“A voice of one calling: ‘In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’” (Isaiah 40: 3 – 5)
Words that are often associated prophetically with John the Baptist, but which challenge us today to consider how each one of us can play a part in our own community, and in our own time, in preparing the way for the Lord to be proclaimed. Do we believe that in Ashfield, in Sydney, in Australia, in 2020, in the middle of the worst crisis faced by our country and world in many generations, the glory of the Lord can and will be revealed here in our midst and that people of our generation will come to know Him? Are we therefore willing to be the mouthpieces through whom God can speak in our day? Will we prepare the way of the Lord and make Him known around us? In the wilderness that is our world, God can use even the least of us to be His witnesses. He promises His spirit to help us and give us the power and strength that we cannot find in ourselves. May we today resolve with His help to rise to the challenge and truly become people in whom and through whom our world will see our God, our Lord and our Saviour.