God will do for you what you cannot do for yourself.

This Reflection is based on the readings for the Second Sunday of Advent, Year C.

For one who is truly committed to moving closer to the Lord during this Advent season, today’s Gospel passage is filled with hope. Let me explain.

I remember a time over 30 years ago when I began considering making a major life change in order to  enter religious life. I mentioned to my Pastor that it seemed that there were too many seemingly insurmountable obstacles standing in my way, and that they were beginning to discourage me.

He answered me by quoting the wonderful passage from Isaiah that we contemplate today: “Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be laid low, the winding winds shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth . . .”

That passage came true in my life over the next year, until finally I found myself becoming a Novice at Saint Anselm Abbey. And the power of that passage never abated. Again and again and again I have found that the Lord acts in my life to make possible what I thought to be impossible, to send me assistance from all sorts of places I never would have predicted or imagined, to put people into my life—just the right people at the right time to be agents of divine grace in my life.

What was required of me was a firm commitment to move forward. John the Baptist preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Allow me, if you will, to interpret that repentance as the will to move away from anything in our lives that keeps us from moving closer to God, and to take committed and deliberate steps to move towards the God who calls us by name, who sends us graces that sometimes seem miraculous, who provides us with valuable companions on the way, and whose guidance and wisdom continue to light our way. Take special note of those valleys that become raised up for us, and the mountains become laid low, as the path in the direction of our heart’s desire becomes smooth and blessed with wonder upon wonder upon wonder.

That change you have in life, that movement away from something sinful, those tentative steps towards the new life that God is calling you to have this Advent and throughout the coming year? Put your faith in Isaiah’s prophecy, profess your commitment (which is there often along with a certain fear), and take a step forward. A bit at a time, day after day, even hour by hour, towards what might end up becoming the greatest Christmas you have ever had in your life.

God bless you.