Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord!
Advent is nearly upon us; it is time to prepare the way of the Lord . . .
Notice the disciples completely stopping whatever tasks at hand – working in stores, patrolling traffic, selling items on the street, auditioning for an acting role, practicing ballet – dropping everything when they hear the voice of John the Baptist singing out, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord!” When they arrive at the fountain, there is so much joy! They are now prepared to receive Jesus and follow Him.
As we enter into Advent, we prepare again to receive Christ into our hearts, but the temptation is to be bored by this. As Christians, we’ve done this again and again – haven’t we done it enough by now? Don’t we already have Christ? Why do we have to “pretend” that we’re waiting for Him to be born when that’s already happened 2,000 years ago?
However, it’s important to remember Israel, who had a centuries-long Advent waiting for the Savior to come. Through persecutions, sins, exiles, battles, failures, and exhaustion, there always remained those who were faithful, passing on the Tradition of watchfulness until the day of the Nativity. Imagine Simeon’s joy at the Temple when he welcomes Christ into his arms, praising God for keeping His promise. Imagine the people’s joy when John the Baptist began proclaiming the coming of the Messiah. Imagine the apostles’ joy when Jesus chooses them to share in his ministry and learn from him, allowing them to know his true identity.
Look at our own lives; are there not places where we have recently been wounded, lied to, or let down? Are we not often sinful and exhausted? Do we not often forget about Jesus in our day-to-day life? Do we not desire this same Savior to come again?
Currently I am reading The Coming of God by Sister Maria Boulding, who brings up this very point: to prepare for our own coming of God, it is helpful to reflect on our own need for Christ and identify ourselves with this sorrowful and expectant Israel. If we listen to our desire for love instead of covering it up or settling for the present, then we can be prepared to receive Jesus anew with tremendous joy.
May we all pray, Lord, we need You.
Notice the disciples completely stopping whatever tasks at hand – working in stores, patrolling traffic, selling items on the street, auditioning for an acting role, practicing ballet – dropping everything when they hear the voice of John the Baptist singing out, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord!” When they arrive at the fountain, there is so much joy! They are now prepared to receive Jesus and follow Him.
As we enter into Advent, we prepare again to receive Christ into our hearts, but the temptation is to be bored by this. As Christians, we’ve done this again and again – haven’t we done it enough by now? Don’t we already have Christ? Why do we have to “pretend” that we’re waiting for Him to be born when that’s already happened 2,000 years ago?
However, it’s important to remember Israel, who had a centuries-long Advent waiting for the Savior to come. Through persecutions, sins, exiles, battles, failures, and exhaustion, there always remained those who were faithful, passing on the Tradition of watchfulness until the day of the Nativity. Imagine Simeon’s joy at the Temple when he welcomes Christ into his arms, praising God for keeping His promise. Imagine the people’s joy when John the Baptist began proclaiming the coming of the Messiah. Imagine the apostles’ joy when Jesus chooses them to share in his ministry and learn from him, allowing them to know his true identity.
Look at our own lives; are there not places where we have recently been wounded, lied to, or let down? Are we not often sinful and exhausted? Do we not often forget about Jesus in our day-to-day life? Do we not desire this same Savior to come again?
Currently I am reading The Coming of God by Sister Maria Boulding, who brings up this very point: to prepare for our own coming of God, it is helpful to reflect on our own need for Christ and identify ourselves with this sorrowful and expectant Israel. If we listen to our desire for love instead of covering it up or settling for the present, then we can be prepared to receive Jesus anew with tremendous joy.
May we all pray, Lord, we need You.
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