Springwood Presbyterian Church: Whitsett, NC

Luke’s gospel begins with an angel visiting old Zechariah—months before the announcement to Mary.  The angel proclaimed that Zechariah and Elizabeth would have a son, despite their old age--that Zechariah should name him John—and that this child’s purpose was to get the Israelites ready for their savior.  Understandably, Zechariah wanted some proof this wasn’t a joke; and for this doubt, he was struck mute.  …  When the baby was 8 days old, it was time for him to be circumcised and named.  Everyone assumed he would carry his father’s name.  But Zechariah wrote, “His name is John,” and immediately, he regained his ability to speak, and he praised God.

Luke 1: 66-80

And then, we find Jesus’ cousin doing God’s work of preparing the people:

Luke 3: 1-6                                                                                              12-6-09

Have you noticed that the gravel drive in front of the church has recently been graded: the holes filled in, the bumps smoothed out, more gravel added?  A smooth straight road is a good thing.  It’s even biblical!  Listen again to the scripture:

In the first year of the presidency of Obama, when Bev Perdue was governor of North Carolina and Richard Fennell was mayor of Whitsett; while Bruce Chow presided over the Presbyterian Church USA, the word of the Lord came to Zeke’s boy, John, down in the swamp.  And he went all over Guilford and Alamance counties preaching water immersion, because cleaning up the body was like promising to clean up the soul, too, and get right with God.  John sounded just like the old preacher Isaiah, saying:

          “Get ready!  The Lord’s on his way—and there’ll be a raft of folks following him.  Fix this road, now.  Fill in the potholes so no one will trip.  Bulldoze those hills and hummocks.  Straighten out the curves and scrape the surface so folks don’t go bumpitybumpitybump when they ride over it. Hear me:” John continued, “the Lord’s gonna walk on it—THE LORD!--and so will you and everybody else who pays attention to what I’m saying.  So do it right.  Then every single child of God will have the salvation God promises.” 

John, Luke tells us, was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly.  The wilderness of Judea is a place of stark beauty: bare hills the color of bread baked over a fire, rocks, sand, silence, hot sun in the daytime and bitter cold at night, dangerous animals that attack unwary travelers, bandits lurking in shadows.  It’s not a place to go on vacation.  Yet, people flocked out there to hear John and his harsh preaching about repentance.  Why would they take the risk? 

Perhaps because the wilderness is not just a harsh landscape.  It can also be state of mind—a state of being caused by numerous bad decisions by numerous individuals and institutions, in John’s time and in ours: wrong decisions made out of self-interest without God’s input; decisions that caused then, and that cause now, pain and chaos for many.

This human-made wilderness was where the poor lived when they couldn’t keep all the rules they were told they must keep in order to be pure enough for God to love them.  It was where the rich found themselves when they realized money didn’t always buy happiness.  It was being taxed to the hilt, infiltrated by foreign gods, constantly threatened with violence and war.  It was unhappy families--poverty side-by-side with great wealth—sickness, said to be God’s punishment for sin—factions fighting among themselves about who had the direct line to God.  It was the despair of believing nothing could ever change for the better.  It was a dead-end life then.  It is, for many people, today.     

So they went to John, because he promised them a way out of their misery—a way to shake loose from the power of the past, so that what they’d done or said before was not what defined them in God’s eyes, because God is a God of hope and love and forgiveness.  John promised them they could have a fresh start by repenting—not by feeling guilty, but by turning their lives around and walking with God.  He told them, focus on God rather than on yourself by doing what God wants, and what God wants if for you to share what you have with folks who don’t have enough; be honest in your business dealings; don’t use violence; live by faith.  This is how to get ready for the Messiah.

And when the Messiah—Jesus--came, he preached the same message as his cousin John: turn away from selfishness, and help others; turn away from whatever distracts you from worshipping God, and pay attention to what God wants of you; turn away from the misery of trying to do it all by yourself, and find joy in turning to God, who wants only to lift you up, raise your head, walk with you.  …

So, what are you doing this year?  Are you preparing for Christmas, or for the Savior of the world?  If you’re already stressed by crowds in the shopping centers while you frantically look for just the perfect gift for every one of your family members and friends—if you feel it won’t be Christmas without a tree—if you have to send Christmas cards--if sadness over a family matter overshadows the joy of Christ’s birth, you can be sure you’re preparing for Christmas.

On the other hand, if you smile when you hear the tinkle of the Salvation Army bell, and reach into your pocket to feed the kettle—if you spend as much money helping people in need as you do trying to please the folks on your gift list—if you spend as much time giving thanks to God as you do shopping and decorating … well, you’re smoothing the way so Jesus can beat a straight path to the door of your heart.

And not just preparing a way for him to come to you.  Those actions also level the playing field for people who need to know him—actions that make a way for them, through you, to walk the path that’ll take them to Jesus, and to changed lives, so they can see the salvation of God and be part of it.  Prepare the way of the Lord!