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PREPARE A WAY FOR THE LORD

SCRIPTURE READING
ISAIAH 40:1-5, 9-11
2 PETER 3:8-14
MARK1:1-8

REFLECTION

“Prepare a way for the Lord” is the theme for our reflection. To prepare means to make ready. To prepare a way for the Lord means to be ready for the day or arrival of the Lord. It means that the believers must anticipate and be in readiness for the arrival of the Lord. We shall reflect on the fact that.

1. Preparing a way for the Lord means announcing the second coming of Jesus as the hope and Saviour of the World
2. Preparing a way for the Lord means being ready spiritually and morally for His judgement and salvation.

Firstly, preparing a way for the Lord means we need to announce to the world that Jesus is the only Hope and Savior of the world. This duty was fulfilled by Isaiah when He said to the exiles of Israel “A voice of one calling:

“In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God…And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” (Isaiah 40:3,5) Isaiah in his time as a prophet fulfilled and played two interrelated roles. First, he prepared the hearts of the people to accept God as their only Hope and salvation and secondly, he prophesied about the coming of John the Baptist who would prepare the hearts of the Israelites to usher in the fulfilment of God’s incarnation through Jesus Christ as the hope and Saviour of the world. It is for this reason Mark re-echoed, the words of Isaiah concerning the role of John the Baptist,  The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, 2 as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way” — 3 “a voice of one calling in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” 4 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins…And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” Mark 1:1-4,7-8). Dear friend in Christ, Isaiah and John the Baptist fulfilled their mission of preparing the way for the Lord which culminated in the first Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ. Like Isaiah and John the Baptist, we are also called upon to prepare a way for the Lord by preaching the Good News and consistently announcing to the world about the second coming of our Lord Jesus. Just as we have the energy to campaign for our respective political parties to prepare the way for them to come into government we must do the same for the coming of our Lord and Master Jesus. Again, just we spend spend time and energy, convincing people and projecting presidential candidates, we must spend the same time and energy projecting Jesus Christ as the Hope and Saviour of the Lord.

To effectively prepare a way for the Lord, we need to revive the great commission and the spirit of evangelism. We must put into practice the words of the Great Commission when Jesus said “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20) Let us prepare a way for the Lord through evangelism and the winning of souls.

Secondly, apart from preaching or spreading the Gospel as a way of preparing the way of the Lord, we must also prepare ourselves spiritually and morally for the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus. Our obedience to the Word of God is part of preparing a way of the Lord so that we will not not miss eternal life on the judgment day. It is for this reason, that Peter admonished us, ” Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. 14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.” (2 Peter 3:11-14) Beloved in the Lord, it is not enough to preach the Gospel but we must also be fully prepared for the coming of the Lord by obeying the Lord and doing His will. Jesus reminded us that “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21). Advent season offers us the opportunity to reflect on our lives, repent and rededicate our lives to Jesus as Lord and Saviour even as we await His second and final coming. Paul’s admonishment is worthy of our consideration when he wrote, “The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.” (Romans 13:12-14)

In summary, we have discovered that preparing a way for the Lord means announcing the second coming of Jesus as the hope and Saviour of the world. In other words, preaching the Gospel for the salvation of the Word. Again, preparing a way for the Lord means being ready spiritually and morally for His judgement and salvation when He returns the second time. Amen.