A WORD FOR TODAY 5 DECEMBER 2021

https://youtu.be/T0RWAdN-DWU

*A WORD FOR TODAY*

*LET THE ROUGH PLACES BE MADE SMOOTH*

_"Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth"(Luke 3:5)_

_*When you are preparing to welcome a special guest to your home, you are bound to do some work of renovation or cleaning of the house to make it cool so that the person coming will not be disappointed with you if your house is dirty.*_

_In the Gospel reading of today St. Luke reminds us of what John did in his time. He became the voice crying in the wilderness, telling people to repent of their sins so that they will be forgiven. He noted that every valley shall be filled and every mountain shall be brought low, the crooked shall be made straight and thd rough places shall be made smooth._

_*When you see the carpenter working on a table or chair and he tries to smooth the edges with the filing machine, it looks so sweet to behold. To get the best he must slice the upper layers of the wood away. If you want to be the best for God, you must be ready to get rid of certain characters and habits out of your system.*_

_As the prophet Baruch tells us in the first reading. We must take off the garment of sorrow and affliction and put on the glory of righteousness. The mountains shall be levelled so that we will be able to walk safely in the glory of God._

_*The valley of hatred shall be filled with acts of love and kindness, the mountains of bitterness and greed shall be brought down and replaced with compassion and contentment. The crooked path of lies and dishonesty shall be made smooth with truth and sincerity. The rough ways of immorality, deceit, drunkenness and pride shall be made smooth with righteous living, uprightness, sobriety and humility.*_

_The king is coming and if He is going to be welcomed into our homes and heart, we must chisel the rough edges of our life and make it smooth. We must get rid of sin and evil and put on the garment of righteousness. Stop the quarrelling and fighting, settle your differences, forgive one another and love more._

_*Now is the time for repentance. Hold nothing back, empty yourself before God. Confess your sins, make amends and reconcile with God and you will be ready to welcome the new born king at Christmas. Identify what need to change and begin to do something about it and be rest assured that God's grace will help you. As St. Paul tells us in the second reading, that we should be pure and blameless for the day of Christ filled with fruits of righteousness.*_

_Good morning dearest one. Smile😊as you do your work and do have a splendid Sunday. May God's grace help you to level the mountains in your life. Amen. *And may the Almighty God bless you: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.*_

*Meditation:* Baruch 5:1-9/Psalm 126:1-6/Phillipians 1:4-6,8-11/Luke 3:1-6

*Watch-Word:* Prepare the way of the Lord, make his path straight.

_*There is something that must change in you, if you really want to step up your commitment in serving the Lord.*_

(Second Sunday of Advent. Cycle C)