Prepare our Hearts

The boys (Steve, G and J) and I lit the second Advent candle today in the worship service. We've done it a couple of times before, and it's always a special event. Today we lit the second candle for Celebration.

The lectionary reading from the gospel today was Luke 3:1-6, which includes a passage from Isaiah. Verses 4b-6:

Thunder in the desert!
"Prepare God's arrival!
Make the road smooth and straight!
Every ditch will be filled in,
Every bump smoothed out,
The detours straightened out,
All the ruts paved over.
Everyone will be there to see
The parade of God's salvation."
I see the most obvious interpretation of the scripture. Use this time to prepare your hearts to receive God. Be open and receptive to his coming.

As I read it this week, I wondered if there were other ways to look at it. Because of grace, we have help preparing for God's arrival. Isn't that what part of prevenient grace is all about? God preparing a path so that he can reach us?

Perhaps another way to look at it is that because of grace, because of God working within and THROUGH us, we are able to help each other to prepare a path for God to reach us.

All of that is reason to celebrate.

Today our church celebrated communion, and Steve and I were asked to help serve. Our associate pastor had a cold, so she stepped back from serving, and her place was filled by another lay member of our congregation. Because of that strange twist of events, Steve and I served communion together -- he the bread, and me the juice.

I've helped to serve communion before, but for some reason it was special today, and I experienced it in a whole new way. There is a blessing to be found in being the person who serves the juice, and says, "The blood of Christ, shed for you." That blessing is intensified when you can add the person's name to the sentence. To look at a friend, to hand him or her the communion element, and then to say,"Friend, the blood of Christ, shed for you," is a grace I never expected to find today. One particular youth came through our line, and I was able to remember his name (sometimes that doesn't happen), and call him by name as I handed him the cup. I pray that his spirit heard God speaking in what I said. Grace.

It is all a reason to celebrate this Advent Sunday.