Presented to River Street Cafe, 15 December 2017,
by Captain Michael Ramsay.
Read
Isaiah 40:3b-5
Today we hear classic words of God through
Isaiah also in the Gospels. A couple of weeks ago we had the Santa Shuffle.
Heather participated and got a great metal. Since my 30s, I have off-again and
on-again done quite a bit of running. When I lived in Vancouver I faithfully
ran every second day. I lived about 5km from my office – I used to run there and
back. In Winnipeg I lived almost 10km from the College, and a colleague and I
did that run more than once. Running can be fun – but when you get out of the
habit, and have to start again or when you start for the very first time it can
be a chore. And sometimes those hills in your first few runs can feel like
mountains and those valleys, ravines. I
can remember when I was first learning to run out west – where there are real
mountains - being near the end of my run and my energy... rounding an almost
last corner and seeing... a mountain to try to run up for my last 1/2k or so...
Isaiah 40:3b-5:
“...make
straight in the desert
a
highway for our God.
Every
valley shall be raised up,
every
mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged
places a plain.
And
the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and
all people will see it together.
For
the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
This is a great verse to ponder when you
are running up and down hills and around curves, looking towards a time when
obstacles will disappear. I also used to do a good deal of hiking and some
backpacking. After a few hours following switchbacks up and down mountains, you
can almost feel the relief of Isaiah’s valleys raised and mountains levelled.
This is part of the Good News of Isaiah 40.
This is the Good News also that John the
Baptist proclaims: when Jesus’ returns with His Kingdom, obstacles, barriers in
life will be removed. As during Advent we mark waiting for Jesus’ birth, we
also hope for His return –very soon- so that our mountains of trouble will be
levelled and our valleys of despair will be raised to abundance and the
crookedness of our paths will be straightened.
And today even, let us not hesitate to bring
before the Lord the valleys in our life that are making us feel low and the
mountains of troubles that seem to be insurmountable, for the Lord is the one
who will walk with us side by side until the day that all those mountains are
leveled, those valleys are filled and our paths are straightened for eternity.
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