my favorite verse

For nearly 10 years now my favorite verse has remained the same; Proverbs 3.5-6. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight." (emphasis mine).

This passage of Scripture has always been something I've aspired to live up to. There have been plenty of decisions I've made without the counsel of my Creator, and inevitably the paths to and from those decision points are filled with curves, hills, and fog. Then there are those decisions which, by the grace of God, I've remembered to trust in the LORD. In those places and times I've felt confident, comfortable, and at peace.

I say all this to point just how strange I found it to read the words of Isaiah in the Gospel for Advent 2c. "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." (emphasis mine). What does it mean for us, as human beings, to make straight the paths of the coming Lord? How can we prepare the way? It seems clear to me from what I've recounted above that I can't make my own paths straight, how can I do it then for the Lord?

Maybe the recalling of this passage from 2nd Isaiah is just a way of reminding the prophet of his/her calling. Maybe it isn't for us all to make straight the path of God. Perhaps it is the job of the prophet to walk on ahead, finding the best way for God to work His way through. JBap, as he is affectionately referred to, had just such a job. Proclaiming the repentance of sins was setting the stage for Jesus to declare salvation, freedom from sin. Baruch called the people out of their own naval-gazing and self-pity so that they were ready for God to restore Israel. Paul laid the foundation of the Gospel in Philippi, so that God could fill them to overflowing with love and knowledge.

I'm going to stick to trusting God to make my paths straight, but more power to those of you with the gift of prophecy, flattening roads is one heck of a job (just ask VDOT).