No Express Trains to Bethlehem

Had our best turn-out yet. For those who missed, here is the message for the week of November 28

John 3:1-6

Every year, about this time, we all hop a train headed toward Bethlehem. We begin to prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of the Christ-child. Even in the midst of the shopping, the baking, the entertaining, we look forward to arriving in Bethlehem to catch a glimpse of the Christ child. For Christ to be born once again in our hearts. Emmanuel. God with us. The hope of the world in the form of a precious little baby.

Here in Germany, the ride comes with Christmas Markets, gluhwein, advent wreaths and trimmings worthy of any Hallmark card. We enjoy our ride. Until… BAM! The train comes to a screeching halt. Not at Bethlehem, but at the river Jordan. And instead of a precious scene of mother and child, we come face to face with the wooly-haired, wild-eyed, locust-eating, hair-shirt wearing, loud-mouthed John the Baptist. No Heavenly Hosts. No Glorias. No Alleluias. Just the grating voice of a man we wouldn’t dream of having over for dinner calling on us to Prepare the Way of the Lord. Repent! He calls. Repent!

We think, “This is a mistake. I’m pretty sure I got on the express train to Bethlehem. No stops between now and Christmas.” But John keeps going—quoting one of his predecessors, the prophet Isaiah. “Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth.”

The voice of John clashes with the hum of Christmas carols and interrupts the to-do list running through our heads. But, as disturbing and disruptive as John the Baptist is, we need to see him on our way to Bethlehem. On our way to come face to face with the word made flesh. On our way to the night love came down.

Because seeing John reminds us of our need to repent—a word which literally means to turn around. To turn around and head in a new direction. And the words of Isaiah thrown back at us by John give us a clue as to where to start. Perhaps there are empty spaces in our lives that need to be filled, crooked places that need to be straightened, rough spots that need to be smoothed, and prideful areas that could use some leveling out.

To prepare the way of the Lord is to acknowledge our own need for the powerful love of God made manifest in Jesus Christ. To trot out those empty spaces and puffed up places, to reveal the rough spots and the stress knots and lay them at the manger before a God who loved us enough to become one of us.

There is no express train to Bethlehem. To get there, we must stop at the river Jordan and heed the words of John the Baptist. Before we arrive at that sacred scene, we must take the time to prepare our hearts and our minds and our lives to receive this mysterious, wondrous gift of love.