Prepare His Way

“Make straight His paths. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low.” (cf. Luke 3:5)

My Dearest Friends in Christ,

Peace be unto you, all who have gathered to prepare prayerfully for the coming of the Messiah. May our spiritual preparation dispose us to benefit from His Gifts when He comes. The readings of today challenge us to prepare spiritually for the coming of the Savior by returning to God and amending our sinful lives.

People and institutions spend a lot of time and resources in preparing for a special guest. These preparations are made to ensure that the guest receives the best hospitality and to project their sense of gratitude to the guest. If we prepare intensively for the reception of human persons, shouldn’t we prepare even more for the coming of the Savior of The World?

Christ isn’t interested in the lavishness of our decorations or the splendor of our jewels and clothing. What He wants is an honest interior preparation. Yes, our houses could be decorated but our heart is where He is coming to dwell. So, is your heart ready to welcome Him?

Turning to the readings of this Second Sunday of Advent, we find amazing instructions on how to prepare for this coming King.

In the first reading, the Prophet Baruch introduces Yahweh, the God of Israel, preparing the way for, and leading the Babylonian exiles to Jerusalem. Hence, the prophet invites the weeping Jerusalem to rejoice and go to high places to watch the return of the exiles. Baruch’s prophecy announces the return of the whole human race to God. During this Advent Season, we too, are asked to return to the Lord from to wherever we have been led by sin.

In the second reading, Paul advises the Philippian community members to prepare themselves for Christ’s Second Coming by practicing Christian love and by leading pure and blameless lives.

John the Baptist, in today’s Gospel, challenges the Jews to prepare their lives for receiving their long-awaited Messiah. They have to prepare a highway in their hearts for their Messiah by leveling the mountains of pride and filling the valleys of impurity and injustices and omissions through straightening their crooked ways. They are to get ready by repenting of their sins, renewing their lives and expressing their repentance by receiving the Baptism of Repentance in the River Jordan.

You heard it very clearly. The valleys shall be filled, the mountains and hills made low and His path made straight and smooth. This is all it takes for a true and honest preparation for Christmas. What are these valleys that need to be filled? They are the valleys created by our unforgiveness to all those who have hurt us. This unforgiving spirit has deepened the enmity and estranged us from our families and friends. They are the valleys created by our separation from God. Our separation from God through pride, injustice, intolerance, judgement and lack of forgiveness, to name but a few, have deepened the gap between us and God, even when God wants us near. They are the valleys of habitual self-indulgence that have deepened our emptiness before God and man. This is a time to return to God, as Prophet Baruch prophesied in the reading. Now is the time of Grace. All these valleys must be filled now to allow Christ easy entrance into our hearts and homes.

Now, what mountains need to be made low? A mountain could be an obstruction to one’s movement. No one finds it comfortable driving through a mountainous region. A mountain could also obstruct one’s view of seeing the other side of nature. The mountains in our lives are the sedimentation of evil and sinful habits that have piled up over the years. These sinful habits have metamorphosed into thoughts and actions that control our lives. These mountains of sins obstruct and hinder God’s Way into our lives. One good thing is that the Grace of God is greater than the mountains of sin in our lives. When we sort for the Grace of God through the sacrament of reconciliation, in works of charity and penance, these mountains are leveled as by a bulldozer. It does not take months and years to level these mountains just a single moment or day of sincere contrition, resolution, and reconciliation with God puts us on an entirely new pedestal of supernatural experience. Let the mountains in our lives be made low during this Advent. Do not procrastinate this may be your last opportunity.

When we put ourselves in the right relationship with God and neighbor we make His paths straight and He comes in and dwells in our heart. May we never lose sight of what true preparation for Christmas consists of and may we avoid over-emphasis on material or physical preparation. “Christmas has lost its meaning for us because we have lost the spirit of expectancy. We cannot prepare for an observance. We must prepare for an experience.” -Handel Brown.

Our houses may be adorned with the finest ornaments or the most expensive Christmas lights if our heart is dark and burdened  with sin we gain nothing from these external preparations Christ is coming to be born in our heart and not in our decorations.

May Christ find us worthy of His Dwelling in us as we prepare for His Coming. In this Mass and in this Season of Advent. We ask God to give us the Grace to remove every spiritual obstruction from His Way to being born into our lives.