First reading: Isaiah 40:1-5,9-11
Psalm: Ps 85:9-14
Epistle: 2 Peter 3:8-14
Gospel: Mark 1:1-8

But according to his promise
we await new heavens and a new earth
in which righteousness dwells.
Therefore, beloved, since you await these things,
be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, at peace.

Taking action:

I want to tell you a story.

My friend was standing outside a bar in Buffalo one night. It was late, closing time. He was with a few colleagues and they were chatting before going their separate ways. While they were standing there, a man came stumbling down the sidewalk. He was growling, gasping at them, and was waving his hands. He went into the bar, which had cleared out. Only the bartender was left behind.

My friend went in after the man. He wanted to make sure the bartender was in no danger. The man was standing at the bar, growling, gasping, waving his arms. The bartender was at the far end of the bar. Suddenly my friend yelled out, ‘Slide me a knife.’

Of course the bartender didn’t act immediately. He didn’t know these men, and he wasn’t going to contribute to a bar fight and stabbing. My friend yelled out, commanding, ‘Give me a knife.’ The bartender slid him a knife, with a stunned look on his face.

My friend cut through a rope that was wrapped around the man’s throat. He had been in a fight and someone had attempted to kill him. If not for my friend following through, and his quick action, the man might have died.

Mark’s like that:

St. Mark’s gospel is the shortest gospel. Of all the gospels, its the one that moves the quickest. It is focused on action and is action packed. There’s no shepherds, birth story, or anything quiet and peaceful about Mark’s gospel. We read the beginning of that gospel today. We are in the Judaean dessert, John is there, yelling out:

“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.”

Bang! John is on the scene. Jesus is immanent.

Mark starts with hard hitting action. By the time we reach the end of Mark’s gospel we are standing outside the empty tomb with two women, an angel, and a message from God.

We are called:

We, the Advent people, are called to action. Jesus’ immanent coming is nothing to be complacent about. He didn’t come to say, pull-up the La-Z-Boy , put up your feet, take it easy, I’ll do it all for you. We are required to act.

The grace we need:

One of the themes I’ve been reflecting on this week is the ‘efficacy’ of grace. Efficacy is a big word, and put simply it means being effective. Efficacy is the capacity to produce an effect.

If we take a Lipitor to lower our cholesterol, we know that it will be effective in doing that. Drugs have efficacy — they produce a result, lowering our blood pressure, reducing our cholesterol, or controlling our blood sugar. An aspirin a day is effective in avoiding a heart attack.

Grace works like that. Grace has efficacy. Grace is God’s medicine of love. It brings so many gifts like peace and healing. It also brings power. Grace gives us the power to live and to act. When we accept God’s grace it is effective in getting us to act.

Problems?

Our world, our neighborhood, our lives are beset by problems. We tend to worry a lot. We need to stop that — because we have the guarantee and effectiveness of grace.

Now think about that. We face so many struggles, and I’m standing here saying don’t worry, act!

The fact is, I am not saying this. God is telling us to act, to move, to take charge and move forward with confidence. Jesus left us all we need to act. We are supported by the strength of faith and His grace. He gave us the Holy Spirit and the Holy Church. In this parish church we have each-other. Finally, He showed us that nothing is stronger than our faith and action, not even death.

To do:

We stand in this season of Advent. It is a time of expectation. It is a time of renewal. It is time to get our ideas right.

If we focus on problems and complaints we will find that they are in our face and are bigger than our God. I ask you, are our problems bigger than our God? Is money bigger than our God? Is the road and work ahead, to build our families, our parish, and our community bigger than our God?

Yes, we have a lot to do. Knowing God’s grace, we will overcome and do more than any one of us can imagine.

Our charge:

My friend took action and saved one man. We need to take action and save all mankind.

At the end of Mark’s action packed gospel we hear:

And they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them.

It is time to act. It is time to save our brothers and sisters. It is time to bring the lost back and to open our arms to the people all around us. There is a miracle around the corner — and that miracle will happen if we act. God guarantees that our action will be effective because the Lord is working with us. Amen.