3 Advent, Yr A (2025) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield
3 Advent, Yr A (2025) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield
Isaiah 35:1-10 St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
Canticle 15
Matthew 11:2-11
In the name of the one, holy, and loving God:
who was, and is, and is to come. Amen.
I wonder how often each of us feels like we are wandering in the wilderness?
As I think about our Old Testament scriptures,
it seems like God’s people are frequently wandering in the wilderness or the desert.
Adam and Eve get tossed out of the Garden of Eden,
Abram and Sara wander their way to an unknown land,
the Israelites spend generations in the wilderness of Egypt.
And then there are the stories of the exiles,
living in captivity from far home.
Today the Good News from Isaiah is that the wandering is soon to end!
A highway shall arise,
and it shall be called the Holy Way.
Ah…
at long last!
Being lost
can be so all consuming
that it can seem like an eternity,
even when it’s not.
Sometimes our wilderness can be emotional,
sorting through broken relationships
or our own mental health struggles or those of a loved one.
Sometimes our wilderness can be spiritual,
questioning our faith or feeling distant from God.
Sometimes our wilderness can be physical,
with our bodies or minds doing things we just can’t control.
All of these deserts are our realities at one time or another.
As much as our scriptures speak of wandering in the wilderness,
they also assure us that God walks with us
and that God will bring healing.
Sometimes God even calls us to bring about that healing.
In today’s gospel, John the Baptist is sitting in jail.
He has dedicated his entire adult life to encouraging others to take a hard look at themselves,
letting go of those things that do not bring new life…
to themselves or to the world around them.
Let God burn away your chaff, he says.
Turn your life around
so that bearing fruit is your full-time job.
In exhorting others to bear fruit,
he has stepped on the toes of the powers that be
by calling out the misbehavior of Herod.
As he sits in prison,
it seems that he begins to doubt his life commitment to Jesus.
John sends some of his disciples to ask Jesus,
“Are you the one who is to come,
or are we to wait for another?”
Perhaps he is wondering why Jesus has not come to free him from his jail cell.
After all, he has done the right thing and spoken the truth!
And…
what does he get but imprisonment…
more time in the wilderness,
but not a wilderness of his own choosing this time around.
And yet,
Jesus says that among those born of women,
no one greater has arisen than John the Baptist!
John may doubt his faith that Jesus is the Messiah
and feel like he’s sitting in the midst of a parched desert,
but his faithful actions…his truth-telling as a prophet…
encourages the faith and witness of others.
Jesus’ response to John’s questioning is to look at what one’s life is bearing.
Is your life, John…
Is your life, Jesus…
Is your life, Israelites…
Is your life, people of St. Andrew’s…
bearing new life?
Today’s scriptures from Isaiah and Matthew and Luke all tell us that:
the blind shall receive their sight,
the deaf shall hear,
the lame shall walk,
the lepers will be cleansed…
even the dead shall be raised.
Those who wander in the desert will find springs of living water.
The proud will be scattered…
the mighty will be cast down,
and the lowly will be lifted up.
The hungry will be filled with good things,
and Good News will be brought to the poor.
What Good News!
God’s healing Grace will pour over us
even when that possibility seems far away.
God’s Grace filled Mary not only with the gift of new life
but with the power to say “yes” to God’s confounding offer in the first place.
We have heard that Mary was much perplexed when Gabriel popped up out of the blue.
Oddly enough,
she was not perplexed that an angel showed up
but in what the angel had to offer!
I imagine that Mary was doodling in the sand pictures of her wedding dress
and thinking of who might be in attendance,
now that she was engaged to be married.
Perhaps she was thinking about the house she might live in
as well as how many children they might have…
when this angel of God shows up with the grand invitation to bear God’s son…
a son whose kingdom will last forever.
Talk about accepting an invitation to a wilderness journey!
But, somehow…
God’s Grace filled her enough to utter “Yes.”
And today we hear her song which erupts from her soul
as she visits her cousin, Elizabeth,
whose formerly barren womb is also bearing new life.
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the LORD.
“my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
“From this day all generations will call me blessed;
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.”
I wonder how often each of us feel like we are wandering in the wilderness.
Perhaps it is rare,
perhaps it is from time to time,
perhaps it is every day.
The wilderness is never a pleasant place,
but God is with us.
And whether we can see it or not at the moment,
sometimes it is that wilderness journey that will propel us into new life.
Sometimes in the wilderness we discover what we need to let go of.
Sometimes in the wilderness we are allowed opportunities to receive help
that we might not have been willing to receive before.
Sometimes in the wilderness we are afforded opportunities to help others,
bearing Christ’s Light in unexpected ways.
This past week at our clergy Bible study I heard a story
about lives bearing fruit at what is now the Wider Circle ministry in Clyde.
Some folks were there eating a meal together
when someone mentioned they needed help changing the oil in their car.
A man named Matthew offered to help.
As he was out in the parking lot,
lying under the car, changing the oil,
the jack gave way,
and the car came crashing down on top of him.
By all accounts, Matthew had stopped breathing.
Fortunately, the fire station is nearby…
but first responders are trained to not begin CPR when there has been chest trauma.
However, a man in the parking lot stepped up and started CPR.
And once you start CPR, it cannot be stopped.
This past Wednesday I was at Clyde Central for a meeting,
and there was Matthew,
either getting ready to eat his dinner or just finishing.
He has not been able to return to work yet,
but he is alive and making his way.
During his recovery in the hospital in Asheville,
neighbors and friends gave his wife rides every day to go visit him.
“The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,
the desert shall rejoice and blossom….
“Strengthen the weak hands,
and make firm the feeble knees.
“Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
‘Be strong, do not fear!...”
…the blind shall receive their sight,
the lame shall walk,
the deaf shall hear,
the hungry will be filled…
and even the dead will be raised!
My friends, our God is a God of mercy and healing,
and God bids us to come and follow…
both receiving and bearing Christ’s Light in this world. Amen.
