We ask you now to bless this water, and to give us your protection on this day which you have made your own. Renew the living spring of your life within us and protect us in spirit and body, that we may be free from sin and come into your presence to receive your gift of salvation. 

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

All:

Amen.

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people. This phrase from Isaiah begins one of the most inspiring and best-loved Advent scriptures.  George Frederich Handel further immortalized it in the Messiah.  These words are the prologue that begins the Book of Consolation written by the psalmist duetero-Isaiah.  Jerusalem is in shambles and its people conquered and desolate.  But in this scripture God is not just speaking to a geographically located group of people in captivity but to a different kind of Jerusalem.  It is the Jerusalem of an ideal kingdom of people personally bound to him. 

2002 Christians in America are also that desolate kingdom in captivity.  Our borders have been violated, our major cities attacked, there is poverty and crime in our streets, daily news broadcasts speak of an impending war - a potentially cataclysmic war involving disease and pestilence. But as 2002 Christians we are at the same time also that New Jerusalem.  As Christians we are personally bound to God.  He is speaking these words of comfort and hope as much to us today as to the captive people of ancient Israel. 

We need to listen.  We need to remember that unlike Isaiah we have proof that God heard Isaiah's cry.  Our proof is that we are moving toward the celebration of the birth of Jesus when we will behold our God made flesh among us. 

In today's gospel we read the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Son of God according Mark.  Mark is the only one of the evangelists to entitle his gospel the euaggulion or good news which is a proclamation of salvation in Christ.  Mark's gospel begins not with the story of Jesus but with the story of John the Baptist at the Jordan River.  John is a prophet drawn from Old Testament Judaism steeped in the knowledge of the Old Testament who calls the crowds to repentance. Most importantly he proclaims the coming of a deliverer who will baptize not with water but the Holy Spirit.  John's ministry is to proclaim not only the birth of Jesus but also the advent of the deliverer the Risen Christ.

As 2002 Christians this Advent is a strange time for many of us.  We are preparing for Christmas but there are clouds of fear and depression hanging over us.  Our country has been forever changed since 9-11.  I believe that as a consequence of 9-11 many people are experiencing a despair not felt during the Great Depression or wars of the 20^th century

During the Great Depression there was a belief that President Roosevelt would find a way to return our country to prosperity.  During World War I there was a "can do" attitude embodied in George M. Cohan's Over There when we sang, "The Yanks are coming, the Yanks are coming."  There was also no doubt as to who would in World War II as we hit the beaches and rode the waves with our bigger than life Everyman superhero John Wayne.  The Korean War, which in fact was a United Nations Police Action and never a declared war of the United States, had more of an effect on us as we watched the antics of Hawkeye and Hot Lips on M.A.S.H than it ever did in the mid-1950s.  And as horrible as the casualties we saw on the nightly television news during the Viet Nam War they were dwarfed by the simultaneously broadcast anti-war demonstrations and the Haight-Ashbury flower children's version of peace and free love. 

What is the difference between then and now?  The difference is twofold: these wars did not touch American soil and they were fought according the accepted rules of warfare.  The difference is that the attacks of 9-11 violated both our homeland and the precepts of "civilized" warfare.  The intent to use innocent civilians as both weapon and victim on 9-11 brought to the fore a new kind of war.  It is a war not designed to acquire land or subjugate a sovereign government but a war to strike terror into the hearts, minds and will of a nation and its people.  It is a war to achieve a purpose predicated on a convoluted and false interpretation of Islam and Middle East politics. 

As 2002 Christians how do we fight this war of terror designed to quash our sense of freedom and security and replace it with fear and depression.  We fight it by knowing that as 2002 Christians we have not only heard the promise of God that he will not forsake his people but have also seen it fulfilled on Easter.  We fight it by knowing that from the ashes of despair rises the Phoenix of redemption and salvation.  We fight it by knowing that the promise has been fulfilled and that Jesus has prepared a place for us with him and the Father.

As 2002 Christians we should not look upon the events of the past year as a reason for fear and despair.  We  can choose to be life-affirming people who know that this world can change and we must be a part of that change. 

But what should that change entail?  As 2002 Christians we know that we must repent of our personal sins of separation and anger toward our family and friends. We must reach out to the poor, the sick, the prisoner and the disenfranchised.

But how do we change our world?  How far can we go to root out terrorists and prevent sovereign nations from acquiring weapons of mass destruction?  I believe that war is always a moral evil but in my heart I know if my country called me to fight I would. 

Some of my friends and family disagree.  They believe in total non-violence.  They keep reminding me that Mahatma Gandhi freed a nation and Martin Luther King freed a people through non-violence.  They also tell me that if we are to die we should die on the right side - the side of peace and not war.  But when one's country and way of life is threatened is non-violence always the right side?

It is questions like this that divide and weaken us as the Body of Christ.  On the one hand we must always hold true to our faith and our convictions, but on the other we must permit others to hold to theirs.  If the world is to change into the vision promised in Isaiah the human hearts of the world must be ready to accept that vision and not just the hearts of Christians.  Our brothers and sisters from all religious traditions as well as those with no religious beliefs must also find it in their hearts to accept others as they are.  None of us in the human family can condemn others because they do not believe as we believe.  Regardless of our personal belief we must repent the sin of judging the beliefs of others in the certainty that we have a God given mandate to impose our beliefs on them as that is the providence of God. 

How do we actualize these words?  Why is it so difficult to do?  As I thought about how to answer these questions I reflected on my 12-year-old son's birthday party.  He invited three boys who in my opinion were immature, rude and constantly complained telling him, "I dont like this kind of pizza" and asking, "Why did you have to choose such a dumb video?"   I couldn't see why he had invited those boys who shared none of his interests. I am sorry to say I was glad to see them go home when the party was over. 

After they left I asked my son what he liked about them as they were so different from him.  He said simply, "I've known them for three years in school and camp" and went off to play.  Upon reflection I knew I had made a superficial judgment of three children excited at a party whom my son had known and played with for three years.  I realized that my son had an insight and knowledge based on personal interaction and experience that transcended their behavior at a birthday party.

I have reached the conclusion that the answer to the questions is that we must start by knowing those who are different from us.  The answer is that we must accept that we make judgments based on physical appearance, religious affiliation and country of origin that are superficial at best.  We need to accept that some people are not always likeable.  They do not share our beliefs or values.  But when we are able to really listen to them, to open our hearts and minds to ideas that are different from our own, we may well recognize that we have more commonality of thought than we imagined.

This is not an easy task but it is the beginning of creating the kingdom of God on earth.  It is the beginning of moving from despair to hope and from hope to action.  It is the beginning of being the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.