Please read Isaiah 40:1-11
Our scripture passage today speaks of preparing for the coming of the Messiah.
It reminds me of the way we prepare during this Season. Once the Halloween decorations come down, we begin the annual ritual. Preparing for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years. They all run together. “The Holiday Season.”
“Are you ready,” you will hear people ask as you scurry around to find the right tree or to get the last-minute shopping done. Ready for what? And you will undoubtedly hear at least one person say “Christmas just seems so early this year.”
Today is December 11. Are you prepared? How is your shopping coming along? Have you figured out where everyone will sleep? How is the baking? Are your lights up yet? Do you have a real tree or an artificial one? So much to prepare…it is easy to become weary of it all, and look forward to when it is all over. We miss the point; we miss Christmas—it gets lost in the holiday season.
Are you ready for Jesus?
Too often, we are “preparing the way” for a holiday season that is a perfect success, measured in terms of the perfect decorations, the perfect pageants, the perfect meal, or the perfect gifts. “The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the Word of our God stands forever.” Isaiah 40: 8
The tree dries up, the needles fall off, and the gifts get exchanged, but the Word of our God stands forever.
This Christmas, let’s prepare the way for the Lord. Let’s prepare our hearts to be the manger that cradles the Christ. Then we can be prepared to be the messengers of God, sharing this Good News:
Look! Your God! Look at him! God, the Master, comes in power, ready to go into action. He is going to pay back his enemies and reward those who have loved him. Like a shepherd, he will care for his flock, gathering the lambs in his arms, hugging them as he carries them, leading the nursing ewes to good pasture.Dear God, we give thanks that this holiday season will pass, but that Christmas is forever! Hallelujah! Amen.
Jeff Taylor
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