Advent 2: Prepare the Way

Last week we were reminded to stay awake and be ready. This week, we need to prepare a path,  announce what’s coming—get the world ready.  We need to get people excited, help them see how good the news is.

When my son and daughter were little, sometimes it seemed like nothing was enough when trying to prepare them for something new. On the long list of things that went badly despite our preparations are the transition from the 3-year-old to the 4-year-old preschool room and pretty much every exit from visiting any friend or family member. One summer, we decided to take the kids to the fair. What could two elementary-age kids like more than live animals, cotton candy, and exciting rides? We told them all about it, and started herding them toward the car. The complaining started immediately. No one wanted to put on shoes; no one wanted to leave the house; no one wanted to buckle into the car and drive 20 minutes to the fairgrounds. Exasperated, Brian parked the car in the grass near the entrance and we looked at each other. I turned around to the back seat and said, “We are going to the fair, AND YOU WILL HAVE FUN.”

They did have fun, of course, though my daughter had a little too much corn dog + dippin’ dots + tilt-a-whirl + funnel cake and threw up all over her pajamas and the stairs later that evening.  Despite that inauspicious end to the day, she has wanted to go back, even as a teenager.

Regarding the Good News and announcing it, we can’t force people in the car and take them somewhere and command them to enjoy it. It also doesn’t usually work to stand on a street corner and shout, though that might get people’s attention for a minute. But maybe preparing the way is about living into the promise we know we’ve been given and passing on the love we’ve experienced. Maybe preparing the way is less about shouting at people and more about seeing the person in front of us and listening to them. Maybe making the rough places plain and the crooked places straight is about making it easier for a mom to care for her children and about being a reliable place to go for a hot meal. Those are the actions that get the world ready for the kingdom of heaven.