Luke 3:1-6 / Malachi 3:1-4.

This evening we have lit the second advent candle, that represents peace, preparation and John the Baptist.  It is often called the Bethlehem candle to reflect the journey made by Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem.  It builds on the meaning of the candle we lit last week that signfied the Advent Hope.  Tonight’s candle reminds us that after the division, destruction and dispersion of the kingdom in the Old Testament, there might finally be an opportunity for peace on earth.  Just as at the time of Mary and Joseph we hope and pray for an end to war, conflict and separation in the Holy land.

Today’s candle reminds us of the need for preparation.  ‘Be prepared’ has of course been the motto of the Scouting movement since it was first formed in 1908.  Baden-Powell’s intentions were for Scouts to always be prepared in mind and body to be able to do the right thing at the right moment.  That seems quite a tall order for an 11 year old…… 

It is so easy to get caught up with getting ready at this time of the year.  Supermarkets have been stocking mince pies for months, televisions have been broadcasting Christmas adverts to our homes for weeks and our calendars are filled with Christmas get togethers, parties and drinks.  Somehow instead of being a season of waiting and reflection – Advent has become a time of intense and frenzied preparation.  We feel compelled to buy presents for everyone we know, our fridges, freezers and cupboards groan with supplies, beds are made, homes are scrubbed from top to bottom, decorated and guests are welcomed.  We can get totally immersed with the busyness that we forget that we are preparing for Christmas – the birth of Christ. 

Our reading from Malachi predicts the coming of a messenger, in fact the word Malachi means ‘messenger’ in Hebrew.  Malachi prophesises of the coming of John the Baptist.

‘I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me’

Luke tells us of John the Baptist.  John, the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth who had been waiting faithfully for a child for many years.  John’s birth is heralded by angels, brought about by divine intervention and has many echoes of the birth of Jesus.

John is perhaps the ultimate figure of being prepared.  John is sent to prepare the way – to be the messenger  – to let the people know what is to come.  John’s was the voice heard crying in the wilderness preparing the way for the coming of the Messiah.  He lived for many years in the desert and foretold the coming of the kingdom of God.  John acts as a pivotal figure or link between the worlds of the Old and the New Testaments.

The prophets Malachi and John the Baptist have something in common, they will both be set aside and fade into the background.  Their role is primarily to make the way for Jesus.

How then are we to be prepared?  We do not live in the world of the first coming, we are awaiting the time of the second coming and inhabit the world ‘in between’.  Luke promises us that Jesus will come again.  We wait hopefully, sometimes peacefully and patiently and other times impetously and impatiently. 

Luke recalls the words of the prophet Isaiah; ‘a voice of one crying out in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low, And the crooked shall be made straight, And the rough ways be made smooth And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’

Isaiah foretells the second coming and calls on us to prepare and make ourselves ready.  What is it that gets in the way of us, as individuals and prevents us being ready for meeting God.  What obstacles do we allow to stand in the way, particularly at this time of Advent?  Are the endless to do lists, tasks, meetings and preparations for Christmas the barriers that prevent us from preparing ourselves.  What are our own personal mountains, hills and rough paths which prevent us deepening our knowledge and relationship with Jesus.  I know that I often use busyness as a way of distracting myself from something that I need to stop, pray and reflect on deeply.  It is so much easier to get wrapped up in preparation and far harder to stop and lean into what feels challenging.  But if you do have the courage to wait, pause and lean into the darkness you enable God’s wisdom, forgiveness and healing to come, the light truly can break through.  The light can shine in darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it.

I doubt that I am alone in feeling that the darkness, the brokeness, the conflict and the inequalities of the world can seem overwhelming.  We can almost imagine that we are seeing hints of the signs that predict that second coming.  Many today are less familiar with the times and seasons of the Church year.  We may need to make the meaning of this time of Advent as one of waiting and preparation known more widely.

Perhaps we are asked to be the messengers, the modern day Malachi and John the Baptists.  We are called to proclaim to others that Advent is far more than the season for frantically buying presents, catching up with friends and watching Christmas films.  It is a time to prepare ourselves, to reflect deeply on our lives, where we are now and dream of what we could be.  We are heralds telling of the coming of Jesus, what could be more joyful news than that.  But to be ready, to be prepared, we need to stop and ask where God is calling us.