Getting Ready: Advent Reflections, Luke 1:13b-17

‘“Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”’

Luke 1:13b-17


Early this spring, before we planted anything in our church allotment, we needed to do some preparation. First, a group of us removed all of the weeds and junk from the soil that would compete with the plants. Next, we added compost and nutrients into the soil that would nourish the seeds. Only then did the actual planting, watering and growing begin – and what a bountiful harvest we eventually had!

Similarly, the angel Gabriel tells Zechariah that his coming child John will make ready a people prepared for the Lord. He will prepare the soil in people’s hearts to receive the seed of God’s Word.

As we read later in Luke’s gospel, the way John prepares people is by calling them to repentance.

Repentance means turning away from our sins and from ourselves and turning towards God. Repentance is maintenance, an ongoing clearing of the weeds and rubbish from our hearts so that new life, the life of Christ, can grow in us.

Are our hearts ready for the Lord? How might we need to prepare ourselves in our habits, character and decision-making so that Jesus can live more fully among us and bear fruit?


Prayer:
Lord Jesus, forgive us for how we have turned away from you.
We turn back to you again.
Make us ready for you and come, live in each of us
so that we may bear fruit for your glory.