Imago Adventus - 21 - Resting in the Light
Matthew 3:1-3 - Resting in the light In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’ ”
When I first read Voskamp's reflections on this passage, I was wondering where she got to “rest” out of the words of John. How is “prepare the way of the Lord” a statement about resting and waiting? It fits, however, with the consistent theme from her book thus far…we want to do so much in our performance, our actions, our “tasks” that we think we are the ones doing it all and we miss…gift. I don't know about others, but I know that its hard for me to not be the one trying to do all the time. This afternoon was a perfect example - while my wife was at work today, all of my children had friends over or were over at friends. I had a perfect opportunity to just take some down time, read, be silent, etc - yet what did I do? Started laundry, made some Christmas cookies, did a few odd jobs that I have been putting off…not much in the way of rest (especially on the sabbath). There was a lot of preparing going on, but the externals, not the internals of preparing the way of Christ into my heart. I think that's what I love about this picture - its one of my sons a year or so ago having fallen asleep with a light stick in his hand. I love the way that he is resting in the light. Its pretty easy to do with a light stick, but a lot harder to rest in The Light that has come and is coming once again into the world.