Straight Paths

Our Gospel begins with: “John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!’ It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said: A voice of one crying out in the desert, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths...” (Matthew 3:1-12).  How do we make straight the Lord’s paths on this second Sunday of Advent?  Our first reading from Isaiah gives us that instruction (Isaiah 11:1-10).

“Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide, but he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land's afflicted. He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.  Justice shall be the band around his waist, and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.”  

Our path is crooked when we judge people by their appearances, not by whether they love and are compassionate.   When we judge based on hearsay and not by our own witness, we walk a crooked path.

Our path is not straight when we are unjust, especially to the poor and needy lacking the necessities of life.  Like Jesus, justice should be a band around our waist for all to see and realize.

Our path is twisted when we listen and heed the ruthless and wicked, when we follow charlatans and liars.   These are the ones whose sandals we must never carry.

Rather, on every day, we should be like shoots sprouting from the stump of Jesse, and from our roots buds should blossom – meaning the spirit of the LORD must rest on us giving us wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, and strength to do what is right and just by following Jesus. Otherwise, we are chaff who should burn with unquenchable fire, so says our Gospel.

Deacon David Pierce