Isaiah 40:1-11 - by Don Neuendorf
"In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God."
Nice words. It's always nice to come to church and hear familiar words. It's even nicer when we don't have to actually DO what they say, isn't it?
Let's leave it to Isaiah, or to John, to prepare a way and make straight highways. After all, if WE are responsible, what might we have to do?...
Here's an example. Most people decry the commercialism of Christmas. We mock people who stand outside the mall at 3a.m. on Black Friday. We even talk about how it would really be much better if we all gave to the needy instead of just buying more unneeded stuff for one another.
But... do we change that? Are YOU going to be the one to tell the rest of the family that instead of gifts for them you gave a donation to charity?
Not likely.
The same goes for all the other things - the parties - the foods - the music - the things that we sometimes worry will obscure the real meaning of our celebration of Jesus' birth. Are we ready to sweep them all away in order to clear our way for a deeper celebration?
Not really.
So how about this... what if, even though you retain all those things that sometimes prove distracting, what if you make an over-and-above effort to NOT be distracted? What would that look like?
It might mean more time and effort invested in Advent worship - perhaps really thinking about the meaning of the theme the church is focusing on this year. It might mean making a greater than usual effort to spend time in devotion - in prayer - and to involve your family or guests in Advent preparation as well. It might mean adding prayer to those other seasonal activities - prayer before decorating that God would use your decorations to point to Christ - prayer before baking that you would have the chance to share more goodness than just food - etc.
"Prepare the way for the Lord..."
Is it just Isaiah or just John that was to do this? Or is it you too?
John risked, and lost, his head because he prepared his world for Jesus. He confronted evil with the truth. You are not likely to risk anything nearly so precious. On the contrary, you may gain much more than you expect.