“Prepare the Way of the Lord” Luke 3:1-6; The Second Sunday in Advent, Year C

This year the call is more timely than ever. For many, this year the season of expectation is also a time of dread. As stunned spectators to the wave of terror sweeping the world, we have seen the price of being unprepared. We know from long experience that life is full of surprises. But somehow events keep shocking us. We become disoriented, frightened and angry. We cast about for guidance… for security… for leadership. As struggling believers, we turn to God and ask: How can you permit this to happen?

This year the call of The Baptist comes to us while an ominous threat of terror incongruously overlays the annual orgy of shop til you drop. Yet John is up to the challenge. With the single exception of Jesus, he is arguably the most outspoken figure we meet in the gospels. He may have lived on honey, but he doesn’t sugar-coat his words. And those words apply equally in times of terror as in times of peace and prosperity. The problem is that too often we don’t take them seriously under any conditions.

Make this Advent different. Every day, let’s turn our vague intentions into a single, deliberate act of love. God knows and loves us in our fears and foolishness as well as in our courage and goodness. Give it all to him. For every inch we move towards him, he will come a mile. Let’s sweep aside the junk that litters the way of the Lord. One act of kindness, one act of forgiveness, one moment of devotion at a time…prepare for a Christmas of living and sharing the love of Christ. That is the way of the Lord. Prepare ye!