Prepare the way

From All Appearances…

At the beginning of the Gospel reading for the Second Sunday of Advent (Matthew 3:1-12) there is a description of the “voice crying out in the desert, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths” (verse 3). We read that John the Baptist is outfitted in camel hair clothing and has a “wild” diet of grasshoppers (a.k.a. locusts) and honey. Based solely on this physical description and his location in the desert, it’s easy to envision John as having a gruff or primitive appearance. Yet, there were many people who traveled to be baptized by him. So, what was it that drew them to him?

Imagine someone dressed in clothing made from material that was typically used for making cloaks, tents, and carpets and eating bugs and wild honey telling you to get ready… to straighten up and make a proper path for the Lord. What would you notice first? What would you think? How would you respond?

What obstacles are there to looking at the appearance of John the Baptist, and seeing the heart of a faithful servant of God, or a guardian angel pointing out the way?

Oftentimes, we can become conditioned by our surroundings, social circles, and society in general as to how people or things should look, act, or speak. However, these expectations not only make it easier to miss the spirit and the heart of those we encounter along the way, but also make it easier to be misled or go astray. When thinking about preparing, an ideal image or notion of what should be may come to mind, and although it may be helpful to have a sense or an idea about things, it’s important to always leave a little space to prayerfully ponder that which is different, unknown, or unfamiliar.

An Advent Prayer: Lord, in a world that seeks to glorify based on appearances and all that fades, help me to go with Your grain, instead of society’s. Help me to overcome any obstacles that may prevent me from seeing beyond appearances. Help me to look to You and grant me the grace to notice and appreciate the beauty and goodness of all creation, and the heart and soul of those I encounter each day.

John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea
and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said:
A voice of one crying out in the desert,
Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.
John wore clothing made of camel’s hair
and had a leather belt around his waist.
His food was locusts and wild honey.
At that time Jerusalem, all Judea,
and the whole region around the Jordan
were going out to him
and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River
as they acknowledged their sins.

When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees
coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers!
Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance.
And do not presume to say to yourselves,
‘We have Abraham as our father.’
For I tell you,
God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones.
Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees.
Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit
will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
I am baptizing you with water, for repentance,
but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I.
I am not worthy to carry his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
His winnowing fan is in his hand.
He will clear his threshing floor
and gather his wheat into his barn,
but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” – Matthew 3:1-12

All the Way…

The Prophet Isaiah foretold of John the Baptist, the voice crying out in the desert, urging people to make themselves ready to receive the Lord. And while it is true that earthly life can be viewed as a process of preparing for eternal life, it is so much more than a checklist based upon human understanding. So, while it may be tempting to repeat the sounding joy by clinging to what one knows during the season of Advent, no preparation would be complete without moving beyond our own ideas about it and allowing ourselves some time to steep in the love of God more deeply, and then to be led by it.

The way of the Lord has already been prepared. Not just for the Lord, but also for all those who wish to claim and proclaim their inheritance as God’s people. We must remember that we’re not called to be like John the Baptist. We’re called to be like Jesus. How does, and how can, God help our individual ways to greater reflect the beauty and goodness of the Way? And are we willing to go there?

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,
when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,
and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee,
and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region
of Ituraea and Trachonitis,
and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,
during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas,
the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert.
John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan,
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,
as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:
A voice of one crying out in the desert:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.
Every valley shall be filled
and every mountain and hill shall be made low.
The winding roads shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth,
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” – Luke 3:1-6

The Spirit of…

Throughout the year, all around the world, people of all backgrounds prepare for various holidays, Holy days, and the festivities associated with them. There are many cultural as well as familial traditions. Among the countless possibilities, the fact remains that most people have their own ideas and preferences for what a holiday “should” be. Whether inherited and passed along as they were from their beginnings—with no change, put into practice with some variation of what came before, or created in an entirely new and different way, oftentimes we establish routines and even deadlines for the tasks that have become part of our preparation for a special day.

Yet, plan as we may, preparing the way can end up looking very different from what one may have set out to do, may have pictured, or expected from the image of years passed. Frequently though the places where there seems to be missteps, no time, no room, or where we may least expect something good, are exactly the places where we are apt encounter the gift of God’s grace. That is often the beauty and the blessing of holidays, Holy days, and the events that surround them. In our attempts to make them special and meaningful in our own ways, we often look up and around a little more, changing our ordinary routines just enough that we also, perhaps unknowingly, open ourselves and our environment up to more of the Extraordinary—the Divine.

When it is all said and done, it is not so much what we do that makes these days special, but rather what is behind our words and actions and the ways in which we are inspired to say and do them. As the holidays, Holy days, and festivities continue to arrive, embrace the “the splendor of glory from God” (Baruch 5:1). Live from it, allowing it to flow through you into the moments of each and every day, spreading peace, love, and joy wherever you may go; providing comfort, strength, restoration and healing wherever it is needed; and building and bridging relationships all around. In this Spirit, may we receive whomever and whatever may come as we are, that is blessed with the splendor of God’s glory.

Dove