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by Magrey R. DeVega

First Week of Advent

John the Baptist

“Slow Down, Pay Attention”

Read Mark 1:1-8

Pastor deVega starts the chapter with a story about driving down the road with his daughter in the car and his mind busy with all things in his life. He was so distracted by them he didn’t realize he was exceeding the speed limit until the lights and sirens appeared in his rear view mirror.

🧐 Have you ever become so absorbed by the world inside your head that you took your eyes off the road?

In Mark 1:2 we read that God is going to send a messenger ahead of the Messiah (Jesus) who will “prepare” the way for the Lord. Pastor deVega tells us:

✔️ The Greek word for “prepare” can also mean construct or create as well as furnish or equip. In the New Testament it also describes the building of the Tabernacle and Noah’s Ark. (Hebrews 9:1-7; 1 Peter 3:20). In a sense, this word for prepare can mean to make human beings ready as vessels, receptacles of God’s love, compassion, and grace. (pg 18)

Pastor goes on to give us specific scriptures that involve preparations. They are as follow:

John 14:2-3; 1 Corinthians 2:9; Hebrews 11:16; Matthew 22:4; 25:34, 41; Matthew 26:17-19; Mark 14:12-16; Luke 22:7-13.

I hope you can find time to revisit these scriptures and consider the importance each one holds. Consider those involved in the preparations and their obedience through faith. The majority of the preparations sounded wonderful, a room, a dinner, a kingdom. But I n Matthew 22:41 we are told an eternal fire was prepared. We have a choice to make.

✔️ By using two different aspects of the word prepare, he is calling his audience to 1) make themselves ready as vessels or homes to receive Jesus and 2) participate sacramentally in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. (pg 19)

✔️ To prepare for the coming of Jesus once again in our lives is to live out the presence of Christ among us, right here and right now. (pg 21)

✔️ To be prepared for the arrival of Jesus requires the inner work of confession and repentance, as well as the anticipatory work of participating in the sacraments. (pg 23)

🧐 John the Baptizer was preparing us for the arrival of the Messiah. Today we should be preparing for His arrival ..… a second time.

Reflection Questions:

When have you ever been lost and needed to consult a guide to find your direction? Or when have you ever been pulled over for speeding and needed to slow down? In the aftermath of those experiences, how did your perspectives and behavior change?

✍️ I’ve been pulled over twice and after both times I was more aware of my speed leaving or entering my home town. It lasted for awhile and as time went by I became less and less aware of it. As I sit here thinking, I see the same thing happening in our world today. As time goes by it seems we become less and less aware of one of God’s preparations, the eternal fire.

How do you need to slow down and pay more attention to your own spiritual preparations during Advent? What are the items on your holiday to-do list that might get in the way?

✍️ In regard to paying more attention to my spiritual preparations during Advent I need to become involved in the activities of the church. I hesitate because I haven’t found my “spot” in the church up here like I had in the church back home. I know what I should do, it’s just that doing it is another story.

Digging Deeper:

1. Remembrance, in the sacramental sense, is not just recalling the past; it is dynamically reliving it in the present, and anticipating it in the future. What difference does this idea make in your understanding of baptism and Communion?
2. Can you think of other things that you remember or anticipate in this way? What are they, and how is this type of remembering different than your normal recollection?
3. What parts of your life need to be “made straight” today? What do you need to focus on in order not to “deviate to the right or to the left”? ✍️ My current struggle is not that I’ve “deviated”, it’s that I want to. I want to follow the thousands that have drifted to the left. I miss them.