Traveling the Advent Journey: Preparing the Way

​       Our Advent journey continues. And as we travel, we hear the words, “Prepare the way of the Lord.”
       But which of the many roads that lie in front of us is the “way of the Lord”? Which path are we to choose if we are to reach the coming Christ?
       The ministry of John the Baptist is a good reminder that God rarely calls us to follow the well-beaten paths of the world. John the Baptist offers no indication that the road we are to travel will be easy or predictable.
       John presented an appearance that was hard on the eyes and preached a message that was even harder on the ears. He was not exactly the ideal advance man for a coming king. And yet it fell to John to prepare the way of the Lord.
       A call to that same task beckons us as we travel our Advent journey.

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       It’s a call to prepare a way for the Christ to come into our lives.
       The danger, however, is that we will mistake our elaborate preparations for the holiday season for truly preparing the way for Christ’s coming.
       We are so busy giving our homes just the right holiday look that we fail to see Christ’s coming. We are so deafened by the din of December that we fail to hear Christ’s coming. We are go preoccupied with shopping for and opening our homes to others that we fail to welcome Christ’s coming.
       As we travel our unpredictable journey this Advent, may we find ways to slow our pace, quiet our hearts, and focus our thoughts in preparation for the Lord who is to come.
                                                         Matthew 3:1-4
O God, in the midst of our busyness, we come to you. Guide us as we select the path that will lead us to you. Forgive us when we spend more time preparing our homes than we do preparing our hearts. May we indeed be ready for the wonder that is to enter our world. We pray in the name of the Christ who is to come. Amen.
                                                                                                            KP