[ Today's Readings ]
Lo, I am sending my messenger
to prepare the way before me;
Jesus is coming soon. The LORD wants to help us to get ready. He wants us to prepare a way for the LORD in our hearts. We are used to hearing this and so we take it for granted. But he is calling us to prepare because we need preparation. He wants to bless us at Christmas but he can only bless us to the degree that our hearts our open. If we don't prepare we don't benefit. Just as only the pure of heart will see God (cf. Matthew 5:8, Hebrews 12:14) hearts which do not prepare will be blinded by God's overwhelming purity. The glory is so overwhelming that people who are too lost in selfishness miss it. Even Herod finds out about the star and claims to what to find the child "so that I too may go and worship him" (ct. Matthew 2:8). But in reality Herod perceives the child as a threat to his power and to business as usual. He perceives the child as a threat. If only he had responded to the LORD's invitation to us all. We are called to prepare our hearts.
Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.
But who will endure the day of his coming?
And who can stand when he appears?
For he is like the refiner’s fire,
or like the fuller’s lye.
In fact, none of us will endure the day of his coming on our own. Our own spiritual strength is not enough. Our purity is not enough. That is why we must hear the call to prepare as at the same time an offering to equip us with all we need, "so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (cf. 2 Timothy 3:17). He himself leads us up the mountain. He brings us to the place where he can reveal himself if we just respond to his invitation and follow him.
After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them (cf. Mark 9:2-3).
The purity of the LORD is more than any fuller could bleach any garment. But the LORD is more than capable of revealing this to us if we let him lead and prepare us. He is a consuming fire. But he only tests and purifies us with this fire because to him our faith is more precious than fire-tried gold (cf. 1 Peter 1:7).
We hear 'Prepare the way' and we either ignore it or freak out and make long lists of all the work we ought to do, all the events we ought to attend, and all the prayers we ought to pray. Neither is the response to which we are called. Instead we hear 'prepare' and turn to the LORD be prepared.
Perhaps like Zechariah we just need to give the LORD some quiet in our souls. Even if we can't be still in our daily grind perhaps we can still give him some space inside ourselves where he can speak. We know we are on the right track when he inspires us to experience wonder.
All who heard these things took them to heart, saying,
“What, then, will this child be?
For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.”
To prepare requires little more of us than what the psalmist commends. "Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand." We need our minds to move just a little bit more to the things above (cf. Colossians 3:2) in expectant hope. It is more a matter of perspective than action. And the perspective is something to which the LORD is constantly inviting us with messengers large and small. He himself makes possible the advent perspective we need.
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
he teaches the humble his way.
Watch for his messengers today!
O Emmanuel, our King and Giver of Law:
come to save us, Lord our God!
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