Challenge to the present day. The phenomenon of confession of faith

Listen! Someone is calling: Prepare the way for the Lord in the desert. Even the blind man cries out: “Son of David” Make a path for our God in the desert! Prepare a way for the Lord in the desert, where nothing is yet to be seen, where there is not even a hint that anything could be there. The prophet is, above all,l an interpreter of God’s will of what God is doing or wants to do. It does not necessarily have to be about things in the future, although we see here that this is precisely what the prophet Isaiah is announcing. Moreover, the way he speaks is also characterized by the fact that he declares future things such as ady taking place: He says, now his slavery is ended, now his guilt is atoned for,… for in the mind of God these things are already taking place, although we do not yet see them. He goes on to describe how this preparation to appearappearsiliation and humility, to bow down before your God: Let every valley be lifted and every hill and hill made low; what is hilly, let it be plain, and what is bumpy, lowland. And the glory of the Lord will appear, and suddenly every creature will see it because the mouth of the Lord has spoken. The prophet calls: Go up to the high mountain, the good news of Zion, l up your voice might the ly, the excellent information of Jerusalem! Lift up, do not be afraid, say to the cities of Judah: “Behold your God!” How powerful this word must have been for those who listened to it then. To those immersed in hopelessness, despair, and disappointment, it sounds: “Behold your God!” As if the prophet wanted to say to them: “Lift your heads, for your redemption is drawing near!” lift your voice mightily, glad tidings of Jerusalem! Lift up, do not be afraid, say to the cities of Judah: “Behold your God!” How powerful this word must have been for those who listened to it then. To those immersed in hopelessness, despair and disappointment, it sounds: “Behold your God!” As if the prophet wanted to say to them: “Lift your heads, for your redemption is drawing near!” lift your voice mightily, glad tidings of Jerusalem! Lift up, do not be afraid, say to the cities of Judah: “Behold your God!” How powerful this word must have been for those who listened to it then. To those immersed in hopelessness, despair and disappointment, it sounds: “Behold your God!” As if the prophet wanted to say to them: “Lift your heads, for your redemption, is drawing near!”

But what does that have to do with us? Like the people of those times, we, too, are immersed in the captivity of various forms of slavery, whether they are external or internal slavery. I often meet people who are often beaten by life, overwhelmed by work and obligations, or disgusted by failure and disappointments. Not to mention the sins that deprive us of joy and friendship with God. All these things put us in the position of enslaved people to those in need of redemption. Even more surprising is that it does not have to be only adverse facts that need saving often; seemingly good things, pastoral activities, help, or service in the parish put us in the position of slaves. In the rush of work and under pressure to meet deadlines, we may push God aside and live in our worries, and the only thing that can help us is Isaiah’s exclamation: “Behold, your God!” The gospel of Advent, however, goes even further because while in the Old Testament, the prophets announced the intervention of God, it was often done through someone else – specifically today, King Cyrus. John the Baptist announces the coming of God himself in the gospel. And so it is no longer just about the announcer but about the one who has the power to make our liberation happen.

A close friend of mine was recently telling me about a former classmate of his. At the first meeting after finishing high school, the topic of faith and relationship with God came up. This young man began to seek God because he fell in love with a sincerely believing girl. He did not just respect her confession of faith but undertook to search for God in his life. He read books, talked to people, and asked about God. During their conversation together, he told his friend about all his efforts. But at the same time, he confided in him: “With everything I’ve read and heard about God, I still don’t know why I should need God. Everything I do works without him. Even charity and love of neighbor can work without him.” And indeed, as my friend told me, this man lives a decent life. But the problem with his search for God is what he said,

The Christian faith is not about whether we need God to be benevolent and kind or to know how to sacrifice. We need God for our salvation. Even the best person cannot achieve salvation without Jesus Christ, who brings it to us.

The subject of Mark’s Gospel is the person of Jesus Christ – Jesus Christ himself. Mark presents it to us as a new beginning of the history of the salvation of each of us. Our whole life and everything we do in it find meaning in it. However, to receive him, we must first know and expect him and prepare our hearts for his arrithroughl by sincere repentance. Let’s try to pick up Mark’s Gospel more often in the coming days and learn to recognize Jesus in it. Let’s do it very concretely: set a time, for example, ten minutes every day, during which we will read a short part of the Gospel and listen to what God wants to tell us through his Son, Jesus Christ.

Actively waiting for the birth of the Savior means preparing the way for him in your heart. To believe in him as the Son of God and start building a road in the desert, hoping that he will come… In the belief that he is already coming.