Discipleship Is a Highway

The Hebrew Bible lesson in the Revised Common Lectionary for this Second Sunday of Advent contains an interesting metaphor for discipleship from Isaiah--building a highway:

In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

This image also begins Mark's gospel.

I spent the week thinking about this image and about highways in general. Think about our interstate highway system. Begun during the Eisenhower administration in the 1950's, the interstate highway system here in the United States was, arguably, the most ambitious, expensive, and complicated public works project in human history. Construction began in the mid 50's, and the first phase of highway building was not completed until the mid 1970's.

Think for a moment about the enormous effort needed to construct a highway. The architectural and engineering feats, the legal issues concerning acquisition of land by eminent domain, hiring employees, manufacturing raw materials--the tasks just go on and on.

We typically think that the real work of discipleship--the highway building, is where we go into the world to transform the world and be ambassadors of Christ. But that is actually the easy part. The hard part--the part that requires the real work and effort, is building the highway. Our heart and mind is the highway, and we have to clear out all the nonsense and falsehood so that God can enter in. The interstates were constructed so that things could get from one place to another, so that our government and economy could work more effectively. The highways were a means to an end. Discipleship is about opening our hearts and minds to allow God to enter in and show us how to be Christ for others in our place and time.

The biggest mistake, in fact, made by disciples down through the ages is rushing out to do God's work without first building the highway--that is, to assume that our agenda is God's agenda without opening up our minds and hearts to the new plan and work that God has in mind for us.

The greatest news during Advent is that God wants to travel up our own highway to transform us, out of love for us and for the world. God has not given up on us, and God will never give up on us. In fact, God loves us so much that God was willing to be born among us as a child to show us the fullness of God's presence.