The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’”
Mark 1:1-3, NRSV
Are you ready for Christmas? This early in December, most people would say, “No!” Have you spent some time getting ready for Christmas? Well now, that’s a different story. We have decorated our church at Main Street UMC and have already had our Holiday Market on Main. After December 3, we will have decorated our sanctuary with our beautiful and moving Hanging of the Greens service. Many of us have decorated our homes (or at least begun the process) with Christmas trees, stockings, and lights galore. Maybe we have started to turn on Christmas music in our cars and homes or purchased Christmas presents in anticipation of the numerous gatherings. And yet, if we have done all of these things, it is possible that we have still not done anything to get ready for Christmas.
Fortunately, the church year offers us an opportunity to get ready – a season called Advent. The church calendar begins with a four week time of preparation as we get ready to celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas. Advent derives from the Latin “ad-venire" which means "to come to." This season gives us opportunity to hear the voice of John the Baptist as he cries to “prepare the way of the Lord.”
John does not ask for people to begin baking fruit cake or to make a wish list for Santa. He “[proclaims] a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” (Mark 1:4, NRSV) In order to prepare the way for Jesus, we do not need to focus on anything that has to do with decorations or appearances. Instead, we are reminded that to get ready for the coming of our Savior is to turn away from those parts of our lives that are not Christ-centered and to receive the forgiveness that only the grace of God in Jesus Christ provides.
During this Advent season, may we not only prepare our homes, but may we also prepare our hearts for the coming of our Prince of Peace. Only then will we be truly ready for Christmas.
Grace and Peace,
