It is good to see all of you gathered around here. And it is good to see all the rest of you gathered around us. And to know that there are those of you gathered around us via our live cast all over the country.

Welcome.

Today, we will have only one sermon. We are trying out a new idea. I will preach to all of us from here. And so, we begin.

In our story about John the Baptist it says that he was wearing camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist. Now this is not actually a camel’s skin but it is a sheep skin and it makes us think of folks who use the natural things of the earth to keep warm. 

For the people in the story today, seeing someone dressed with a camel’s skin and a leather belt would be a sign. Just like when you see Rev. Paula in her black shirt with a white collar around her neck, or wearing the colorful chasuble in church—what does her outfit tell us about her? Yes, it tells us that she is a priest. For the people in our story this outfit told them that John was a Prophet, not just any prophet, but a prophet like the great prophet Elijah.

Now in our Old Testament reading that Andy read today we hear from another prophet—the Prophet Isaiah. He was alive about 700 years before John the Baptist—and this is what he had to say:

“A voice cries out:

In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;

the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.

Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,

The Gospel writer today tells us that John the Baptist is this voice crying out, “Prepare the way of the Lord.” Now John was speaking to the people who were gathering around him in the wilderness. But our Gospel writer write it down so we could all hear it, and I am speaking it to all of you who are gathered around me today. I bring the challenge to each of you

Prepare the Way of the Lord—make his paths straight

So what does that mean for us?

Well, how many of you have been preparing for Christmas? 

What do you do to prepare for Christmas? 

Moving furniture around to make space for the tree? Finding the perfect gift for someone you care about? Writing cards? Baking treats? Practicing songs? Attending special events?

Why do we do all these things?

Because Christmas is important, and we want to share it with people who are important to us. We want them to know we care and we love them—sometimes we even reach out to strangers to share with them.

Or lets think of something else we prepare for—what if you have a special visitor coming to your home to stay for a few days? How do you prepare for them?

Throw out the trash? Tidy up? Put clean sheets on the bed? Maybe buy the special kind of coffee they like to drink or their favorite food to eat?  If there is a broken stair, maybe you repair it.

I know when my Mom is coming to stay, we make sure that the paths in the house are clear so she can get around using her walker. I know that when my two-year-old godson comes to stay we make sure there are no small choking hazards and we cover up the outlets to keep him safe.

It makes me think of filling in those rough places that Isaiah spoke about

Leveling the mountains and raising up those valleys to make the path smooth and straight.

So why do we do all those things when we are preparing for people who are coming to stay?

Because we want them to know they are important to us.

We want them to know they matter and we care about who they are and what is important to them. So now we take our reflections and we ask ourselves, what can we do to Prepare the Way for the Lord? In our home? In our room? In our hearts?

Do we need to move some things out of the way? Maybe literally we need to create a special prayer corner in our room so we have a place to meet with God. Or maybe figuratively, we need to move other things that have become too important out of the way.

What would it mean to get God’s favorite food? Would it be bread and wine? Or maybe God would just like to share your favorite food? What would it be like if we set a place at the table for God? And maybe one day a new friend or neighbor might sit in that spot and we could see Christ in them.

What if we wrote God a Christmas card this year? Or spent some time just talking together—sharing our hopes and our pains.

Why? Why would we do these things to Prepare the Way of the Lord?

Maybe because it is what we do when something or someone is important to us. Maybe we do it because we want God to know of our love for God. And we want to care about the things that God cares about.

And maybe when we do the words of Isaiah will be true, “The glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all the people shall see it together.”

Amen.