Prepare the Way of the Lord

I don’t feel ready for Advent this year. Just a few short weeks ago I hadn’t even pulled my winter coat out from the back of the closet. I still see colorful leaves hanging onto their trees with determination. Yet however much I don’t feel prepared, here we are: the first Sunday of Advent.

It’s funny, when you long for something, but are still surprised by its appearance. Into the silent waiting, distractions (of every color and sort) have a way of making the expected slide in under the radar.

I wonder if this is how the Israelites felt after their exile in Babylon and then 400 years of prophetic silence. First on the community’s prayer requests was the arrival of a Messiah. Yet when He actually came, no one seemed ready. Much less prepared for a Messiah wrapped in a baby’s clothes and wails.

Only a handful of God’s people were still living in active, curious expectation for a Savior. For them, God’s plans and purposes were a mystery to unravel. For so many others, the oppressive life of being a Hebrew under the thumb of whatever empire was in control was all they would handle. Routines became the norm; waiting the ever-repeating refrain.

How wonderful that we serve a God who does not leave us alone to our own devices. The whole of human history is marked by sign-posts pointing the way to the Messiah.

The gospel of Luke could have begun a lot of different ways. Matthew chose to jog his reader’s memories by recounting thousands of years of family genealogy. But Luke likes the reader to do some of the connection work, and opens with a story of a man named Zechariah.

Luke 1: 5-25
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,[a] of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” 21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”

After 400 years of prophetic silence, God chose to sneak up on a priest and strike him voiceless when he didn’t make the immediate connections.

I do not want to be like Zechariah. I may not feel ready for Advent, but I want my heart and mind to remain curiously open to God’s mysteries. The miracle of the Incarnation is just as relevant for us to today as it was for a family living in the Judean countryside roughly two thousand years ago. May we have the eyes to see it.

Isaiah 30:3-5
3 A voice cries:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
    make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be lifted up,
    and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
    and the rough places a plain.
5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
    and all flesh shall see it together,
    for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”