In this passage from Luke (Luke 3:0-18), we see John the Baptist helping his disciples prepare for the coming of the Messiah. His advice to them is very down to earth and practical. Tax collectors are to do their job fairly and without intimidation. Those who have more than they need must share with those who don’t have enough. There is a sense of expectancy as the people ask for help to ready themselves, asking, “What must I
do?”
What is it that we need to put right in our own lives to be ready for Christ’s coming? How are we being invited to live differently so that we might experience more fully the joy that we are being offered?
I wondered - if I were to have a conversation with John about my own life right now, what might he advise? In his direct and challenging way, I know he would help me put my finger on those things I do and don’t do that leave me less than ready. Among other things, perhaps John would say something about my tendency to prefer my morning cappuccino to seeing the need of the hungry person at the traffic light on the corner of my street, or the
fact that I often spend way too much time on social media at night which diminishes the time that God longs to spend with me.
John was big on repentance. Repentance sounds like a heavy word and the antithesis of joy. But, in fact, it is a letting go and turning from what gets in the way of making as much space as possible for the encounter with the Lord. It is letting go of whatever leaves us unfree so that we can experience deep joy.
We know that the more we have prepared ourselves for any event, the more we can enter into it wholeheartedly. Part of our preparation for the celebration of the incarnation is creating a spacious place within ourselves for God to be at home. God comes and copes, whether we are ready or not, but when we clear the inner clutter of our less than welcoming ways, we make space to experience even more fully the joy God longs to give
us.
