John the Baptist, a cousin of the incarnate Jesus, gives witness, seeing in Christ the authority and ability that would bring to humankind the good news of salvation. By humanizing God he brought humankind closer to God in order to make humans God-like, by re-establishing the image of heaven in humans, who were corrupted and condemned to death because of their sins.

“Prepare the Way of the Lord.”

When we look at the calendar we once again prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, a time of spiritual joy and merriment for all of us—old and young. Behold that this is the appropriate time to examine ourselves and to see how well we have prepared the “Way of the Lord.” Is the light of the “sun of righteousness” evenly dispersed on our plain and pure souls, or is it hindered by the valleys and hills in the ups and downs of our lives?

The celebration of Christ’s birth, which is a joyous occasion, is a time of hope and love. This is what we teach our children in our homes and in our institutions. We want our lives to be bright and peaceful. We want to keep all of our loved ones away from all kinds of evil temptation.

Yes, this is our desire, but is it the reality of our environment? Does our desire to create a worldly paradise with all of its excesses perhaps cause rage against human beings? Forests are destroyed. Nature’s harmony is corrupted. Soil and water is polluted. Even after our destruction of nature, we still do not see the proliferation of human tragedies. We willingly become blind in order not to see the sick and the poor. The celebration of Christ’s birth gives us notice to prepare the way of the Lord. In other words, to be ready to welcome Him with His goodness and love and reach salvation by following His commandments. That road passes through us, and the smoother and more prepared that road is, the easier it will be to accept Christ into our hearts as our Savior.

By taking his words from the Prophet Isaiah, John the Baptist prods us to listen and to analyze them with the following thoughts:

1. They are a reminder to us to recognize our obligations.

Through His birth, God showed us His unbounded love, which will be the means and way of our salvation. In other words, God performed His duty and it is our duty to reciprocate. Logic tells us that reciprocation is nothing other than to give our love to God, to make our love toward Humankind unconditional. Our closest relatives and loved ones are there already, but it is not possible to forget that Jesus appears before us many times in the image of the poor and needy—those who need food, the incurably ill, and the broken hearted who are unable to find comfort.

As such it is a remembrance for us to open our hearts, our compassion, and our pockets in order to help those who are suffering—all of whom are our sisters and brothers.

2. “Prepare the Way of the Lord” means to be righteous in the eyes of the Lord. Often we compare our benevolence and righteousness to our good deeds or the virtuous life we live. But the criterion is not others, but God Himself. “Prepare the Way of the Lord,” means to find the way that makes humankind righteous in word and especially in deeds. We become righteous in the eyes of the Lord when we believe in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:22) and that faith becomes firmer when it is expressed through deeds, because faith without deeds is dead (James 2:17).

Therefore, on the occasion of the birth of Christ when we believe in the salvation brought by the Son of God, we must prepare the way to salvation by being righteous in the eyes of God, who sees us through our thoughts, words and deeds, and judges us accordingly.

3. “Prepare the Way of the Lord,” means to humble ourselves to that level that Christ descended from His exalted kingdom. He became like us; He was born in an obscure manger, in order to show us how to ascend toward God. Can we turn our hearts into mangers to welcome Christ, to banish pride, arrogance, and the conceit of belittling others?

Yes, the manger in our hearts will accept Christ when our conscience breaths in peace and purity, filled with unselfish and universal love, and based on the Kingdom of God where the love of Christ rules. “Prepare the Way of the Lord” means to prepare ourselves to greet the glad tidings of Christ’s birth which is addressed to human beings as a beatitude and to which we say Glory to God in the highest, who plants heavenly peace in our hearts and good will amongst all humankind.

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Dear Faithful,
On the occasion of the New Year and Holy Christmas, I extend my heartfelt greetings to you. I pray that your spiritual road is prepared and smooth, ready to accept all humankind with love as the presence of Christ. May the incarnate Lord bring you and your family goodness and grace to walk on the way of Godly wisdom and grace—which is Christ’s way—toward life and resurrection.

Amen.

Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan
Prelate
Armenian Apostolic Church of America (Eastern United States)

Christmas, 2006