When the moment comes at last, whether birth or resurrection, it is a real celebration that cannot be contained in a single day. Easter is a season that last seven weeks, until the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Likewise, Christmas is a season lasting twelve days, until Epiphany. That is why we sing Christmas carols today, even though outside Christmas is yesterday's newspaper. It takes time to assimilate something as incredibly wonderful as God becoming human!
It's the shopping season, a special time in our civil religion when spending money has replaced waiting for the coming of Jesus. We have turned the season of Advent into a season of Acquisition. Into this complexity walks John, with some guidance for our faith journey: "Repent! Feel your failings, acknowledge your sin, decide to do something different!" But then, as now, the devil is in the details. John offers three dimensions for us to consider as we prepare for the coming of Christ.
Angel Gabriel: Don’t be afraid, you will have a baby boy and name him Jesus. He will be great and God will give him the throne of David and his reign over Israel will never end. Mary: No, you don’t understand. I’m a virgin. Joseph and I are old fashioned and are waiting until we’re married.
Isaiah and John remind us that as we prepare the Lord’s way we have mountains to bring low. The first mountain is the hoarding of resources we claim as Americans. This mountain is built on a cultural foundation of ambition and self-interest that blend with greed and selfishness. When you read the first three chapters of Luke as a unity, it is very clear that there is a radical ethic common to John and to Jesus that challenges the existing order.