"Prepare the way of the Lord"
Luke 3:1-6
Advent 2, Year B
Prayer: Come Holy Spirit, come. Take my lips and speak with them. Take our minds and think with them. Take our hearts and set them on fire with love for you. In Christ’s name, we ask it. Amen.
“Always be prepared” is, of course, the motto of the Boy Scouts…and I will add a worthy one as well. The captain of industry and inventor, Alexander Graham Bell, said similarly, “Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.” And one of my own children’s favorites, Taylor Swift, muses about her own astronomical success as a pop and country western star, she says, “I try to prepare for everything…beyond the extent of preparation.” Now that’s intense…a preparation that is even beyond preparation…though to be fair, of course, what she likely means and what does make sense is that preparation matters…and thus taking it seriously matters. Though opportunity and sometimes blind luck are surely mixed in, you will find preparation at the top of the list in regard to what successful people, in any and all careers, say lies behind their success.
And preparation is of course intentional planning, research, and study…giving foresight to determine best practices and well thought out and constructed plans…to meet countless potential variables…in order to find success in some endeavor in an unforeseeable future. Preparation also includes practice…for as the old adage goes…practice makes perfect. Practice forms habits…habits that inform how we behave and make decisions in some future moment…whether on the field or classroom or board room or family gathering or crises or relationship or transition…or whatever…life might throw at us. And again I think taking seriously preparation can all be to the good…indeed lead to experiences of triumph and success…or at the very least mitigating loss in the midst of life’s changes and chances. My brother in law who lives in England can be at times a bit compulsive about things that are beyond his control. I remember one of his first visits to our home in Austin…when just after setting his bags down, before hugs, handshakes and the routine catch up, he asked what our emergency plans were in case of a fire or storm…what was our meeting place…what was the emergency exit…how do you operate the windows…and where did we gather outside to count off and be sure all were present and accounted for…not how all family gatherings typically begin. And I admit I was a bit unprepared for his questions…I just sort of stood there and stared at him…and then muttered something like I don’t know what do you suggest.
Now preparation is not just a common theme among the words of wisdom that flow from successful leaders and educators and entrepreneurs. It is also a theme we find in scripture…particularly in readings from the bible assigned in this season of Advent. As you know the word Advent literally means come…a reference to Jesus coming to be among us first as the babe of Bethlehem, even today through the loving presence of his Holy Spirit, and that future day, still to come, when Jesus brings to consummation in time and space the work he began in his earthly life…the work of restoring all of creation to Eden which means delight…the delightful coming of God’s most gracious and peaceable Kingdom in our very midst. And of course, the theme of preparation in these scripture readings during this Advent season, is about preparing our selves, souls and bodies for meeting Jesus…when he indeed comes to be among us…but not just in our Christmas celebrations…and not just when he comes again in power and with great glory to set this world to rights…but now…this day…this moment and each that follows as Jesus indeed comes even now to meet us…in bread and wine, in this midst of our relationships one with another…and in each new moment in which we exist, again, by his Spirit that indeed resides in our midst now and even now.
And I think when we consider Advent not as something that we are waiting for as we count down the days to Christmas…or even waiting hopefully for a different sort of future beyond war and terror and racism and inequity…but instead to think of Advent, Jesus’ coming, as something to have and experience in this present moment…and when we do that the scriptures words about preparation seem even more acute…more relevant…more immediate. It is spiritual work that we must take on now…right now…not in the new year in the form of resolutions that rarely last…or next Lent when the church calls us to a time of growth and attentiveness to our spiritual lives…or even tomorrow…Monday…when we say that this week will somehow be different than the last…because we are going to pray more and eat less…or some such. The Advent of Jesus is now…Jesus comes now…thus our preparation begins now as well…or should, at least, in my estimation.
