Each Advent we hear pieces of the story of the ministry of John the Baptist. All four of the Gospel writers give us different parts of John’s story & his ministry. John’s ministry came just before Jesus’ ministry – many call John a “way maker” for the Messiah. John did urge folks to repent and to come to a Baptism of God's forgiveness.

These six verses at the start of Chapter 3 of Luke’s Gospel help us catch a glimpse of John’s arrival on the scene in the midst of history. John appears in the midst of history not as an insider, rather as an outsider – an unknown one who came to prepare the way!

Today we do not have beautiful canticles from Mary or poetry from Zechariah; today offers us no angelic visitations; we don’t even hear about how the unborn John leapt for joy in Elizabeth’s womb when pregnant Mary came by to talk with her cousin. In this 2nd week of Advent this year, we catch only a brief glimpse of a preacher who bursts on the scene out of the wilderness, a man on a mission from God, who came to make a way for the Messiah to enter history!

Luke wants us to be sure to notice that the Word of God came to John, son of a faithful Jewish priest, within a moment of world history. He notes quite specifically what exact year it was by noting who was in political power and who had religious authority at that time. We aren’t familiar with the names but Luke’s readers would have known the names of those in power.

Luke notes that at the very bottom of the political pecking order, on the outskirts of town, came an obscure preacher’s kid - John does not sit on a throne in a palace; rather John walks around in the desert wilderness country near the Jordan River. Like many unknowns before him John has received a call from God. This is a story of the "scandal of particularity"- that God's Word - so grand and universal and intended for all people - comes to a particular person at a particular time and in a particular place… This is not a “Once Upon A Time” beginning... This is God breaking into real history. This is God acting in human time among human beings… Today’s text tells us of a human reality & a Divine reality intersecting. This is not make-believe... This is reality at its best!!

This is about a Still Speaking God speaking to John in his “real time”… And John responds to God’s call and arrives on the scene, outside of town, to alert folks that someone else will come after him… And over and over again God does keep coming among us... God speaks to us & brings us God’s Word for our particular time and our particular place. Human reality and Diving reality continue to intersect – even today!

In the 2009th year of our Lord Jesus Christ, when Kofi Annan was United Nations Secretary-General, when Gordon Brown was Prime minister of Great Britain, Nicolas Sar-ko-zy was President of France, & Barack Obama was in the 1st year as President of the United States; when Jodi Rell was Governor of the state of CT, when Geoffrey Black was in his 1st year of ministry as General Minister & President of the United Church of Christ & Davida Foy Crabtree was in her 13th year as CT Conference Minister, the Word of God came to the people of Rocky Hill Congregational Church United Church of Christ through an itinerant preacher Barbara Libby who came out of the wilderness of New Haven…

Do you hear it? Do you hear that God is speaking to us still? For it is up to us to open our ears this day to hear what God has to say to us… I am here today to proclaim to all of us: “Prepare the way of the Lord!” For it is up to us during this Advent to prepare for Jesus’ coming to us! It is up to us to repent, to turn again towards God, so that we will be prepared and ready when the Messiah arrives...

It is up to us to prepare and to train as if for a race or an athletic event. We are to get ready for Jesus! This is “training day” this season – I am encouraging us all to place ourselves in the winning lane where we will triumph over anything that holds us back… This “training day” is about getting ready to embrace the Great Mystery… This “training day” is about getting ready to embrace the Divine that has come, is coming, and will come again. I’m here to challenge you today and to ask you how you are doing in your training this year?

We know that it is not enough to get our houses decorated, to get out the garland, the tinsel, and the manger scenes… It is not enough to bake the cookies, to buy and wrap the gifts… We know how to prepare on the “outside”…The more difficult challenge is to prepare on the “inside”…

Donna suggested last week that we “raise our heads” during this Advent season... She reminded us not to miss the Mystery all around us… Today I want to suggest that we “open our ears” this Advent – to hear the world holding its breath, to note the quiet fall of snow, to hear the faint rustle of angel wings, and to catch the tiny cry of an infant being born…

Each Advent we are reminded to Prepare and to Get Ready!

And it is so easy to put it off… It is so much easier to fill up our days with busy-ness…

If we want God to come into our lives we have to prepare the way and get ready...

In just a few more weeks Christmas will be here again… Ready or not Christmas will come!

Each year God comes to us again – as a human infant, born of Mary, and reminds us all over again that God came and dwelt among us and dwells among us still… It is up to each of us to prepare a way for God to come again this year.

Do you hear it? Do we have our ears open? Amen…