Preparing the Way

"...the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert." (Lk 3: 2).  It did not come to Tiberius Ceasar, the Emperor of Rome, not to Pontius Pilate, governor of Judea, not to Herod, the tetrarch of Galilee, not to Annas or Caiaphas, the high priests, but to an itinerant preacher, living in the desert, clothed in camel skins, and eating locusts and wild honey.  It was he who was called "to prepare the way of the Lord, and make straight his paths." (Lk 3: 4).  Typical of the way God works.  It's always the lowly, the fringe people, not those in high places, who are called to set the world ablaze.  So it was with David the shepherd, the youngest of his brothers, so it was with St. Marcellin, the second youngest of his family, the uneducated one, the shepherd and farm boy.  So it is with us.  We are not the folk of high places, but the ordinary people whose lives could be considered dull by those of wealth and power. It is in the desert of our "dullness" that we can receive the spark to ignite our lives and those of others.  What is there in the desert that can help us?  Well, there is simplicity, for sure...not much luxury, just the bare necessities to survive.  Again, simplicity, a very Marist virtue and trait.  With our "nothingness", we have plenty of fuel for the work to be done, for it becomes certain that it is not our fuel or energy helping us to make Jesus known and loved, but the energy and stamina that comes from Jesus himself through the Holy Spirit.  As we begin this second week of Advent, let us follow the example of John, let us BE John, preparing the way for Jesus to be more of a priority in our lives, and making straight the path, filling the valleys, and lowering the mountains in the circle in which we live, so as to prepare hearts to see the salvation of God so readily available to all who truly seek him with all their heart and soul.
Bro. Rene