In today’s Gospel lesson, we encounter John the Baptizer…who indeed calls us to the spiritual work of preparation. Luke writes, “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around 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, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'" It seems to me that there is an almost jarring immediacy to John’s proclamation of preparation. He cries out…prepare the way of the Lord. He doesn’t set up a meeting, as soon as everyone has availability, to discuss the efficacy of spiritual preparedness and repentance. Instead he cries out from the very place he actually is in the very moment in which actually is. He doesn’t take the time to put on his Sunday’s best so as to impress his listeners into hearing him…he cries out…prepare the way of the Lord…in his everyday wilderness inspired attire of animal skin and fur. And he doesn’t take the time to be invited and smooze his way into places of power and privilege that might give credence and gravitas to his message of preparation, again he cries out, from the wilderness…and from each place he travels…wherever that might be…and among whomever might be present…anyone who has the ears to hear and take to heart his message of preparation. I sort of imagine John saying…prepare the way of the Lord…right now…the kingdom of God has come near…right now…it is in your very midst…right now…do you sense it…do you feel it. You are standing on holy ground…your living in a holy body…you are in the midst of holy people created in the image of love itself. Don’t wait…don’t put off till tomorrow what should be done this very day…this very moment…prepare the way of the Lord…right now.
My brother and I did a lot to prepare in advance for our family’s Thanksgiving meal this year. He was hosting our family at his new home for the first time, and we began our planning about where everyone would sleep, when everyone would arrive, how we would fill the day, and most importantly what we would serve weeks in advance. We even worked through with great detail the cooking schedule Thanksgiving Day to be sure everything came out in the order required for the meal to be hot and delicious for the 20 or so people we were expecting. The 20 pound turkey, which we had been brining and salivating over for several days, had to enter the pre-heated oven at 9 AM exactly to be sure it would come out at 1:30 PM…to rest for half an hour…and then be carved at 2 PM to serve at 2:30 PM on the dot. Everything else was planned around this schedule…just to be sure that turkey was absolutely perfect. Well…there is a saying about best laid plans…something about them always going awry…and in our case the turkey cooked way faster than we expected. It was done about 2 and a half hours before we planned…there are many theories, some boarding on conspiracy, on why this happened…but the result was that more or less…nothing else was ready to serve. So the turkey had to sit...on the counter…for a very, very long time…meaning it would be cold at serving time…and sitting covered for that length of time would probably mean it would be overcooked and…the worst thing ever…dried out…despite our days of brining.
Well as we gathered around the table at about 2:30 PM…that worked out…we opened wine bought at a local winery…we said grace…we spoke of that for which we were most grateful…plates were indeed full…and at the family table for the first time was my sister’s daughter who she had given up for adoption when my sister was 17 about 25 years earlier…she was also with us at the table…along with her new husband and baby…truly new additions to the family as my sister has only recently reconnected with her daughter…meeting her for the first time since her birth some two decades plus ago. And here is the thing…the turkey was cold…and a little dry…at least the breast meat…our preparations had been somewhat inadequate…but, of course, it did not really matter. As we sat around the table…in the right now of that moment…I experienced one thing alone and that was joy…an overflowing love…a profound gratitude for God’s provision…found in bread and wine, in relationship one with another, and in God’s faithful presence by his very Spirit, in our very midst, in that very moment…again in the right now of that very moment.
It is hard to always be prepared for an uncertain future, and I don’t know if there really is such a thing as being prepared beyond preparation…but we can be preparing ourselves in this moment…right now…to experience, know, even see the salvation of our God…to meet Jesus…who comes to us even now…in bread and wine, in relationships one with another…for the Lord has indeed come, right now, and dwells among us. And the good news is no waiting is required…there is no need to experience the let down of December 26th when the project of putting Christmas away robs the joy found only the day before. For each day is indeed the Advent of our Lord, each moment he is born again…and all the preparation required is to receive the moment, to really be in it, paying attention to those around us, seeing the beauty around us, reveling in it with delight and gratitude. Amen.