i-Llan Sunday 17th December 2023 - Preparing the Way

i-Llan: connecting faith, life and scripture

'Transcript:
Advent is a season of preparation. It’s nearly Christmas and shops are full, delivery drivers are busy, presents are being wrapped, carols are being sung. I’ve even got my Christmas cards into the postbox before the last posting day—a record!

But, what about preparation for beyond Christmas? Not just plans for 2024 but the note of judgment that sounds throughout Advent?

‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight’ is the cry of the Old Testament prophet and of John the Baptist. In ancient times, when a king was going on a journey, working parties would be sent out to prepare the route, remove obstacles, make sure all was smooth riding. If we look around the world today, there are so many obstacles in the way of peace, justice, and right living that ‘preparing the way of the Lord’ may seem an impossible task. We are so small and powerless. We can’t make much difference in global terms, can we?

Have you ever walked into a room where there has been a quarrel, sensed the tension and immediately felt tense? Or stood in a peaceful place and soaked in the peace? Atmosphere influences us.

I trust that is true on the large scale, that every act of love increases love in the world, every gentle word or touch increases gentleness in the world, that our small acts—for good or ill—influence world affairs.

In other words, we prepare the way of the Lord by living in a way that God desires.

For the prophet Isaiah, in today’s first reading, that means becoming ‘good news’ for those in trouble. And, in the second reading, St Paul exhorts the Christians in Thessalonica to:
‘Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil.’

Or, as Gandalf puts it in the film of The Hobbit:
‘Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.’

Perhaps we can’t directly bring peace to Ukraine or Gaza or other places where violence holds sway, but we can continue to stay informed and offer our prayers for them. And we can strive to make our corner of the world a place where God’s way is made straight, trusting that God uses that for the greater good.

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