“Prepare the Way of the Lord” by Brian Flanagan, Fiat Ventures
Second Sunday of Advent
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas out there. The streets are decorated, you might even have your family’s Christmas tree up now, and everyone knows CVS and Walgreen’s have been decked out for Christmas practically since the 4th of July and have their Valentine’s Day decorations ready to go in the back room.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas everywhere you go. Everywhere except inside the Church. I heard a priest point this out in a homily last weekend, and I looked around and saw purple vestments, purple candles, and not much in the way of extra lights or garland anywhere. He was right – inside the Church, it didn’t look very much like Christmas at all.
But didn’t we learn in 2nd grade religious education that Advent is a season of preparing for Christmas? Well it is, but that’s only part of it. Advent is all about the Coming of Christ, or rather about three ways that he comes to us; as a baby at Christmas, at the end of time as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and the ways that he comes to us throughout each day.
So the coming as a baby at Christmas thing we all have down, right? We sinned and needed a savior, and God not only sent us a savior, he sent us himself. Mic drop. He didn’t come as a great King born in a palace, but he came humbly, born to poor parents and laid in a feeding trough for animals. God became man, that man might become Divine (St. Ambrose). We celebrate this every year at Christmas, and just like Lent prepares us for Easter, we take Advent to prepare for Christmas – not by running around and shopping, but by doing what John the Baptist says in this week’s Gospel – preparing the way of the Lord.
But before we get to that phase of Advent, first we focus on Christ coming again in glory at the end of time, and how we won’t know the day or the hour that this will happen. We’re reminded to be always ready to meet Christ, whether at the moment of our own death, or when he comes again in glory, whichever comes first. The liturgical color of Advent is purple, which reminds us of repentance, but purple is also the color of royalty, so in it we recognize Christ as the King who will come again. And how to we get ready for this coming of Christ? Prepare the way of the Lord.
We also know that God comes to us and speaks to us all throughout the day but we don’t often see it or hear it. We have too much noise and too many distractions. Advent is a great time to limit those as well, so we can hear God more clearly. Once for Advent I gave up listening to music in the car, and I really did feel like I heard God more often throughout the day.
The best way to prepare for all three of those Comings of Christ is the same – to prepare the way of the Lord …to turn away from our sins and our distractions …and to make room in our hearts to welcome Jesus. I once heard the story of a saint who was playing pool with some priest friends, and someone asked the question, “What would you do right now if you knew Jesus were coming back tomorrow?” One priest answered that he’d go pray in the chapel. Another said that he would go to Confession. But the saint answered, “I’d keep playing pool.”
That saint really understood what John was preaching about in the desert – we should be living our lives so that whenever and however Christ comes to us, we’ll be ready to meet him. So this Advent while you’re decorating and shopping, keep that in mind. We never know when Christ is about to come to us. And at Christmas Mass even if you’re singing the same old Christmas songs you always have, don’t be surprised if Jesus comes to you in a new way. Prepare the way of the Lord!
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