Prepare the way for the V.I.P

“The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way”— “a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” – Mark 1:1-4

As we enter the season of Advent; that period of time before Christmas; which according to the high street shops starts on September the 1st! But seriously, Advent is a time when we prepare for the coming of Jesus; as the words from the gospel of Mark call out; “prepare the way for the Lord.”

Last Sunday night at Redefine; as part of the start of our advent period; we had a travel cot in the middle of the room; with ‘Police Line Do Not Cross’ tape around it, and two of the volunteers dressed as security guards with high visibility vests on. The whole idea was to pique people’s interests and for the young people to ask what’s going on. The response is that we are preparing for the coming of the King of kings.

Hence the security, hence the tape; but why the cot?

He would be coming as a baby.

Advent is the preparation of the coming of a V.I.P. Actually, the coming of the most important person. The Son of God. God in the flesh. Emmanuel. God with us.

Interestingly, though, Jesus didn’t come to a palace with guards and fanfare; celebration and celebrities.

He was born to a carpenter and his young bride. Placed in a feeding trough; with shepherds as the celebrants to welcome his arrival.

The whole birth of Jesus is rich with symbols and import; and over the next couple of weeks, we want to strip away all of the traditional nonsense; and get back to the awesome message of God coming to earth, coming to serve, coming to save.

I recently came across a great resource for Advent; for preparing for Jesus: God’s Story – Preparing for Jesus by Crosswalk Kids Club.

This Christmas let’s focus on the big deal of Christmas.

Let’s peel aside the turkey and the tinsel and gaze in awe at God’s greatest gift.

Jesus.