Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance
and prepare the way for our
salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we
may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and
reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
The
prayer for the Second Sunday of Advent asks us to heed the prophets who are
working to ‘prepare the way for our salvation’. Isaiah promises that redemption
will come to Israel. “Speak kindly to Jerusalem; And call out to her, that her
warfare has ended, That her iniquity has been removed, That she has received of
the LORD'S hand double for all her sins. A voice is calling, "Clear the
way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our
God. Let every valley be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low;
And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley.”
(Isaiah 40:2-4)
This is
a reference to the idea that prior to the visit of a king, servants would go
ahead to smooth out the roadway so that the king could travel smoothly. The
valleys were filled and hills leveled if possible. As a child I read a series
of books about the “Little Colonel”, Lloyd Sherman. A story told by her mother
is about the Road of the Loving Heart. The actions we do in our lives either
make the road smooth, or leave stones for others to trip over.
What do
you need to remove in your life's roadway to make the way more smooth for the
King of Kings?
