In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentence for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be make low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”

In this season of Advent, of waiting expectantly for the Messiah to come, we are waiting in a wilderness of gun violence, murder, racism and brutality, among other things. I keep asking myself, “What created this wilderness of hatred and fear? Who created this wilderness of hatred and fear? And most importantly, How have I contributed to this hatred and fear?”

I live comfortably in a home with heat, plenty of food to eat, a car to get around, entertainment, a nice garden, a dog and a wonderful family. On the surface it appears that I probably have nothing to do with this fear and hatred, yet I’m complicit in the very fact that I’m complacent. I refuse to buy into the rhetoric that we need to ban refugees from entering the United States, yet I haven’t inquired about how my church might sponsor a refugee family. I mourn for those killed in recent gun violence and I want gun control, yet I have not spoken out publically about it.

I keep asking myself, “What are the ways in which I can make a straight path, how can I make a mountain low (level the playing field) or fill a valley (with love and peace). What are the commitments that I can make this Advent season while I await new life; a life outside of the wilderness of hatred and fear