John 1:23: Slow Train Coming

I've spent a lot of this past week on trains, both in Taiwan (to Jiaoxi and Taichung) and between Sacramento and the San Francisco airport. So its not surprising that I was reminded of chapter 14 of Rick Mckinley's book This Beautiful Mess, which is entitled "Slow Train Coming" The chapter refers to the iconic Bob Dylan album of the same name which features a picture of a rail crew laying track before an on-coming train. In this section, Mckinley talks about the already-here but not yet aspects of the kingdom of God.

Cover Art for Slow Train Coming by Bob Dylan

But to me it also reflects the already-here but not yet aspects of my work within the kingdom of God. On one hand, Jesus has already gone before me. As it says in Hebrews: "...Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. (Heb. 12:2a) He blazed the trail that I am following and prepared the way for me. Paul says: "For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Eph. 2:10).

On the other hand, God has called me to break ground for those who would follow behind me in the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is coming up behind, the "slow train" and I'm laying track. Talking about calling! John the Baptist said this: "Finally they said, “Who are you?" ... John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” (John 1:22-23) This is interesting, because only in John's biography of Jesus does it mention this appropriation of the prophecy as his mission. The others merely mention he was fulfilling it (cf. Mark 1:3, Matthew 3:3, Luke 3:4).

I sense that John's mission is my own: the make straight the way for the Lord. The prophecy John cited continues in the original (Isaiah 40): 

Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. (Isa 40:4-5a)

There are many ways for this mission to take shape, but it the result is clear: the extension of the rule of God and the blessings of God where God has called me. Riding on the train, there are places where the track hugs the shoreline, and there are places where it strikes out easily across the plains. But the east side of Taiwan is rugged, mountainous country. Make the railway smooth enough for the train requires some major engineering and restructuring of the landscape. Look at Isaiah's language again: valleys raised up, mountains made low, rough become level, rugged becomes smooth.

So Jesus has blazed the trail, but now we lay the rail for the kingdom of God to come.

Amtrak Train Arriving At The Station