John the Baptist is one of the main figures of Advent. He is both an uncomfortable and challenging figure. Like so many of the other prophets, he is clearly an outsider, living on the fringes of his society.
Yet his message is clear and central. The Messiah is on his way, and we, like John’s first listeners, are called to prepare ourselves for that coming:
“A voice cries in the wilderness: Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight.”
We hear these words every year, read, sung, performed. They are so familiar that it’s easy for us to dismiss their impact for us today. As we rush from pillar to post, busy with Christmas preparations, they can become part of the general background noise of this time of year, words we hear but don’t really listen to.
If, however, we are able to pause and allow them to sink into our hearts they have the potential to be life changing. They carry the question of how we are to prepare for this coming. John also has the answer to that, as he goes through the district calling people to repentance.
He calls us to prepare for the coming of Messiah by looking at where our lives might have to change. Repentance calls us to pause, look at the direction of our lives taking, and to ask ourselves if we need to change direction so that we can be orientated once again towards Christ change direction so that we are re-orientated towards Christ.
What helps you to reflect on the direction your life is taking this Advent?