<p> 2nd Sunday of Advent The Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York is a huge gothic style church that was begun in 1892. Even today, it is not complete. Youth from Harlem have been trained in the ancient art of stonecutting. When funds are available new stone is brought to the church where it is cut and fitted into the structure of the church. In 2001 the church sustained a lot of damage from a fire, but over the following five years that damage was repaired and the church continues to grow and expand. No one knows for sure if or when the church will be completed. Yet, it doesn't really matter. The Episcopal bishop knows that his time will come to an end, but that the church will continue to stand. Things happen in God's time and that is okay. In some ways that church reminds us that for God, what is a hundred years. What is more important is what is done in that hundred years. I am sure that countless liturgies have been celebrated. Weddings, baptisms, and funerals have nurtured the faith of the people of that congregation. That is what is important. I suppose too, that John the Baptist is a figure in scripture like that too. When John came from the desert to preach to the people, call them to repentance from their sins, and then baptize them in the Jordan River he did so knowing that his work was not the beginning or the end. He stood in the line of prophets and teachers sent by God to remind the people of the covenant they had made with God. John said that he is not Elijah come back to life, nor any of the other prophets. Yet, he was a voice crying out in the desert to prepare the way. John knew that he wasn't the Messiah, only the one who would prepare the way. His time would end and Jesus' time would begin. He would decrease so that Christ would increase. John was content being a forerunner rather than the Messiah himself. He knew who he was and was comfortable in the role. Yet, John did play a key role. He had heard the voice of God to level mountains and fill in valleys. He was to play the role of the engineer who gets a job ready for the builders to come in. So, John did what he could do. He called each person who came to the river to repent of their sins. If they had been filled with pride he invited them to seek the way of humility. If they had defrauded anyone he called them to restore in justice what had been taken. John is a perfect witness for our celebration of Advent. This season of Advent is not primarily penitential. We know that it is waiting, longing, and preparing. But how shall we wait? What kind of longing do we do? What is necessary to prepare? Sometimes waiting and longing can become tedious. Sometimes it might seem that we are waiting in vain. But we know that God is patient with the sinner, seeking reconciliation rather than destruction. So, when it seems that our waiting and longing is useless we know that it can be a time of grace. It can be a time of repentance and renewal. What are the mountains that need leveling and the valleys that need filling? Could it be that we need to fill in the valleys of prejudice, level the mountains of pride and straighten out the crooked paths of injustice? Preparing a way for God in our hearts is a time-consuming and costly business. It demands our listening to what God is saying to us and then making changes in our behavior. Welcoming God also involves removing all blockages and obstacles which keep Him from coming close to us. I believe that is why we need the time of waiting and longing. God has great things in mind for each person individually and for the world. God wants us to live in peace with each other. That happens when bitterness and anger give way to reconciliation in our own lives. God desires that no one be oppressed or treated unjustly. So, we need to be agents of justice and peace. If we desire a world where the lion and lamb will dwell together, we need to reach out to those who have been estranged. If we desire a time where people do not live in fear, then we need to live in joy and peace with all that we encounter. God can and will use us to bring forth his Kingdom just as He did with John the Baptist. We need to enter the wilderness to hear the voice of God and then be transformed by what we hear. </p>