“Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” –Mark 1:3
Like many people on the weekend after Thanksgiving, I started to get ready for Christmas. My husband and I picked out a Christmas tree, hauled Christmas decorations out of the attic, and adorned our house with fresh greenery and a nativity set. This was just the beginning of the preparations we Americans make to get ready for Christmas. Throughout the season, we’ll hang ornaments on Christmas trees and stockings on the mantle. We’ll bake an enormous amount of cookies and deliver them to our friends and neighbors. We’ll put up Christmas lights and sing carols. We’ll do all these things to prepare for Christmas, the day we celebrate the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who saves God’s people from death and frees them for life eternal.
In the beginning of Mark’s gospel we watch as John makes preparations for the coming of the Messiah. John’s mission is to prepare the way of the Lord, to make people ready for the coming of the Messiah. Yet, John’s preparations for Christ’s coming are different than some of our preparations for Christmas. John prepares the world for the coming of Christ by proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. John prepared people for Christ’s coming by calling for repentance.
Repentance is a two-part process. When we repent, we confess the ways we have failed to follow God with our whole lives, not properly loving God and loving our neighbors, and we change our lives so that we can be more faithful disciples. John called people to repent because repentance makes our hearts and minds ready to receive the love and grace of God. When we repent, we get rid of all those things that crowd our hearts and distract our minds – it is like we sweep out cobwebs, take out the trash, and make room for God to be present in our lives.
As we wait for Christ’s coming in the season of Advent, let us prepare for Christmas by preparing our hearts and minds to receive our Lord. In Advent we remember that Christ came as a baby long ago and we proclaim that Christ will come again in the future, but we also celebrate that Christ comes into our lives here and now. And so, let us be intentional about repentance. As we hang the decorations and bake the cookies, let’s also spend time getting rid of the thoughts, and actions, and habits that keep us from receiving the love of God. Let’s prepare for Christ coming into our lives by choosing to give all that we are and all that we have to God and God’s purposes.
Advent Blessings,
Laura
No comments:
Post a Comment