Advent is a time of preparation for the coming of Jesus: a time for us to “be watchful”, to “stay awake, to “prepare the way of the Lord” and “make straight his paths”. But what does this mean for us? Is it just an idea? Or is it something more, something concrete, something that we can put into action?
Think for a moment about what Christmas is. In the first Christmas, God became visible for the first time in history as a human being: Jesus. He became visible for a reason: he came to save us, to show us how to be true human beings. A true human being looks like Jesus: a person in whom God is visible. When people look at us, they should see Jesus. This is why, in Orthodoxy, the saints are so often depicted in icons of shining gold: it is a sign of the radiance of God shining forth from the saint. This is what we are called to be, icons of God shining in the world.
Clearly this is a lot more than an idea, it’s a program of action! But how to carry it out?
Thankfully, Jesus will do it in us, if we let him. But we have to move the roadblocks out of his way, we have to make straight the crooked corners of our lives, to “prepare the way of the Lord” in us, and “make straight his paths”. Ask him for guidance in seeing which roadblock to move first. Is there anything that keeps others from seeing Jesus when they look at us? What is in the way? Maybe a bad habit? A grudge? Some pleasure we like too much? Something we can’t stop once we start? A rift between ourselves and a loved one? Or maybe it’s something we think we’re entitled to? We can choose, now, today, to let it go, clean it up, put an end to it, so that it will no longer be a barrier, and Jesus can get through.
What about staying awake, being watchful? Well, we know things happen unexpectedly in our lives, we can be faced with important choices without much notice. Something happens that rattles us. A loved one says something that really stings. Someone asks something difficult of us. Suddenly, we have to respond. Will we respond in a way that shows Jesus to others? Jesus has come to us at an unexpected hour. Are we ready?
This is not easy, this being watchful, this straightening out of paths. But if we are of good will and want the peace promised by the Angel to the shepherds of Bethlehem, if we want the Christmas tidings of great joy to echo in our hearts and in our families, then we need to actively clear the way for Jesus to work in our lives and in our families, so he can make us the people that we are meant to be.
Copyright 2015, Agapios Theophilus
Agapios Theophilus
Agapios Theophilus is the "nom de plume" of a catholic layman who has loved Jesus from when, as a young boy in the 1970s, he first learned about him. His First Communion, at the age of seven, was the happiest day of his life, and he celebrates its anniversary each year. He lives in a large city with his beloved wife, two wonderful children, and an affectionate orange and white cat. He has no formal qualifications whatsoever to write about Jesus: he writes only because he has been given the great gift of knowing and loving him, and he would like others to come to know and love him too. See Agapios' posts at https://sites.google.com/view/agapios-theophilus and follow Agapios on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/a9apios
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Agapios:
At times we have to risk getting wet in the rain storm, if we want to cross the street to get to the safety of our home.
Luciano