Advent2025 Waiting With Matthew 16

Day 16: Waiting in Preparation. Today we reflect on Matthew 3:3 – “This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, ‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord…’” Join us this Advent as we sit with the waiting in the first 5 chapters of Matthew's Gospel.

Transcript

Hello friends,

This is Mark Gladman,

Also known as Brother Frederick James,

Your friendly neighbourhood monk in docks.

Welcoming you to day 16 of Advent 2025,

Waiting with Matthew.

Today our focus verse is Matthew chapter 3,

Verse 3.

Where Matthew writes,

So as we begin today,

I invite you to be still,

To breathe deeply,

Allow yourself to come to a space of rest and waiting.

Let your hands rest gently where they are.

Become aware of the air moving through your lungs as you breathe,

That breath of God's spirit.

Each breath is a gift and a moment of invitation.

And today we're going to sit with one of the most iconic voices of Advent.

The voice crying out in the wilderness,

Calling humanity into the sacred labour of preparation.

Matthew tells us that John the Baptist steps into history,

Not by accident,

Not in isolation,

But in the fulfilment of Isaiah's ancient promise.

John isn't merely a preacher,

He's a hinge where prophecy and fulfilment meet,

Where longing becomes clarity and where waiting becomes readiness.

And his message is simple,

But not easy.

Prepare the way of the Lord.

It's a phrase we hear every Advent,

Perhaps so often it becomes familiar.

But if we let the words settle into us,

We begin to realise preparation isn't decorative,

It's not tidying the spiritual living room because God might drop by.

It's the deep work,

The work of clearing the interior pathways so that when Christ comes,

We're ready to truly receive him.

The text says John appeared in the wilderness of Judea,

And this is important.

John's not appearing in a temple or in a palace,

Not appearing where the comfortable,

Religious,

Respectable people live.

He appears in the wilderness,

The place where nothing distracts,

Where the ego starves,

Where the noise of the world fades and only the essential remains.

Advent's always calling us back to that wilderness,

Not to punish us,

But to free us,

Because the truth is,

Most of the time,

Our lives are too crowded for God to pass through the way God desires.

Our interior roads are cluttered with anxieties and plans and habits and wounds and noise.

We build roundabouts of fear and intersections of self-protection,

And without noticing,

Our hearts become hard to navigate.

John's cry is the divine roadworks project,

Prepare the way.

The word prepare in Greek carries the sense of making something ready,

Creating conditions where something greater can be received.

It's the same root idea used when preparing a feast,

Setting a table,

Making room for guests.

Preparation is an act of hospitality,

And Advent preparation is the hospitality of the soul,

Making room for God as God really is,

Not as we often shape God to be.

And then there's this next phrase,

Make his paths straight.

Now John's not talking about moral perfection here,

He's talking about alignment.

Straight paths are unobstructed paths,

They're paths without detours,

Without diversions,

Born of fear or avoidance,

Without the wandering we rely on to keep God at a safe distance.

God's inviting us to examine the winding roads in our hearts,

Where's the bitterness bent the path,

Where have old wounds twisted the way,

Where has distraction accumulated like debris,

Where has self-protection formed unexpected turns.

Advent preparation isn't frantic activity,

It's spacious clarity,

It's the willingness to remove what no longer serves love,

It's the courage to let our hearts undergo a simplification project really.

John appears in the wilderness because the wilderness is where preparation becomes possible.

There in the wilderness,

Away from the noise,

We can finally hear the echo of our own longing,

Crying out,

I want to be ready for God.

Not ready in a perfect way,

But ready in a surrendered way.

And remember this,

In the biblical story,

The wilderness is the place where God meets Israel.

It's where covenant is born,

It's where the manna falls,

It's where water springs from rock,

Where identity is formed.

The wilderness isn't the absence of God,

It's the place of concentrated presence.

So,

When John cries out from the wilderness,

He's not summoning us to absence,

He's summoning us to presence,

To return to a place where God can be heard again.

Advent preparation always begins with listening.

Not acting,

Not planning,

Not fixing,

But listening.

Listening to the movements within.

Listening to the whisper of God buried beneath the rubble of daily life.

Listening to the subtle invitations that rise when we slow down enough to notice.

And when we hear them,

We can begin to ask,

What needs to be lowered and what needs to be raised?

What needs to be cleared and what needs to be surrendered?

Isaiah spoke of valleys lifted up,

Mountains made low,

Rough places becoming smooth.

These are interior images,

They speak of the tender restructuring of the heart.

And sometimes preparation means allowing humility to level the mountains of pride.

Sometimes it means letting hope fill the valleys hollowed by disappointment.

Sometimes it means smoothing the rough edges of our impatience.

Sometimes it means removing stones of resentment that trip our spiritual steps.

And all of this is grace driven.

This preparation isn't self-improvement,

This preparation is cooperation.

We align our hearts so that God's grace can flow freely.

John's message is urgent,

But it's not anxious.

It's urgent because love is coming.

It's urgent because liberation is drawing near.

It's urgent because when God approaches,

Everything shifts.

And so Advent calls us,

Prepare.

Not because God's far away,

But because God is near,

So near,

That every movement of preparation is already held within grace.

And here's the great Advent truth.

We don't prepare the way alone.

The one who comes is also the one who helps us prepare.

Christ walks the path we clear.

Christ strengthens what we cannot straighten.

And Christ enters the wilderness with us.

Preparation is participation in God's own desire for us.

So today,

Take this verse not as a demand,

But as an invitation.

Prepare for the Lord desires to draw near.

Prepare for God is already coming towards you.

Prepare for the wilderness within is already holy ground.

Let this be your Advent work.

Not rushing,

Not perfecting,

Not performing,

But clearing space,

Making room.

Listening for the voice that calls your name from the wilderness.

Prepare the way.

Make the path straight,

For love is approaching.

And as we prepare to bring our time today to a close,

I invite you to take another deep breath in and out.

Allow the things that have moved through your ears,

Your mind and your heart to begin to take root.

As we pray together.

God of the wilderness,

You call us into quiet places so that we may hear your voice again.

You invite us to prepare the pathways of our hearts so that your love may move freely within us.

Clear away what obstructs our seeing.

Level what keeps us distant.

Smooth the rough places of our worry and fear.

Carve out a space in us where Christ may find rest.

Teach us to listen.

Teach us to wait.

Teach us to welcome you with uncluttered hearts.

Come Lord Jesus.

Prepare us for your coming.

And prepare us with your coming.

Amen.

So as you go into the remainder of your day friends,

May you find the courage to enter the wilderness and discover it is the place where God speaks most clearly.

May you prepare the way of the Lord within you with gentleness,

Honesty and holy simplicity.

May you walk the straightened paths of grace,

Trusting that every moment of preparation draws you deeper into love.

And may that grace,

Peace and love go with you today and every day.

Amen.

Until next time friends.

Peace be with you.

Reviews

I am struggling to concentrate on the longer meditations due to burnout and bereavement but I am glad I persevered with this one 🙏🏻

Thank you! This is my favorite reflection so far. I love how you present preparing for God/Jesus/the Christ. 🙏💝🌅

Thank you🙏

Thank you🙏🏻this reflection spoke to my busy, hurried day…May God’s nearness be soothe my weariness.

Thank you 🙏🏾
Peace be with you and especially your Jewish countrymen.

I appreciate you and these reflections.