Make Straight The Path

 

A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God."

-Isaiah 40:3

The Prophet Isaiah's prediction here could be attributed to the coming of Jesus Christ. And while it certainly sounds like it - in this case it's not. Isaiah's announcement is very specific - make a path that is straight thru the desert.

The desert - while Jesus made many trips to and thru the desert during his brief ministry, there is only one who lived in the desert. Jesus' cousin, John the Baptist.

He who wore camel's hair clothing (in the desert...fur clothing...talk about suffering) and ate locusts (not a bad idea as they would have been packed with protein) and wild honey (keeping John healthier than his contemporaries). John lived off the land and for the land. 

The land that was to come. Calling for people to make a straight path for the coming of Christ.

A straight path...in a desert. How does one do that exactly? No landmarks, some blowing scrubby bushes perhaps. But with footsteps disappearing as you move forward how do you keep your path straight? You can't trust your eyes; the haze of the heat will trick you. You can't trust your footsteps as they fade back into the endless sand. 

Your trust is misplaced. The physical will not keep you on a straight path. God will keep you on a straight path. If you trust in him the paths you take thru life will unfold before you in beautiful harmony - straight, level, and narrow. So you always know where you are going.

We don't need to know what lies ahead, much as we in our human-ness would like to believe we do. Trust in God, turn to God, lean on God.

Talk with God! Notice it's not "to God". When we pray we are engaging in an otherworldly conversation with our great and awesome God. Open your heart and mind, tune out the cacophony of life that swirls around you - and truly hear God. Unburden your heart and mind to him, he doesn't need your prayers and he has already forgiven you before you even ask for it. He wants to hear your prayers, to be the vessel for your worries and concerns. To take in your gratitude and absolve you of your anxieties.

Prepare ye the way of the Lord! Make straight the path of God!

Bow down your head in prayer and thanksgiving. If you do just that - you are preparing a beautiful path for God to lead you on.

*Today's readings in the Roman Catholic Missal can be found here.