It’s Advent: What kind of Messiah are you expecting? A harsh one? That’s the one it looks as if scripture was anticipating: A savior who slays the wicked and sweeps up the unrepentant like dust on the floor and burns them in the incinerator. Severe even in metaphorical terms. Or perhaps you think you know already—the same Jesus who’s been arriving every Christmas for centuries?

A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse. Justice will flourish. A time of hope and encouragement is blossoming in our world. Prepare the way of the Lord!

While Jesus was living in the Galilean hills, John, called “the Baptizer,” was preaching in the desert country of Judea. His message was simple and austere, like his desert surroundings: “Change your life. God’s kingdom is here.” John and his message were authorized by Isaiah’s prophecy: ‘Thunder in the desert! Prepare for God’s arrival! Make the road smooth and straight!’ ”

MARK DOTY’S poem “Messiah: Christmas Portion” begins with an ironic observation. As the speaker enters a church in a small New England coastal town to hear his fellow citizens attempt this masterwork by George Frederic Handel, his eye is caught by a glorious sunset and he can’t help wondering “how could they / compete with sunset’s burnished / oratorio?”

Brothers and sisters, let us acknowledge our sins, and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries.

Isaiah didn’t look into a crystal ball and see John the Baptist doing his thing on the shores of the Jordan River. He wasn’t predicting anything. He was making a promise, echoing God’s promise really, that the greatest and last prophet would come—greatest and last because he would prepare a straight path to the Messiah.

Advent can seem like a wintery Lent—purple decor, sober worship, scripture about the end times. While it is about focusing on our inner life, it’s not from the perspective of repentance but a passionate desire for God. Unfortunately, a quiet time like Advent is easily shouted down by the madness of a jump-started Christmas.

The God who creates justice for those who suffer violence . . . that is the God of hope for the new world of righteousness and justice and peace. —Jürgen Moltmann, Ethics of Hope