Advent 1

Advent 1
by Clyde A. Bonar, Ph.D.

Readings: Baruch 5: 1-9; Philippians 1: 4-6, 8-11; Luke 3: 4, 6

"Prepare the Way of the Lord"
Introduction

In days of old, when knights were bold, Arthur was King of England. From his youth, everyone knew, one day Arthur would be king. While all the knights tried, only Arthur could draw Excalibur, the magic sword, out of its stone sheath. As King, Arthur sat his knights at the roundtable. A great military brotherhood led by a great king. Chivalry, the code. The knights brave and courteous and honor bound, devoted to the weak, attentive gentlemen with the ladies.

In Camelot, the city of King Arthur, everyone was happy, prosperous, and loving.

But, fact is, there never was a King Arthur, Camelot only a mythical city. A study of history tells us, the story about King Arthur is a myth, a nice story that never happened.

Dated by History

In today's Gospel Luke moves us from myth to history. Naming people, citing dates, giving us a history we can check, Luke tells us "Prepare the way of the Lord." Like the prophet Isaiah foretold, Christ is about to invade history, get ready.

Let's look at the facts. "In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar," John the Baptist was preaching repentance of sins. Pontius Pilate was the Procurator of Judea; Herod the Tetrarch of Galilee. That's the civil authority. Tiberius the Emperor of Rome, Pontius Pilate the local king, appointed by the Emperor, and third in line, Herod. History records the dates of these rulers.

Luke mentions Annas and Caiaphas as the high priests. Caiaphas became high priest in the year 18, and held the office for eighteen years. Annas had retired, but remained leader of the Sadducees.

Luke says, have no doubt. These are historical facts. These men were the emperor and the kings and high priests.

Then, among all these important people, Luke names a nobody, John the Baptist. John only worthy of mention because people started to listen to him. John the Baptist attracted a huge following. Preaching repentance, droves of people came to be baptized.

Luke's details tell us, Christ was about 29 years old when John the Baptist started to preach.

John the Baptist is preaching, God is about to invade history. We're told: "Prepare the way of the Lord." Isaiah foretold it; John, a voice crying out in the desert, proclaims it. Make ready.

A "To Do" List

To be ready to welcome the baby Jesus, we need to spruce up a bit. Parts of our lives we need to tidy up, there's rubble to be carted away, to make us worthy to greet Christ. John the Baptist offers a "to do" list.

As a first "to do," John the Baptist tells us, "clear him a straight path." So we ask ourselves: What "baggage" have I accumulated that could block the way to Christ? A good way to find the baggage is to clock ourselves, keep a record of how much time we spend on what we do. One man complained about not having time to pray. Then he kept tabs for a week on what he did each hour of the day. First thing in the morning, the TV came on. Same thing each evening. In the house from work, on comes the TV. Very quickly the man realized, he spent more time watching television than either working or sleeping. Hours of the TV blasting left no time for God. A first "to do," look for the baggage that diverts our attention away from God.

Then, John the Baptist says, "fill in every valley, level every hill." A myriad of Christian acts pop into mind. Rick and Hugh never got along at work. Then their boss challenged them, look for something good about each other, and tell each other the good you see in the other person. When we speak kind words, and we fill in a valley.

Same works in the family. Jeff and Donna have always had a wonderful marriage. Started while engaged. Jeff gets a little gift for Donna from time to time. Donna does the same with Jeff. Neither on any schedule, so that each gift is also an unexpected surprise. That much more a delight. A couple daily renewing their love for each other.

Wonderful examples of loving neighbor, as Jesus commanded. Every time we do a compassionate deed, say a kind word, share ourselves with another, we fill in the valleys, level the hills.

Third, John the Baptist encourages us to "straighten the winding roads." Here we might mention getting rid of anger and prejudice; to give up deceiving and manipulating.

Always anger could use some work. Start with road rage. Then, with their mother now in a nursing home, think of brother and sister fighting about caring for their mother. Or, at work, co-workers get angry with jealousy about someone else getting "their" promotion.

And, we do connive and manipulate and deceive. Kids do it with parents. The child tells dad: "Mom said I could, if you say O.K." Then, to mom, "Day said it would be O.K. with him, but to ask you." At work, we do the same. How often we tell the boss in so many different ways, "Not my fault."

Get ready, John the Baptist tells us. And gives us a "to do" list. Clear the path, get rid of our baggage; fill in the valleys, like Jesus commanded, love your neighbor as yourself; straighten the road, wipe out anger, stop manipulating.

Let God Complete the Good Work

By God's grace, to get ready, we've got help. If we let him, God will get us ready to meet Christ. Listen to Paul's words: "the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus." Our job, to cooperate with God.

First, we might thank God for all the wonderful gifts God gives us. Starting with life itself. A retreat director always started his sessions with this prayer: "Thank you God for loving us into life." We cannot get ourselves born! Life is a gift, and we praise God for our lives.

We thank God for our faith. As we put up the creche here at church, as we set out the sheep and cattle, knowing the shepherds will soon appear, then Mary and Joseph, we are gripped with a tingling excitement as we await the birth of Jesus. We thank God for sending his Son, so much does God love us.

With deep gratitude, we naturally want to pray. We have a little booklet to help us, our "Blue Book" with a prayer for each day of Advent. A prayer-a-day routine reminds us, Jesus was born in a barn, laid in a manager. That's God coming into our midst in our ordinary, everyday lives. We pause, and remind ourselves to pray always.

We remember Jesus frequently went into the desert to pray. It strikes us, perhaps that's a good recommendation. Seek the quiet of the desert to get closer to God. Not a trip to the desert. Rather, a quieting down, taking a few minutes each day to block out all the noise, to sit in silence and be with God. As we settle down, we notice God seems closer, our hearts and souls saturated with God's love. We hear God speaking to us, very clearly and distinctly.

Paul tells us, let God complete the good work God already has begun in you. We let God complete his work by gratefully thanking God for his many gifts; by praying each and every day; and by settling down, getting some silence in each day, listening to God.

Conclusion

It's now the Second Sunday of Advent. The birth of Jesus gets closer and closer. We "Prepare the way of the Lord." Our goal: to make Christ the true guiding light of our lives, living as Christ taught us, each and every day.

(Comments to Fr. Bonar at cbonar@cfl.rr.com.)