Expose our pride and greed and call us to repentance. Ask us how a nation so proud of being the greatest and capable of so much can fail to see the needs of the poor, the tragedy of its homeless, the roots of racial tension, the desperation of its immigrants and aliens. The call of John the Baptist to the river reminds us to root ourselves in hope rather than pride, for when we repent, truth emerges and our self-deception is ended. Advent reminds us to stop deceiving ourselves and come down to the river to be washed so that we can start again. Advent calls us to repent our self-filled successes and empty ourselves until we see that it is not God who has failed us, but we who have failed God.
Hope lives when false pride and self-deception die.
That voice crying is the wilderness is the voice of hope. Hope for this world, not the next-hope for today. Hope that out of despair, new life will be born. Hope that even in captivity, Judah will be faithful to God. Hope that even though children are born into a world where nations are greedy and crazed with power, infinite possibilities still exist in each tiny life brought forth upon the earth.