A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 40:3-5)
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The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send My messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’” John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. (Mark 1:1-4)
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Congregation & Choir Sing: “Prepare The Way” (10, Voices United)
Prepare the way of the Lord! Prepare the way of the Lord!
Make a straight path for him,make a straight path;
Prepare the way of the Lord!
Prepare the way of the Lord! Prepare the way of the Lord!
Make a straight path for him,make a straight path;
Prepare the way of the Lord!
So, as with the children, so also with the adults - are you prepared? Are you ready? We know (and we’ve heard some of this from the children already) what the question “are you ready?” means at this time of year. Do you have your tree up? Do you have your lights up? Do you have your shopping done? Do you have your travel plans made? Do you have your parties planned? Do you have your list of people getting a Christmas card written out? We often miss the power of Advent because these December weeks are full of all these secular preparations for Christmas. I have no objection to the secular version of Christmas. In fact, I love it. And I really couldn’t care less if the greeter at Wal-Mart or the cashier at Dollarama says “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas!” I mean, who really cares? All of these desperate preparations are a part of this blessed time of year - and yet, for the most part (and peace on earth notwithstanding) people often find themselves getting pretty stressed out about some of them, because if everything isn’t ready - and ready pretty early - then you start to feel just a little bit left out of all the seasonal festivities don’t you? And then you start to think frantically about having to play catch-up, and that takes a lot of the festiveness out of the seasonal festivities. December can, in some ways, be the toughest month of the year, just because of all the expectations that go along with it. And from our perspective as a church the problem is that, each year, the busyness of this secular Christmas season serves to distract us from having a meaningful Advent season that truly prepares us for what we’re supposed to be celebrating.
Expectations have always been tough - and expectations are always tough to live up to. The expectations for this time of year are especially hard to live up to. And I’m not even talking about Christmas in the way the secular world thinks about Christmas. I’m talking about here in the church. As people who follow Jesus, we are called to live in a state that could be best described as “expectant anticipation.” But anticipation of what? I think we’ve so allowed the secular Christmas to take over that we’ve forgotten as Christians what it is that we’re anticipating! Advent is not about the birth of Jesus. Oh, we’ll talk about the birth of Jesus, and we’ll sing about it - but Advent isn’t about Jesus’ birth. If you notice none of our three hymns today even mention the birth of Jesus - including “Joy To The World” which - although it’s classed as a Christmas carol in the hymn book, was actually written by Isaac Watts as an Advent song - which is why it doesn’t mention Jesus’ birth. So, what are we anticipating, and why is this season that isn’t about the birth of Jesus tied so closely to the birth of Jesus?
Essentially, the birth of Jesus is a sign; it’s a harbinger of things to come. The coming of God in flesh to dwell among us for a short period of time is a reminder to us that God promises to dwell with us forever in eternity. The life of Jesus is a testimony to the goodness of God, and Advent reminds us that the goodness of God - which is present but not always obvious around us - will one day be our one and only reality. In other words, the season of Advent doesn’t point us backward to the birth of a baby a couple of thousand years ago. The season of Advent points us ahead to the time when God’s Kingdom will be established in all its fullness and all evil will be destroyed. The season of Advent reminds us that when we pray “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” our prayer isn’t an empty plea; it’s an expression of a certain hope. I believe the world is filled with far more goodness than anything else, but so often we can become consumed by the bad things we see. The season of Advent reminds us that all the bad things we see happening around us and sometimes all the bad things that happen to us don’t have a victory; that one day the goodness of God will simply overcome everything and the only reality left will be the love of God that holds us close for all eternity. The birth of Jesus - and the life he led - is a sign of that goodness, but it’s only a sign. The best is yet to come!
The preparations for Christmas are ongoing. They’re fun and they’re stressful. But as Christians, we can celebrate our need to prepare - because we’re preparing the way of the Lord, and seeking to prepare others by showing them in our own lives the goodness and love of God as best we can; the goodness and love of God outpoured for the world in Jesus!
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