By Rev. Joe McCloskey, SJ
A voice cries out: In the desert prepare the way of the
LORD! Make straight in the wasteland a
highway for our God! Isaiah 40:3
And this is what he proclaimed: “One mightier than I is coming
after me. I am not worthy to stoop and
loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have
baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” Mark 1:7-8
Piety
Our Piety of life is seen in
all the ways we have prepared for the coming of our Lord. ”Prepare the way of the Lord,“ is the cry of
our piety. Our piety levels the
mountains and the hills that make our journey difficult. It fills in the valleys with an easier road
to travel as our piety has worn a path that brings us to the wonder of the
birth of our Savior. Because we are
going toward the Lord, each day of our journey is worth a thousand years to
travel. The Lord feeds us even as we go
toward him as he gathers his flock. The
Lord will carry us to make our journey easier.
The glory of the Lord will be revealed as we draw closer to the Birth of
our Savior. John is the ascetic of the
desert that shows us the glory of the Lord.
John is the messenger that shows us how to prepare ourselves for the
coming of the Lord. John speaks of the
one mightier than himself whose sandals he is not worthy to loosen the
throngs. John will recognize his Lord as
the baby in the womb of Mary.
Study
The history of the Jewish
people is one of preparation for the Messiah.
Their expectations took many forms.
The suffering servant Messiah was the last one expected. They would gladly have run to a mighty
king. It would be the lowly shepherds
who would recognize him in the cave. But
it is Mary who would make his coming possible.
She was destined to be the handmaid of the Lord. Her “Yes” would bring fulfillment to all that
the prophets foretold. It is her “Yes”
that we are echoing in all we do to make ready the coming of the Lord.
Action
Action speaks louder than
words. What we do each day to prepare for
the birth of Christ requires prayer to uncover what the plan of God is for
us. Our prayer is an action as we recite
our agreement with the will of God for us.
Discernment is prayer where we put before God the words of the Baptist
and ask in prayer “What is the best we can do today?” Preparation is the watchword for these days
of Advent. Opening our hearts to the
value each moment and living each moment as the purpose of our lives bring into
play love which is the giving of our lives for another. How we offer ourselves takes us into the
surrender of more than what we need. How
we surrender some of the necessities of our lives for others makes a big
difference in sacrifice because we are giving of ourselves when it is not
merely extras that we offer. How we
reach out to those who will not know the source of their gift is what the
Christ friend is all about.
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