DAILY MEDITATION: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.”

Liturgical day: Second Sunday of Advent (C)

Gospel text (Lk 3,1-6): In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert. He went throughout [the] whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one crying out in the desert: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The winding roads shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”

“Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.”

Fr. Antoni CAROL i Hostench
(Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain)

Today, through John Baptist's voice, the Gospel urges us to prepare a way for the Lord Jesus. But, really are we the ones who have to open a path to God? Is it not me who needs help from God? In fact, we cannot do anything without Him, but, at the same time He wants to need us: “make straight his paths” (Lk 3, 4). How is it possible? Because love cannot be imposed; but in all cases, love can be offered: “God, who created you without you, will not save you without you” (St. Agustin).

Jesus Christ is about to arrive on to the Earth, and we will meet Him as a little baby, "helpless", leaning over a crib: so little that He will not be able to scale the walls of pride of my heart, nor will He emerge above of the waves of my sensuality…

In the words of Benedict XVI, “the Christian faith offers us precisely the consolation that God is so big that He is able to become little”. But, I repeat, so little that, if we also don't become little, we will not see Him even as He passes by, or, even, we could in fact even be afraid of Him (as Herod was). So, we must straighten our hearts in order to “discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ” (Phil 1, 10).

“Make straight his paths” This petition is not new. Many centuries ago —in prophet Baruc's times— Yahweh-God asked that to Israel. We can observe it in the first lecture of today: “For God has commanded that every lofty mountain and the age-old hills be made low, that the valleys be filled to make level ground, that Israel may advance securely in the glory of God” (Bar 5, 7). The same way as the Lord made the captives of Zion to return back, if we reject the obstacles (hills of pride, valleys of warmth…), we will sing with tears in our eyes: “The LORD has done great things for us; Oh, how happy we were!” (Ps 126, 3).

Source: evangeli.net