Hello friends,
This is Mark Gladman,
Also known as Brother Frederick James,
Your friendly neighbourhood monk in docks.
Welcome to day 8 of Towards the Light,
An Advent Journey,
And today we want to think about making straight the path.
It is a season that calls us to prepare,
Not in frantic busyness,
But in intentional openness.
The voice of John the Baptist cries out across the centuries,
Prepare the way of the Lord,
Make straight paths for him.
We see that cry in Matthew 3 and verse 3,
And his call though isn't just for the wilderness of Judea,
His call is also for the wilderness of our hearts.
It's about looking inward and taking the time to ask what needs to change,
What's blocking the way for Christ to enter in.
Isaiah the prophet speaks of valleys being raised and mountains being made low,
Of rough ground being levelled and rugged places smoothed.
Listen,
Isaiah wrote in chapter 40 verses 3 and 4,
A voice of one calling,
In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be raised up,
Every mountain and hill made low,
The rough ground shall become level and the rugged places are plain.
Notice that these are not small adjustments,
These are major transformations.
Advent invites us to begin that work within ourselves,
Removing the obstacles that keep us from God's love,
That keep God's love from flowing freely through us.
And to look carefully at the reasons that is,
Perhaps it's pride,
Maybe fear,
Or there's an old wound that you've held on to far too long,
Or maybe it's the distractions that pull your heart in a thousand different directions every single day.
Saint Augustine said it well,
God is always trying to give good things to us,
But our hands are too full to receive them.
Let me say that again,
Listen very carefully and think about how this might apply to your life.
God is always trying to give good things to us,
But our hands are too full to receive them.
Maybe take some time to reflect on that today.
What are you holding on to so tightly that it leaves no room for you to receive grace?
Friend,
Advent is not about perfecting yourself,
It's about creating space,
Letting God smooth what's rough and straighten what's been twisted.
It's about trusting that God's love meets you exactly where you are and draws you closer,
Closer to where you're supposed to be.
As you enter into a time of reflection today,
May you find the courage to name what it is that you need to let go of,
What needs to be released.
May you clear the path of distractions to make room for peace.
May you trust that God's work in you is both gentle and powerful.
And may you prepare the way for the Lord,
Knowing that Christ meets you in every step.
Sit and spend some time with the words of Isaiah and Matthew and ask yourself,
What uneven ground in my heart needs God's touch?
And maybe take some time to sit with God and slowly but surely allow your hand to open.
And may grace,
Peace and the love of God be with you in that moment and every step of your way through today.
Amen.
And until tomorrow,
Bye for now.
