The Proclamation of John the Baptist - Mark 1:1-8 (NRSV)
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, Son of God, as it is written in the prophet Isaiah: See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.Proclaim the Good News – Reflection on the Lectionary
An individual once told me that they deserved for nothing good to happen in their life. The individual went on to say that their poverty, loss of loved ones, and various disabilities was God punishing the person for wrong living, poor decisions, bad thoughts, and more. Taken back by the persons statements, I asked where such thoughts and feelings came from. The person said it was what they had learned from their faith tradition and faith community growing up and so the person “knew” that a normal life would never be possible.
We sat quietly for a few moments pondering the years of sadness and emotional suffering the individual had been through. I reflected on the injustice and harm the person’s faith tradition had grievously inflicted. Empathy filled my soul as memories returned of the harm I had known and witnessed in the faith tradition in which I grew up.
Looking back on the conversation, I see now that being called out of my faith tradition “to be on the way” -- engaged in a journey of recovering my true self – took me into a wilderness where I eventually discovered a new home. The new home was myself, the power of my being immensely and unconditionally loved by God -- full of happiness and freedom of Spirit and blessed with a diversity of human life and human perspective divinely intended to eternally enfold itself into the life and being of God, its creator.
Knowing that such a journey is not easy nor quick and involves the long-suffering effort of letting go of evil that has tormented and defined so much of a person’s life and reality, I replied to the person before me saying, “I have known of such faith traditions. I find it very hard to understand why they believe as they do. For the God they speak of is not the God I know. The God I know is the God who authored the Universe, who loves me for who I am, who loved me for who I have ever been in the past, and who will love me for whoever I am in the future. The most important thing for your journey ahead is will you love and accept yourself as God already does.” Truly, this is the task of forgiveness and restoration of one’s soul.
I am one crying out from the wilderness – and you are one too to the extent that you free yourself for recovering your true self! Far too many voices in far too many places, even places of great power capable of annihilating our world, seek to demoralize us and make us frightened little sheep fearful of anything that doesn’t look like us, walk like us, talk like us. POTUS 45 and those who embrace him are but one example. Together, let us stand over and against such ungodliness, let us “prepare the way of the Lord” and let us “be on the way” -- for One who is more powerful is coming!
Brad Shumate
Free of Encumbrance
Eugene, Oregon USA
(Brad Shumate provides spiritual direction ministries in-person, via video-conferencing, by telephone, or through email consultation. If you are interested in benefiting from the healing ministries he offers through spiritual direction, please complete the contact form in the right column of this blog. Brad will respond within twenty-hours.)
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