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Footsteps to Follow: Preparations

Perhaps with the exception of procrastinators, preparations for Christmas are in full speed for those who observe the holiday.

Commercials are a constant reminder of the priority we need to have with shopping. Black Friday, often seen as the start of the shopping season, has come and gone. Cyber Monday has also come and gone. There are only so many shopping days left, and sometimes we develop a sense of urgency about buying gifts.

In addition to shopping, we decorate our homes, inside and out. We host or attend parties or both. We send Christmas greetings. We plan and bake special meals.

With all that we feel must be done to prepare, we often find it to be a very hectic time.

However, as we prepare this to-do list, we need to include a spiritual component as well.

For those who believe it is a Holy Day and not just a holiday, there is even more preparation. Advent for the Christian is a time of preparation. We get that sense in the lectionary readings for this Sunday.

The Prophet Malachi wrote, “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me” (Malachi 3:1 NIV). In the Gospel lesson, Luke recalls the words of Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him'” (Isaiah 40:3, Luke 3:4). Luke reaffirms that John the Baptist was to set the stage for the coming of the Messiah; he was to prepare the way. Many awaited the Messenger and the message He carried.

We who follow that Messenger are to share that message. As we prepare, we hope we do not lose sight of that responsibility. As each of us prepares for this great day, now just a few weeks away, may we truly focus on that which is important.

In most of our churches, we see an Advent wreath as we observe the four Sundays before Christmas. The wreath reminds us of ideas that are not just part of our preparation, but should be part of our daily lives as well.

The four Advent candles that mark the Sundays in Advent sometimes differ in symbolism but often are seen as candles of joy, hope, peace, and love. If ever a world needed these ideas, it certainly is now.

This Sunday, we reflect on the candle of peace.

Daily headlines remind us of a peace that is absent in the world and, of course, in individual lives as well. Those headlines remind us of the darkness that is still present. At times our hearts break as we see story after story unfold across the world, across our country, across our state, and even across our own community.

Many in the world still await the message that is so vastly needed: There is a God whose love can reach even the darkest of places. That is a message all of us can share and especially those preparing to celebrate Christmas as a Holy Day.

As we prepare for this coming Holy Day, we may not be able to do much about the violence or the many rampant “isms,” or the conflict and strife in another community. We can do something in our own little corner of the world, and that is to provide light.

Let each of us in our own faith pray for peace, and may each of us practice peace each day. As we do that, I believe it will go far in our own preparation for Christmas.

Max Furman, pastor of Antes Fort-Oriole UM Parish, Allenwood

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