Have you ever felt stuck? Who hasn’t? It’s awful to feel like there’s no change in sight or you’ve reached a dead end. If perhaps you are feeling this way, let me introduce you to John the Baptist.
The New Testament reading from the Revised Common Lectionary for the Second Sunday of Advent, December 5th, Luke 3:1-6 says…
In the fifteenth year of the rule of the emperor Tiberius—when Pontius Pilate was governor over Judea and Herod was ruler over Galilee, his brother Philip was ruler over Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was ruler over Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas—God’s word came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. John went throughout the region of the Jordan River, calling for people to be baptized to show that they were changing their hearts and lives and wanted God to forgive their sins. This is just as it was written in the scroll of the words of Isaiah the prophet, A voice crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way for the Lord; make his paths straight. Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be leveled. The crooked will be made straight and the rough places made smooth. All humanity will see God’s salvation.”
John the Baptist is given the job of preparing the way for Jesus. Preparing is all about doing things to get ready, making space to welcome. We get things ready so that we are able to experience something new. The season of Advent is all about transformation, about preparing and anticipating a new thing. The world was kind of stuck where it was and God decided there needed to be some change. God decided to join us in the human experience. In this text, John the Baptist is in the wilderness, a place used in the Bible where many have felt “stuck” while dealing with adversity. Here John the Baptist welcomes God. He then receives his mission of going out and preparing the world to welcome Christ. John’s life is transformed and he knows the world is about to be turned upside down. There is something happening, somethings going to change! We are no longer stuck where we are!
This is as true for us today as it was for John the Baptist and the prophet Isaiah. “Prepare the way for the Lord; make his paths straight. Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be leveled. The crooked will be made straight and the rough places made smooth. All humanity will see God’s salvation.” Isaiah’s is a call to transformation and it’s for all humanity, it's for every single one of us. God is always present with us urging us to grow, but we often don’t welcome God in. When we prepare the way we allow transformation to happen in our lives. God never wants us to remain stagnant in who we are, but rather we are to mature into who God desires us to be. This process is always on going. This is why every year we can await the coming of Christ again at Christmas with expectation because God wants to continue to shape us. God’s desire is for all of us to experience wholeness and for the world to look like God’s kingdom.
So how do we do this? How do we prepare the way for God to enter our lives? It's amazing how small steps can lead to very new places. Here are some small steps that we could take to prepare the way of the Lord right now…
Turn off your phone for part of the day and slow down.
Love and value yourself. Remember you are precious to God.
Love and value everyone else. Remember they are precious to God.
Take your next step in helping the church. Give generously or volunteer.
Find a way to reach out to someone who needs some extra grace.
Pray.
Read one chapter of the New Testament every day.
Be kind.
If you're feeling stuck, I invite you to try and take some small steps. Perhaps you will find that the way has been prepared for you to transform.