Prepare Ye

Today's readings: Psalms 42, 146; Deuteronomy 6:16-25; Hebrews 2:1-10; John 1:19-28

When the Pharisees pressed John the Baptist to tell them who he thought he was, he replied: "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord'" as the prophet Isaiah said (John 1:23). Note that he did not say he was the one making the way straight, but was the one calling others to do so. He offered a rallying cry, but did not take it upon himself to fill the valleys and lower the mountains and level the rugged places (Isaiah 40:4). No, he left those duties to us.

If we look critically at the spiritual landscape of our local community, our nation or our world, can we claim we have carved out a straight path that will allow the glory of the Lord to be revealed to all (Isaiah 40:5)? Let's just say a lot of this highway project remains to be completed. Valleys of poverty too deep to see out of obscure that glory for many people. For others, it's mountains of wealth, power or other worldly distractions that block the line of sight between them and the Lord's revealed glory. How many pairings of mountains and valleys does our world contain? High and low social status. Casually discarding half-empty bottles of water versus surviving off dew gathered on tarps. Piles of diamonds towering above the graves of those who died to excavate them. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could fill all the valleys simply by pushing the mountains into them?

The challenge isn't that simple, and none of us can complete this project alone. Some days the best we can do is to move one teaspoon of earth at a time, and not even all that without spilling some.  But John the Baptist, Isaiah, and all the prophets and saints keep calling to us: "Prepare ye the way of the Lord." As long as we keep to our task - spoon by spoon, shovel by shovel, mountain by mountain - we know the path of the Lord is that much closer to being prepared.

If it all seems overwhelming, perhaps we can begin by evening out the mountains and valleys - those things blocking God from view - in our own hearts. Maybe then we can be one of the countless stepping stones the Lord can use to stride to the places most in need.

Evening readings: Psalms 102, 133