if it means you need to let go of some things.
Come, Lord Jesus, come.
And, on this holy mountain…
may we be agents of healing and hope for all who are hurting.
Amen.
