It is the season of Advent, when we prepare for the coming of Christ. The first Sunday in December our pastor gave a sermon about preparing for Christmas, with the text of Mark 1:1-4. John the Baptist came to “Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him” (Mark 1:3), so he baptized and preached repentance.
Repentance. That is a different kind of preparation than we usually think of for Christmas. Sounds a lot more somber than what we’re used to. But if we knew that Jesus really were coming back this December 25th, our preparations for that joyous occasion would indeed be much more serious than for an “ordinary” Christmas. Preparation and repentance prepare the way for celebration. And so in the book of Luke, the Christmas story starts with Zechariah, Elizabeth, and baby John the Baptist, not with Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus.
In his sermon, our pastor explained that the Greek word for “prepare” is the same word used for constructing a house, so it’s work that involves breaking a sweat. Kind of goes along with the carol, “Let every heart prepare him room.” Except we’re not supposed to just clear out a corner of a room for Christ, or even prepare an entire room. He’s supposed to get the whole house. “Love the LORD your God with ALL your heart and with ALL your soul and with ALL your strength” (Deut. 6:5, emphasis added).
I used to watch the TV show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” where a lucky family gets their home completely remodeled. At least that’s what they did originally. The homes that were picked for the show were in such bad shape that, pretty soon, they realized it was better to tear down the whole house and start from scratch. So now the family gets an entirely new house.
“Extreme Makeover: Heart Edition.” That’s what we’re supposed to do to prepare for Christmas. We’re not supposed to just clean house and make sure we remember to focus on Christ at Christmas amid everything else. Our hearts need to be gutted and rebuilt from scratch. Of course this is an ongoing process, which is why it is so helpful that Advent comes every year. Elias and I just finished attending a Sunday School series based on Dallas Willard’s book Renovation of the Heart, which describes this process of extreme heart renovation. It starts with acknowledging the utterly ruined condition of our souls and that our hearts deceive us.
I’ve also been reading a book of collected writings called Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas. The reading by Alfred Delp speaks of Advent as “a time when we ought to be shaken and brought to a realization of ourselves” (p. 86).
“The Advent message comes out of an encounter of man with the absolute, the final, the gospel. It is thus the message that shakes – so that in the end the world shall be shaken. If we are inwardly unshaken, inwardly incapable of being genuinely shaken, if we become obstinate and hard and superficial and cheap, then God will himself intervene in world events and teach us what it means to be placed in this agitation and be stirred inwardly.” (p. 85)
In the book of Haggai 2:6-7, the LORD says “In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory.”
Do you desire Jesus to come to you this Christmas? Then desire the shaking that comes before the glory.
Facing Jordan 