PREPARE THE WAY

(Preached on Sunday, December 7, 2003)

He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,...              -Luke 3:3

 

The phone rings.  It is a beloved relative, friend, in-law.

“We are going to be in your area next week.  Is it O.K. if we stop to say hi?”  “Wonderful.  I can’t wait.  You’ll have to spend the night.”  You are thrilled at the prospect of seeing your loved one, but inevitably, anxiety sets in about how to prepare for the visit.  A “to-do” list is created.

Housecleaning comes first.  Buying special foods next.

Maybe you decide to lose five pounds during the week.

Perhaps new drapes for the guest room are purchased.

You might even arrange to take time off from work.

 

Part of the anxiety for many of us is that no matter how much we try, no matter how much effort we expend, the fact of the matter is that we never feel completely prepared.

It may be that in expressing this sentiment I am only exposing my own perfectionist tendencies.

I never really feel fully prepared because there is always some other book I haven’t had time to read, some other possibility I haven’t fully considered, one more compulsive check of the details that could be made.

Those of you who are also perfectionist know exactly the feeling of this gnawing uncertainty to which I am referring.

But I suspect that even the most easygoing among us can relate to the feeling of being unprepared.

 

Part of the problem, of course, is that being prepared can mean so many different things.

As an Eagle Scout, I adopted the motto, “Be Prepared,” that is, be ready at a moment’s notice to handle any contingency no matter the skills or equipment required.

Not too difficult if the circumstances are well-known and predictable, such as on a camping trip.

But as applied to all of one’s life, preparedness can only be a goal and not an accomplished fact.

Indeed, we sometimes use the word “prepare” in precisely the sense of being ready to begin something else that is actually more important.  So we “prepare the turkey” to go into the oven as we “prepare the holiday feast” to be eaten.

Yes, each of us has our own set of preparations we consider important to receive guests, or to get ready for something special.  And yes, it would seem that whether we are perfectionists or not, the only way our preparations really come to a conclusion is if the thing for which we are preparing at last overtakes us in time.

 

So here we are, in the middle of a time of preparation.

Advent is a getting-ready time.  It is a time of preparation for Christmas, the celebration of the birth of the Christ child.

Into this season comes John, son of Zechariah, calling us to “Prepare the way of our God.  Make a level playing field.  Execute justice in the land.  Clean up your act.  For all things created will one day see the salvation of God.”

 

At least that is the way it sounds to us.

We are always so convinced that it all depends on us that we are prone to think that God will only come into our world once we have finished getting ready.

But look at what the quote from the prophet Isaiah is really saying: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” (A call to action on our part.)

“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;...”  (Those verbs are all passive tense, action that is being done by another.)

And what action is it?  Major geographic re-construction; major earth moving; major redesign of the topography.

Action way beyond most of us.

Action that can only be accomplished by a Creator.

Which is the very point.

“...and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”

This preparation is God’s work.

 

Whether you are talking about redesigning the landscape of the earth or the human heart it is work far too difficult for us, beyond the scope of our powers and capabilities.

It is work that only God can accomplish.

Only the God who carved the valleys and raised the mountains can fill the one and flatten the other.

We cannot prepare the way of God ourselves, but God will prepare the way for us.  We cannot transform our minds from conformity to the world’s standards that are at odds with God’s desires, but God will transform our minds for us.

We cannot “bear fruits worthy of repentance” all on our own, but God will produce the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.

 

When I was a child, growing up in the sixties, and I heard this passage read in church, I remember that the hit song by Diana Ross and the Supremes: “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” started running through my mind.  I’m sure it was just word association (“mountains,” “valleys”) and had nothing to do with the interest level of what was going on in the worship that morning.  But remembering that now, I realize the connection is not so bizarre.

In these verses from Isaiah, God’s voice comes to us as that of a desperate lover: “I will come to you,” God says. “Nothing will keep us apart.  If mountains stand in the way, I will lever them; if valleys stand between us, I will fill them up.  I’ll straighten all the crooked places and smooth off the rough areas.  I will do whatever must be done.”

This is pure gospel; a clear and absolute proclamation of God’s unfailing devotion and love for us.

 

Recognizing God’s never-ending love for us, though, and our ultimate reliance upon God does not relieve us of all responsibility.  Yes, while all heavy work is God’s, there is still work we can be doing, there is still preparation we can do.  What is that preparation?

First, John calls us, in the midst of the turmoil of our daily lives — war, fear of terror, uncertain economy, illness and death — to go to a place where we can hear God’s word and remember who God is and always has been.

That is the significance of John’s going into the wilderness to do his preaching.  He was calling people to come out of their daily routines, to a place that is wild, untamed, full of solitude and often, silence.

Our preparation for recognizing the presence of God in our lives has to begin in silence and thus, in prayer.

Prayer is not easy, especially when there are decorations to hang, presents to buy and wrap, food to plan and prepare, parties to attend, children and spouses and friends all clamoring for our attention.

Prayer is slow, painful, toiling work, rarely swift or easy.

It is all about becoming like the crucified and risen Christ; work that is like the wind carving stone.

There are no gimmicks that work for the long haul.  There is simply no substitute for becoming like Christ other than being with Christ.

Prayer is one primary way we can be with Christ.

 

The other way we can be with Christ is to practice living out in our own lives the love of Christ for the world.

This season reminds us that God chose to be present in our world in the flesh.