Advemt II

Advent II (Luke 3:1-6) “Prepare!”

A true prophet of God proclaims two words: repent and prepare.

A true prophet calls people to change the way we live our lives in two very specific areas of our lives. Those two areas are worship and compassion. Worship is how we experience divine love. Compassion is how we express human love. Both aspects of love are design features of our species.

The Law of Moses temporarily restrains the distortions people call evil. But, the Law cannot address the underlying cause of these distortions. Only the One who designed the original blessing can address the underlying cause of distortions in our thoughts, emotions and will. This is where the second authentic word of a true prophet emerges. That second authentic word is “prepare”.

The call to repentance in the categories of worship and compassion can only help us to identify our resistance to the design feature of the universe (the Sabbath) and our species (kindness). The true prophet of God calls people to prepare to meet the true Word of God. That word is made flesh in the Son of God, the Messiah, the Christ.

Once the Son of God appears there is no longer any need to call people to look into the mirror of the Law to see where we distort worship and compassion. We now have the Son, Jesus Christ, who is the perfect mirror both of the original design and of the way we distort the design.

Once the Son of God appears there is no longer the need to invite people to prepare to receive Him. He has come. The call now is the call to receive the One who has come to this planet and now offers himself to us. John the Baptist was the last true prophet of God that God himself sent to proclaim the two authentic words of prophecy: repent and prepare.

The word God now issues to all people everywhere is: Come. Come to Jesus so you can be found by God. Come to Jesus so you can receive the gifts of reunification and transformation. Come to Jesus for Jesus to prepare your soul to live a forever life of delight and abundance in the Real Presence of universal unconditional love.

On this second Sunday of Advent in the year of our living Lord Jesus Christ 2,015, Jesus takes the true prophetic words “repent” and “prepare” and transforms them by his real presence to invite us to allow the Holy Spirit to reunite us to the Father in Him. He then asks us to follow the light of life into a process of preparation for us to be with him the light of life to a fearful and anxious world.

John the Baptist, the last true prophet of God, proclaims repent – renounce your rebellion against the original design of our species. He then declares: prepare. Prepare to receive the One who is the unification of divinity and humanity. Prepare to receive Jesus. And, once you receive Jesus prepare to be transformed. Prepare to be amazed!