• Prepare: According to the dictionary it means “to put in proper condition or readiness. To put things or oneself in proper readiness.” So…are you?
• We’re 15 days out here folks. Are you prepared?
• Cards sent? Present wrapped, at least bought, at least thought about? House decorated? Cookies baked?
• Are you prepared?

• At this time of year, when we think about preparing the way…most of the time it’s those kinds of things we’re thinking about. But that isn’t what Advent is about. And it certainly isn’t what John had in mind.
• Remember him? John the Baptist. That voice crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord. Get things ready. Put yourself in proper readiness. Prepare the way.
• I think of politicians or celebrities who travel with their contingent of bodyguards. And it’s the bodyguards that go first into the crowd to clear the way: step aside, coming through, make way.
• I think of the advance preparation teams that sweep into a city or convention center or hotel ahead of the very important VIP. They enter first, days ahead, to make sure all is ready; finalize the details, make the arrangements. To prepare the way.
• And then there’s John, that voice crying in the wilderness. Make things ready. Prepare the way. Make room for God’s coming.
• And as we’re busy preparing the way for Christmas, paying attention to the details, somehow putting ourselves in proper readiness is often one of the last things on our list.
• So what if this year was different. What if this season in our church year was different? What if this year, and this coming year, we focused on these words: Prepare the way of the Lord. What might it look like?

• First, perhaps, we’d make room.
• Our lives and our churches become so cluttered with the things we must do, have to get done, that there often isn’t room for God.
• Oh, I know. We pray. And we attend church. Some of us may even read our bibles, but as one person once said, “We can get so busy with church work, we don’t have time to do the work of the church.”
• So what if this year we committed to making space: to providing opportunities to hear God’s still small voice, within us, and within our church.
• For instance, many of you have said that’s what you appreciated most about the small group gatherings we’ve just completed. Something like 60 of you met in 8 small groups for 5 weeks, and throughout that time, you listened. You listened to the scriptures. You listened to each other. You listened to your hearts. You listened for God. That’s what I mean by making space.
• I’ve been studying some of the writings of the Vietnamese Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh (Tik Nyat Hawn). One of his most well known books is called the Miracle of Mindfulness, where he teaches that through becoming aware of our breathing in whatever place we are, we can become more mindful of whatever it is we’re doing. And that in becoming more mindful, we become more focused on the moment we are in. “Drink your tea slowly,” he says, “as if it is the axis on which this world revolves…Live the actual moment. Only this moment is life.” Focusing on the present, not on what we have to do later today or tomorrow, or what we did or didn’t do yesterdays, but focusing on this moment, being fully present in this moment, that’s making space for God to act. That’s preparing the way.

II. Second perhaps, we’d work on smoothing out the rough places and making straight God’s highways. John the Baptist quotes from Isaiah about God making crooked places straight, and rough places plain, leveling every mountain and raising up the valleys. Preparing the way. Clearing the path.

• Too often I think we can’t see what God is doing in our midst because our vision is blocked: by our own ideas of what God should be doing, or our own limited visions of what God could be doing, or even our overwhelming focus on what we aren’t doing, ought to be doing, or should have already done. What if in making space for God, we also allowed God to clear those obstacles from our vision, perhaps then we could see the horizon, and the path ahead.
• But there are other things that block our vision: Our past hurts, our grudges, our judgments we heap upon ourselves and others, our prejudices: our racism, and sexism, and homophobia, and ageism, our anger, our fear and our skepticism. How many times, I wonder, has God tried to act in our midst, in my life, in this church and was blocked because we were sure it couldn’t happen, it couldn’t be.
• The Catholic writer, Andrew Greeley tells a cute story of a group of teenage boys playing basketball in a schoolyard. “ A bald African American man, with a large diamond in his ear, strolled up and watched them. He looked kind of familiar but the boys knew it couldn’t be. He asked if he might play. He was taller than any of them and they weren’t sure. He promised he would not rebound. So they let him play. He was pretty good. In fact he was truly excellent. Without even working up a sweat, he made three point jump shots, lay-ups, hooks, and even shots with his eyes closed. Either hand too. They had seen this style before, but they still didn’t believe it was the one they thought it might be. Then he spent about fifteen minutes giving them tips which were really radical. Hadn’t they seen this act in TV ads? But it would never happen in their parish, would it? Then he thanked them for letting him play and ambled away. They kind of wanted to follow him to see if he really drove a Chevy, because that would’ve clinched it . But they didn’t. They didn’t tell anyone about what happened. Who would believe that MJ himself had come to their schoolyard and shot around with them. Besides they didn’t believe it was really him.”
• What if this year, in addition to making space for God, we allowed for the possibility that the Holy Spirit might just show up here and join in the game with us. Or, in fact, was already here. What if we could allow God to remove the obstacles that block us, and allow us to see the path that would move us forward?

• Finally, just suppose that if we made space, and were able to see past the obstacles, God was able to work so profoundly in our lives and in our congregation that the world would be able to see it. What is we could be a part of the promise of Isaiah that John quotes, that all flesh will see it together.
• Could it be that if we were to make space for God, in our lives, and in our church, and if we set aside the obstacles that get in our way: our fears, prejudices, prejudgments, that we could see God’s activity within us. And perhaps even more, others could see God’s activity through us.
• A kind of fable that’s made the rounds is a wonderful story about a little boy who wanted to meet God. “He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with Twinkies and a six-pack of root beer, and he started his journey. When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old woman. She was sitting in the park just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old woman looked hungry so he offered her a Twinkie. She gratefully accepted it and smiled at him. Her smile was so incredible that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a root beer. Once again, she smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word. As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave, but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old woman, and gave her a hug. The old woman gave him her biggest smile ever. When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later; his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, "What did you do today that made you so happy?" He replied, "I had lunch with God." But before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? She's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!" Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to his home. His son was stunned by the look of peace on his face and he asked, "Mom, what did you do today that made you so happy?" She replied, "I ate Twinkies in the park with God." But before her son responded, she added, "You know, he's much younger than I expected."

• Today is Peace Sunday, the second Sunday of Advent. John the Baptist, despite all appearances, preached a message of peace: a message of repentance and forgiveness, of promise and preparation, of preparing the way, and seeing the fulfillment of God’s promises. As we make room for God, and allow God to move us past the obstacles we create, may we become witnesses to God’s vision of Peace. That all flesh will see it together.