Rev. Chism's Weekly Message

"The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet? 'I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare the way - a voice of one callings in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight paths for him." - Mark 1:1-3

We have people in our world that do not like to read books because of time. Some prefer to not read my flashes because they consider them too long. What I recommend to you is this: if you are reading the gospels read Mark. It is the short and sweet gospel that gets straight to the point.

The Gospel of Mark was most likely used as a source for both Matthew and Luke. Those two would write a lot more. Mark, again, gets to the point. One of the things you will notice about Mark is Jesus has already been born. The gospel writer starts with the ministry of John the Baptizer and how we helped prepare the way for Jesus.

This "way" I talk about started many years before however. Isaiah, one of the prophets we hear from in the Old Testament, not only wrote prophecies of a future Messiah, but about a person that would come before Jesus. Malachi, a prophet and the name of the last book in the Old Testament, also refers to a person that would come before the Messiah to set the stage I guess you could say. They connect the ministry of John to Jesus.

Isaiah was a messenger. Malichi was a messenger. John was a messenger. Jesus, Savior and Lord, was also a messenger. Although the messages shared by Isaiah, Malichi, and John could sound harsh, the key component was hope for the future.

We always celebrate the memory of John because he fits Advent perfectly. We prepare for the joy of the Christmas Season during Advent as we get ready for the beginning of the Incarnation and Emmanuel. The Incarnation teaches us that God would become flesh. Emmannuel is another way of saying God is with us. John talks about what Jesus will do.

Let's dive deeper into Isaiah and Malachi. Many sources would tell us that the Book of Isaiah was written, in different parts, between the years 740 to 686 BCE (before the common era and the calendar we use today). Malachi was most likely written around the year 450 BCE. My point? The prophets of the had been pointing toward a messiah like individual for at least several hundred years.

None of us would be able to wait that long. We are Americans. Americans don't wait. And also, we wouldn't live long enough. Sigh.

Advent reminds us to prepare and to.....wait. Preparation for anything takes a long time. Remember this, what we prepare for today affects the future. Isaiah and Malachi are perfect examples. They taught about a messiah-like person that one day would come. The people passed on this message. And one day it was penned and canonized and became part of the bible we know today. It's a great example of future hope. It's like they could see it without actually seeing it.

A person like John was prophesied about and it happened. A person like Jesus was prophesied and happened. Words of hope that were spoken became alive. It just took some time.

We are celebrating messengers today. Celebrating messengers during Advent is always something we do. Let's go deeper again. All of us are messengers.

Let me jump ahead to Post-Resurrection. Jesus challenged us all and gave a commission (Matthew 28:16-20). It was first given to the Disciples and they would share this with the future Church. Disciples became messengers. The early church became messengers. Individually and together we are the current messengers to share hope and the hope to come.

So here we are today. Like John preparing the way for Jesus and making the path a fertile place to share the good news, we do the same in the world today. We are harbingers to people who need to hear a word of hope. This tradition goes way way back. It happens now. It will happen in the future.

Were you prepared to hear you are a messenger too? Hopefully I have been a messenger today.

Stay Safe,

Rev. Baxter