In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert. John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:
"A voice of one crying out in the desert:
'Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.
Every valley shall be filled
and every mountain and hill shall be made low.
The winding roads shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth,
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.' "
"A voice of one crying out in the desert:
'Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.
Every valley shall be filled
and every mountain and hill shall be made low.
The winding roads shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth,
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.' "
We prepare a lot of things for Christmas. We prepare food, gifts, parties and many other things that we usually associate with joy. We know Christmas is the birth of Jesus so we do all the things we do when we celebrate birthdays. But today, it seems that Christ is disregarded in His own birthday celebration. Christ, the true light has been replaced by thousands of Christmas lights that give us a sense of joy but does not really remind us of Christ.
Last Sunday, the Gospel warned us to be ready for the coming of the Lord. Jesus told us that we should not be busy with the pleasures of the world, so as not to be caught by surprise when the world ends. Today, the Gospel gives us an example of how to prepare for Christ's coming. John the Baptist tells us to prepare the way of the Lord, to fill every valley and to make low every mountain and hill. This means that we should do away with what is not pleasing to God and instead, have the values that He wants us to learn. To prepare for Christ's coming, what we need to do is prepare our hearts. Like the candles of our Advent Wreath, the light in our hearts must shine brighter and the sin must melt away.
Preparing the way of the Lord means preparing ourselves. Jesus will be born in our hearts. Are our hearts free from sin and worthy for our Savior to dwell in? The best preparation for Christmas is spending Advent as a season of repentance, of doing away with sin, like John the Baptist who prepared the way of the Lord with a baptism of repentance. If we prepare so many things for friends and family this Christmas, if we clean our houses for our visitors, all the more should we prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus. After all, it is His birthday.
Like the John the Baptist, we must also be heralds of the Lord. As faithful Christians, we ought to remind our neighbors of how to truly prepare for the joy of Christmas. We can party and give gifts. But we must not forget, and must not let others forget, that the celebrant in the party is Christ, and that gift-giving means radiating the love God expressed by giving us His Son. The joy of Christmas is folly if Christ is removed from it. Therefore, we can best prepare for Christmas by focusing on Jesus and preparing the most comfortable place for Him, in the humble yet worthy little manger of our hearts.
Last Sunday, the Gospel warned us to be ready for the coming of the Lord. Jesus told us that we should not be busy with the pleasures of the world, so as not to be caught by surprise when the world ends. Today, the Gospel gives us an example of how to prepare for Christ's coming. John the Baptist tells us to prepare the way of the Lord, to fill every valley and to make low every mountain and hill. This means that we should do away with what is not pleasing to God and instead, have the values that He wants us to learn. To prepare for Christ's coming, what we need to do is prepare our hearts. Like the candles of our Advent Wreath, the light in our hearts must shine brighter and the sin must melt away.
Preparing the way of the Lord means preparing ourselves. Jesus will be born in our hearts. Are our hearts free from sin and worthy for our Savior to dwell in? The best preparation for Christmas is spending Advent as a season of repentance, of doing away with sin, like John the Baptist who prepared the way of the Lord with a baptism of repentance. If we prepare so many things for friends and family this Christmas, if we clean our houses for our visitors, all the more should we prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus. After all, it is His birthday.
Like the John the Baptist, we must also be heralds of the Lord. As faithful Christians, we ought to remind our neighbors of how to truly prepare for the joy of Christmas. We can party and give gifts. But we must not forget, and must not let others forget, that the celebrant in the party is Christ, and that gift-giving means radiating the love God expressed by giving us His Son. The joy of Christmas is folly if Christ is removed from it. Therefore, we can best prepare for Christmas by focusing on Jesus and preparing the most comfortable place for Him, in the humble yet worthy little manger of our hearts.
No comments:
Post a Comment