How prepared are you? Have you ordered all the presents and put up the tree? Preparation is one of the most important parts of Christmas, but Advent was never supposed to be about fixing the fairy lights. Advent is about spiritual preparation. In all the whirlwind preparations for the Christmas celebrations, we need to prepare a way for the Lord, and this preparation begins with a call from an eccentric man living alone in the desert over two thousand years ago.

John the Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance. Today we might easily dismiss the rantings of a strange man who dressed in camel hair and fed on locusts, but interestingly, people travelled miles into the desert to be baptised by him, so charismatic a man was he, and so important his message. Two thousand years later, his message is just as relevant to those of us who want greater meaning in our lives. The repentance that John teaches means so much more than being sorry for our sins. Repentance means changing the direction of our lives away from poor and ungodly choices. Was the direction of our life decided by what exams we did or didn’t pass at the age of seventeen? Has the direction of our life been determined by arbitrary decisions and random circumstances? Advent is a time to decide what sort of a person we would really like to be, and in what direction we would really like to be heading.

“Prepare the way of the Lord,” John tells us, “make straight his paths.” To allow God into our lives, we are asked to remove any obstacles in God’s path. How can we open our minds to God’s will if our time is consumed in filling the freezer and making    Christmas puddings? Advent is an opportunity for us to make some quiet time to contemplate and prioritise. What is it   exactly that is preventing God’s work in our lives?

“One mightier than I is coming after me,” John tells us, “I have baptised you with water, he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.” In the desert of commercialism, we are reminded that the reason for the season is not turkeys and baubles. Preparation is a time of reflection; a little ‘You’ time.