Prepare the way of the Lord. Make the pathway level and smooth. Fill in the valleys and lower the mountains so that the way may be easily accessible for everyone. The construction is not finished yet! Clearly there have always been difficulties in preparing the way of the Lord. Whether it is a lack of understanding like on the part of Phillip or the petty jealousy which causes the message of Paul and Barnabas to be rejected without a real hearing, the path to the kingdom is fraught with obstacles and pitfalls and trials.

Where do we begin? We begin at the beginning: with ourselves. Is the person we see in the mirror someone in whom and through whom the Light of the world shines? Are we a means of salvation for one another? Or do we somehow or sometimes obscure the light with our pettiness or some other sin? Do we find our way to the Father through Jesus? Can we see Jesus in the faces of our sisters and brothers? Perhaps the first thing we need to ask the Father in Jesus' name is to remove any blindness in us, any unbelief and any pettiness so we can fully receive and embody the good news and glorify the Father through our lives. Being a disciple and preparing the way has never been easy but with God's grace we may be filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit even in the face of obstacles and rejection and ignorance.