“Prepare the way of the Lord” is something we hear twice today, the first time as prophecy from Isaiah, and the second in Mark’s gospel as he quotes Isaiah. This is the reference to the one who will herald the arrival of God as man – Jesus. That arrival is what we are preparing for in this season of Advent. We are in a time of preparation, much like the time that John spent in awaiting Jesus’ manifestation as the Messiah. It is a time when we too must make straight His paths and level the ground of our existence in welcome for the Son of God’s birth here among us as man. The question we need to be asking ourselves is, how exactly do we do that?
The first thing that comes to mind is the preparation of our souls and bodies to make them a place of welcome residence prepared as a dwelling place for God’s spirit to reside within us. To do this means to clean house a bit, to create a place acceptable and pleasing to God. To start, we must find the spiritual “dirt” that sometimes must be swept clean. To acknowledge the areas where we have fallen short of God’s teachings, and to make resolution to address that so as not to continue with what has taken us away from those teachings. To obtain the absolution needed to truly clear away the detritus of these sins. This is our starting point, but there is still much preparation we must do.
Our Lord has always said that His house is a house of prayer and he includes us as part of that structure. We must be a house participating in prayer to truly show welcome to Him and to prepare His way for entry into each of our hearts. We cannot claim to be children of God without prayer; it would be like claiming to have a relationship with someone we never even communicated with, because like any good relationship, communication is key. Our Lord wants to hear from us and to be part of our lives. He longs for our inclusion of Him in everything we do – all of it, not just the stuff that we see as “meaningful” or “spiritual”. Our life should ideally be one that makes all we do a form of prayer. Our work, both at home and in our professional capacities, should reflect our reliance on God to get through each day and the gratitude for the gifts that he has given us to accomplish that work. Our times of solitude should always be ones where He is with us and in that sense we are never truly alone. Our time with our earthly loved ones should always include a place prepared for His inclusion. He is our God, we are all part of His family, and we should always have a place prepared for Him within our interaction with our earthly families. How would we feel if we were excluded from family time? It is no different for God, He would like to be welcomed into all of our time spent together. To feel loved and included. That is the nature of family.
We also need to consider our interactions with others, those who are part of our extended family in Christ. How have we been doing in terms of showing them the love and compassion that all are entitled to as children of God? Have we taken the time to care for them, or are we simply paying lip service to what we know to be Jesus’ teachings? There are many in need this time of year, and in our current situation especially, there are many who need our help. They need to know they have not been forgotten, they need to know that someone cares enough to reach out and just spend a bit of time with them. It can be as simple as a phone call, but it can have a huge impact on someone else’s day. To know they are not alone. This is what Jesus meant when He said that what we do for the least of our brothers, we do for Him. This is how we embrace our Lord here on earth. He is there in everyone we know, and in those we don’t know yet. How better to welcome the season when we celebrate His arrival as man than to show love and care for all those within whom He dwells.
Podcast Link
The Deacons Bench 