Advent
December 10, 2018
Scripture Reading: Luke 3:1-6
He went into all the region around 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,
‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth;
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”’ –Luke 3:3-6
Arriving home from some shopping several weeks ago, I was surprised to see a truck parked in front of my next-door neighbor’s house and workers installing a temporary wheelchair ramp. I learned later that one of her relatives had been injured in an accident and he was moving in with her while he rehabbed since at that point, he was wheelchair bound. They were preparing a way for him to access the house.
When we read the quote above from Isaiah, we recognize that John the Baptist was being the front man for Jesus before he started his ministry. As I read this scripture today, it struck me that we are all called to prepare the way for all flesh (to) see the salvation of God. Those of us who are just as at home in a church as we are in our own living space may be insensitive or even blind to the fears of others who were not raised following the path of Christ. A few years ago, my church dropped the use of Latin words to describe parts of the service and started printing the words that most of us knew by heart like the Lord’s Prayer because they might be unfamiliar to many guests.
Worship is not all there is to prepare the way. Living a life of service modeling the ways of Jesus is just as important in our daily lives. Some may feel more comfortable feeding the hungry or tutoring children in school as they discover the ways of the Lord and certainly heartfelt hospitality is always a way to welcome the stranger.
Prayer: Lord, show us how to prepare the way. Amen.