Read: Isaiah 40:1-5 (NIV)
1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins.
3 A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.
5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
A Reading: Matthew 3:1-3 (NIV)
1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea
2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."
3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'"
A Meditation on Preparing:
Preparing comes in many different forms. Everyday we prepare to go to work. We prepare a meal, or a talk, a bath, or even a blog! A lot of Advent involves preparing in one way or another. But preparing for what? Let me suggest two forms of preparing – one spiritually inward, the other spiritually outward. Today, I’ll write on the first preparing – the one that is spiritually inward.
First I think we can prepare our hearts for Christ. The prophets spoke of God preparing a people for his coming. How do we do that? The metaphors of desert, wilderness evokes stark areas of beauty and danger. Yet, here, the prophet places God’s way. A leveling off of stark up’s and down’s to make a way that is not filled with obstacles is more than ancient engineering. In Isaiah’s time it was not unusual that in advance of a King’s coming, people “prepared” the highway for his arrival. “Get rid of the obstacles that will impede the King’s arrival” might be the decree ahead of the King’s coming.”
John took the theme of that prophecy and made the announcement that the King is coming, “prepare yourself”. We don’t speak much of repentance during Advent; but repentance is simply a desire to “turn” my heart back to God.
Henri Nouwen wrote of this:
“We must continually remind ourselves that the first commandment requiring us to love God with all of our heart, all our soul, and all our mind is indeed the first. I wonder if we really believe this. It seems that in fact we live as if we must should give as much of our heart, soul, and mind as possible to our fellow human beings, while trying hard not to forget God… But Jesus’ claim is much more radical. He asks for a single-minded commitment to God and God alone. God wants all of our hearts, all of our mind, and all of our soul.” Henri Nouwen, “The Living Reminder”
This Advent calls me back to that commitment to the living God. He is not a God of “old rules” and “religious duty”; but instead He is the God who truly “knows the way of love and truth”.
I want my heart, my soul, my mind to be captured by a love that transform the ordinariness of living into “a highway” of beauty and joy.
An action step:
To prepare in Advent, we might simply take a few minutes every day to ask God to make the rough ground of my heart, my thoughts, my desires, motives and attitudes level with the truth of His word. Wherever we find that we did not stay committed to him – in any of these things – let’s simply acknowledge those things as sins (confession) and ask forgiveness.
1 John 1:9 (NIV)
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
A Prayer:
Father, I bow my knees before you in humble adoration. The shepherds, the wise men, the prophets of old, the ordinary “sinners” – tax collector, prostitute, adulteress, swindler and liar – all of these understood what I often ignore, or pretend is no big deal. They understood that once they were in your presence you called them out of their duplicity and conflicted loyalty of heart, mind, and soul to something that could only be described as “life that is full”. Father, I want that fullness of life that comes from whole-heartedness before you. Holy Spirit, I ask you to open my mind, my heart, my will, my desires, my motives and attitudes to the light of your truth. Jesus I ask you to cleanse me with your love, your mercy and your grace poured out for me on the cross. Father, I bow before you in humble adoration.
1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins.
3 A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.
5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
A Reading: Matthew 3:1-3 (NIV)
1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea
2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."
3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'"
A Meditation on Preparing:
Preparing comes in many different forms. Everyday we prepare to go to work. We prepare a meal, or a talk, a bath, or even a blog! A lot of Advent involves preparing in one way or another. But preparing for what? Let me suggest two forms of preparing – one spiritually inward, the other spiritually outward. Today, I’ll write on the first preparing – the one that is spiritually inward.
First I think we can prepare our hearts for Christ. The prophets spoke of God preparing a people for his coming. How do we do that? The metaphors of desert, wilderness evokes stark areas of beauty and danger. Yet, here, the prophet places God’s way. A leveling off of stark up’s and down’s to make a way that is not filled with obstacles is more than ancient engineering. In Isaiah’s time it was not unusual that in advance of a King’s coming, people “prepared” the highway for his arrival. “Get rid of the obstacles that will impede the King’s arrival” might be the decree ahead of the King’s coming.”
John took the theme of that prophecy and made the announcement that the King is coming, “prepare yourself”. We don’t speak much of repentance during Advent; but repentance is simply a desire to “turn” my heart back to God.
Henri Nouwen wrote of this:
“We must continually remind ourselves that the first commandment requiring us to love God with all of our heart, all our soul, and all our mind is indeed the first. I wonder if we really believe this. It seems that in fact we live as if we must should give as much of our heart, soul, and mind as possible to our fellow human beings, while trying hard not to forget God… But Jesus’ claim is much more radical. He asks for a single-minded commitment to God and God alone. God wants all of our hearts, all of our mind, and all of our soul.” Henri Nouwen, “The Living Reminder”
This Advent calls me back to that commitment to the living God. He is not a God of “old rules” and “religious duty”; but instead He is the God who truly “knows the way of love and truth”.
I want my heart, my soul, my mind to be captured by a love that transform the ordinariness of living into “a highway” of beauty and joy.
An action step:
To prepare in Advent, we might simply take a few minutes every day to ask God to make the rough ground of my heart, my thoughts, my desires, motives and attitudes level with the truth of His word. Wherever we find that we did not stay committed to him – in any of these things – let’s simply acknowledge those things as sins (confession) and ask forgiveness.
1 John 1:9 (NIV)
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
A Prayer:
Father, I bow my knees before you in humble adoration. The shepherds, the wise men, the prophets of old, the ordinary “sinners” – tax collector, prostitute, adulteress, swindler and liar – all of these understood what I often ignore, or pretend is no big deal. They understood that once they were in your presence you called them out of their duplicity and conflicted loyalty of heart, mind, and soul to something that could only be described as “life that is full”. Father, I want that fullness of life that comes from whole-heartedness before you. Holy Spirit, I ask you to open my mind, my heart, my will, my desires, my motives and attitudes to the light of your truth. Jesus I ask you to cleanse me with your love, your mercy and your grace poured out for me on the cross. Father, I bow before you in humble adoration.
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