In the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord


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When the Bible talks about the wilderness, I think of a desert. It is a harsh environment. My dictionary says that because of little rain, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. Some people may even say, it is a barren land, unable to produce anything even so, some plants thrive there.  In vast deserts, you need a compass to know where you are and where you are going. If your water supply is limited, you can’t survive. High temps during the day and cold in the night. This is the place where the word of God came to John the Baptist: The wilderness of Judea. He finally came back proclaiming his message to whoever would listen: “Repent, the Kingdom of God is near” It had been 400 years ever since the last Prophet Malachi, so this new Prophet John the Baptist was followed with great interest! Curious Israelites wanted to hear a brand-new message from God, from this weird/crazy looking prophet who by the way, dressed a lot like the famous Prophet Elijah. Is God trying to tell us something? Let’s hear what the prophet has to tell us.
One of the commentators I read, suggested two ways of reading with different punctuation. One reads as follows: (1) The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord” OR should it read: (2) The voice of one crying: “In the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord” I agreed with the commentator about the second. It is in the wilderness where “the highway of our God” is to be paved. It is a serious call to repentance, not just saying I am sorry for my past sins, or a mere regret or remorse for what we have done. It means turning away from the past way of life and beginning a new one with a new way of thinking. You see, what happens is that wrong notions of truth lead to wrong ways of living. John would have none of that from anyone! I have the impression that John the Baptist is this, no non-sense guy who tells things as they are. His concern is not that the truth will hurt your feelings. He knows he was called by God to tell it as it is. We have hurt God’s feelings over and over and over again. So, the prophet is speaking on God’s behalf. Repent, turn away from your ungodly ways; get away from it; anything that is taking you from Christ. Go into the wilderness of your room and prepare for the way of the Lord. Sober up, because the Kingdom of God is near, we don’t want God to find us in that complacent attitude. Turn around and seek God from the bottom of your heart.
I think this is a message for us as well. This has been my experience: When the war was still going on, we went to live in the village, there was no electricity, so I often went out at night to sit down and admire the stars in the sky. From time to time I would feel despair deep down in my heart which I think, was sadness over the loss of our livelihood/ our lifestyle, I didn’t know It was because I was far from God. But in that moment, I had this time alone to see how small I was in God’s universe; I was at peace with God. I didn’t cherish that unforgettable moment there with God alone. Could it be that God is saying to us: “your lifestyle, your loves, your passions are keeping you away from me?” Turn around, change your ways, seek God, this Advent season. That is the preparation towards a real meaningful Christmas celebration: Meeting Jesus in the manger.
Perhaps some of us have tasted what being in the wilderness is like. It is no fun. It may be like you are waiting on the Lord by faith, not knowing when an answer will come but trusting God anyway. It is holding on to the commitment as a Christian believer. Also, an effort to constant letting go, expect our idols, passions and loves in our current lifestyle to be broken one by one, and lay it onto the ground to pave the highway of our God.
I want us to look back at our own personal history: see some turning points/ moments of change? The unfolding of God’s path in your life. That moment when the GPS said Recalculating… Oops! I took the wrong highway of passions! Exit now! Oh, that we need that voice from the Holy Spirit…telling us: YOU ARE LOVED! And still, be brutally honest on how far off we have fallen short of God’s expectations and how we need to exit that highway now to enter the wilderness and begin a new life relying ONLY on God’s grace.

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