“Make straight his paths…” Matthew 3:3
One of my Advent dreams this year was to be more reflective, spend some time each day in prayer: read the Advent readings from the missal and maybe write a few reflections about them. But here it is the third Sunday and I have yet to begin. Instead, I feel like an arctic explorer, forging my way through—just hoping to reach Christmas in one piece. Along with that, there’ve been leaky pipes, torn out walls, and a couple of big plastic tarps in the kitchen as part of our holiday decoration theme this year.
But, it is never too late to make like Fred and Ginger, to pick myself up, dust myself off, and start all over again. So, this morning, with a little time on my hand, waiting for the sheet-rock guy to come, I am going to reflect on last Sunday’s Gospel reading: Matthew 3:1-9.
It begins:
“John the Baptist
appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea
and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"
It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said:
A voice of one crying out in the desert,
Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.
John wore clothing made of camel's hair
and had a leather belt around his waist.
His food was locusts and wild honey.”
And like always, my first thought is of those locusts. How did he eat them? Did he cook them? Raw? Live…? And what about all that honey? Didn’t it get in his beard, his hair? Think about it… Sticky fingers, camel hair, and all that desert sand? Just the hygiene issues overwhelm me.
But then I looked back at the reading and found myself caught by those simple directions. “Make straight his paths…” And immediately I thought, Yes! That’s what I need to do. I need to make a straight path. That could be my Advent practice. I need to put God first, focus my attention and start… Wait, a minute.
Suddenly I noticed how quiet the house was and looked at the clock. It was barely 5am... You know what? Now would be a great time to throw together a batch of molasses spice walnut muffins. In fact, I could contemplate the Gospel while mixing them up and once they’re in the oven, I’ll be ready to start writing. Perfect. I have a plan! But plane are not my strong suit.
As soon as the muffins were in the oven (and that is not a
euphemism), I realized: if I don’t clean up my dishes, the cats will get into them,
maybe break something. So, instead of writing, I picked up my bowl and
measuring cups, and figured I could contemplate a little longer while washing
dishes. No problem. I’m still on track. But, wait. The sink already has dishes in
it. No problem, I can wash those too.
More time to contemplate and then --writing! But before I can run a sink full of water, I’m
going to need to clear out these dishes and scrub the sink! And so, I get out
the Barkeeper’s Friend and a sponge and start scrubbing the sink—which could be
a euphemism—but isn’t this time. Anyway,
there I was scrubbing the sink, trying to ponder what Isaiah and John meant
when they said: Make a straight path.
Was it just to make travel easier? Whose travel. The Lord’s… But the
Lord doesn’t need a straight path. Right? He’s God… So, who are we
straightening the path for? And again I thought: I could write about that! But
just then, a cat started crying in the hallway. He’s going to wake everyone and then my quiet
time will be gone! I hurry down the hallway and find a cat standing in the
bathtub. Waiting for me to turn on the water, so he can lap the drips falling
from the spout. I do it, and make a straight path right back to my pen and
notebook, but by now my coffee is cold. And the oven timer is going off. I get
the muffins out and set them on a rack to cool, but then another cat starts
fussing. She wants food. I reach for a
can, and another cat wanders up. If I
don’t feed them, they will jump up on the counter and start messing with my
muffins (again, not a euphemism). And suddenly
I realized: I am living a kind of parable. And this straight path advice suddenly
feels very personal. And I know—I am
terrible at this kind of thing. But I am going to try. I am going to recommit
myself (again—not a euphemism) and make the time, make the effort, straighten
out the pathway—clear away the obstacles and the distractions—so I can be more
fully present to the Love that is always there waiting for me in God’s word.The straight path isn't for God, it is to God. I need to get my priorities set straight. That is what I need this Advent... I need to make straight the path of my priorities, so I can know what I truly value. Clearly, when I want some muffins, I make a straight path to the kitchen, and when I want the cats to settle down, I make a straight path to the cat-food bowls... Let me at least treat my relationship with God with the same commitment, the same intentionality, the same desire and desperation as I do a yowling cat! And maybe that is a euphemism, of sort.
