In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.” (Matthew 3:1-3, ESV)

Advent is a season of preparation. It’s the time in the life of the church that anticipates and “prepares” for the promised Christ child who would deliver us from our sins. In order to prepare for the coming of Jesus, a forerunner was sent. We know him as John the Baptist. He was the cousin of Jesus, and he was sent to prepare the way. That is, whatever John said and did pointed to Jesus and His message of forgiveness and life.

Advent points to Jesus.

In fact, even John himself said that he must decrease and Jesus must increase (John 3:30). In other words, all the work he was doing was meant to point toward Jesus. He was literally preparing the way. The season of Advent invites us to prepare the way for the Lord—in our daily lives, in our places of work, in our communities, in our priorities, and in our conversations.

How is that going for you so far?

As a kid, I remember getting an Advent calendar that let us open a window each day of the month in anticipation for the arrival of Christmas Day. The anticipation we felt was always palpable as my brothers and I couldn’t wait for that Christmas Eve service to arrive so we could hurry our parents out the church door afterward in order to get home and open our presents.

To be sure, my parents were faithful in teaching us the “reason for the season.” On Christmas Day, our stockings were always full, and Santa’s letter, which was somehow amazingly written in my mother’s immaculate handwriting, always explicitly pointed us to Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection, as the ultimate and true meaning of Christmas.

As Christmas is secularized, we lose Advent.

This is the “Good News” of Christmas. Yet our society would have us be more concerned about preparing for the secular notion of the holiday than its true meaning. Here, the whole season of Advent gets lost. It’s replaced with the secular idea of Christmas and, most importantly, the latest shopping deals that distract us and disorient us from preparing for the coming of Christ.

Satan is sinister with his temptations. If people can be distracted from the reason for the season, then society can continue to secularize this Christian festival. Consider how many TV commercials talk about Santa, Rudolph, and the Elf of the Shelf as the “magic” of Christmas. And how many talk about Jesus Christ as the only reason for Christmas? Oh, the irony!

I am not against Santa, Rudolph, and the Elf of the Shelf—or at least, I didn’t used to be. But perhaps I am in some ways. (When you’re done rolling your eyes at me, let me explain why.) When I was growing up as a young kid in the 80s and 90s, the predominant view of society still held Christmas as a Christian celebration. In other words, most still assumed the point of Christmas was really about the birth of Jesus Christ.

Sure, the push for a more secular society was there (for example, the push to say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas”). But before then, society generally seemed to know, or at least be familiar with, the story of the world from a Christian perspective. No, not everyone necessarily agreed with it. And I am not naive enough to think every American was a Christian. Far from it.

Rather, my point is that the assumption that the Christian narrative is accepted and readily reinforced as a normal part of society no longer rings true. Belief in Santa was once a sort of children’s fairy-tale initiation rite of Christmas that was easily outgrown. It was not the story that shaped our culture’s view of Christmas. Nativity scenes were still safe to display on public grounds. However, without question, the secular idea of Christmas has now become the predominant story of Christmas in our culture, and it regularly tempts us away from preparing for the coming of Christ.

Here is my point. Each year, more secular elements of society are introduced to distract or entice us away from the true meaning and celebration of Christmas—and therefore the Christian life of faith in and through Jesus Christ.

No, you are not wrong or bad if you like Santa and Rudolph or have an Elf on the Shelf. I still love the classic stop-motion movie Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. So please don’t throw tomatoes or write me angry emails. I simply want us to realize that the culture we are now living in has a different defining story for itself that will not reinforce our Christian beliefs as it once did. And like John the Baptist, we must be intentional about preparing the way for Christ in the face of all the temptations around us. Not only as a witness to the unbelievers in the world around us, but especially for our own souls and those of our families.

Back to true Christmas—with the help of Advent.

Here are a few ways you might consider preparing the way of the Lord this Advent season. Be intentional about your devotional life and what it means to prepare your heart and mind to live a life of discipleship. Then, intentionally act upon it.

Try reflecting on the Hymn “Prepare the Royal Highway” (LSB #343) and considering how it ties the Advent of the Christ child with the triumphal entry of the grown Christ into Jerusalem to bear the cross for our sins.

1. Use the stanzas of the hymn as a prayer.

2. Use the stanzas of the hymn as an opportunity to “prepare the royal highway” by leveling the sin in your life through confession and absolution, that you might be ready to rejoice in your salvation even as every hill of doubt or valley of despair is now made a level road of confident faith.

3. Fortified with that confidence, intentionally go about sharing the reason for the hope that is in you as your daily conversations allow.

You might also try this: every time you go about making any kind of Christmas preparations—be it putting up lights, buying presents, making cards, or cooking a meal—let those preparations be a reminder for you to intentionally prepare the way of the Lord in your own life, in the life of your family, and especially in the life of a coworker or neighbor who does not believe in Jesus Christ. If that’s not your comfort zone, no worries. Stanza three of “Prepare the Royal Highway” says:

God’s promise will not fail you! No more shall doubt assail you!

In other words, the Lord will lead you forward. He gives you words to say and actions to do.

The Lord will lead you forward.

In a culture and people who have lost their own story, wondering who they are, why they’re here, and what the purpose of life is, we as the Church have the profound opportunity to be prepared to tell the story, starting with Advent and Christmas and going all the way through Lent, Easter, and Pentecost. It brings ultimate meaning to our life with Christ—meaning that will last long after the presents are exchanged and the wrapping paper is cleaned up.

Join me this Advent season in preparing the way of the Lord!

Your brother in Christ,

Pastor Lucas

Rev. Dr. Lucas V. Woodford
President
Minnesota South District, LCMS
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