They took God away.
The empire marched into town and they turned us into slaves. We now belonged to Pharaoh. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was gone.
They took our pasture, they took our flocks, they took our freedom, they took everything except the Sky, they would have tried to own that too, but the sky was too big.
The generations passed, born, grown, died and born again over and over, and our cry went up and we were heard.
The empire claimed to own and control everything, but then God came to town, and Moses led us in the wilderness for forty years. God came to town and took us out of the house of bondage and set us on the road home, Pharaoh was left behind. The horse and rider were thrown into the sea. Sing to the Lord!
Prepare a way in the wilderness for God to walk through, for God’s own people who carry God’s presence, make the way straight, God is coming through, only God owns us now. God came to town.
They came and took God away again.
The soldiers of empire, they took Jerusalem and moved God’s people to Babylon. God went into Exile with his people. The generations passed.
God came back. The exile ended and God processed across the wilderness, make straight the road, fill in the ruff places, make straight the crooked ways, God is coming back to town back to Jerusalem and God’s own people will live free from the shackles of the evil one. We were in captivity, then God came to town.
That empire always keeps coming back, trying to own and control everything, driving people to despair with all their lies. This time the empire came from across the sea, from Greece and then Rome. For hundreds of years they owned us.
Then a wild man came up out of the wilderness, a prophet of God, John the Baptist. And he said it was time again, that God was coming to town, get ready, make the distance short, smooth out the road for God to come back and set God’s people free, to send old Pharaoh away.
All flesh shall see. God is coming to town and all those chains and shackles that pull us down are going to be busted loose!
That is Good News, the Gospel truth. It always happens like this, when God comes to town, we have to let go of our idols, let go of our chains, let go of killing, let go of power, let go of control and cross over to a new land, a land of life, milk, honey, promise, freedom, healing.
When God comes to town we can no longer walk in step under Pharaoh, the empire is exposed, we can no longer punch in and out as we are told; we become runaway slaves, deserters from empire. We can no longer be consumers of the status quo.
We now limp through the world like Jacob, carrying God’s presence, seduced by God’s love; we have become bringers of freedom and blessing.
Death once held us down.
But then God came to town.
But then Love came to town.
But then Jesus came to town.
Make the road straight, prepare the way, God is coming through!