2nd Weerk of Advent Year A – Mark Winward
Advent’s Central Question: Have We Prepared Him Room?
More than just a countdown to Christmas, Advent is a season for holy housecleaning that invites us to take stock of our lives and ask how ready we are to welcome the Lord. As the beloved Christmas carol Joy to the World proclaims, “let every heart prepare Him room,” Advent prompts us to anticipate Christ’s coming while examining the condition of our hearts. It asks the most profound question of our faith, “Have we prepared room for Christ?”
John the Baptist: A Life Shaped for Readiness
In today’s Gospel we meet John the Baptist, a character people found impossible to ignore. Some believe John may have been influenced by the Essenes, a community known for repentance, cleansing, and expectation of the Messiah. Whether or not that’s true, everything about John pointed to readiness. To us, John would have looked a bit unhinged—camel hair clothes, a leather belt, living on locusts and honey, his skin weathered by the desert sun—but none of this was accidental. John intentionally modeled himself after Elijah, because Scripture had taught the people to look for Elijah’s return before the Lord’s coming. His very appearance pointed to his message: “Prepare the way. Something is about to happen.”
And that message carried both warning and promise. John confronted the Pharisees and Sadducees for confusing ritualwith righteousness. He shook the complacent awake, yet he lifted up the humble. Proclaiming the words of Isaiah, John spoke of comfort, forgiveness, and the leveling of obstacles—yet woven into that good news was an urgent call: the Lord is near, and the time to prepare is now. His preaching, his lifestyle, his urgency pointed to one reality: All is us need to be ready to meet the Lord.
Three Movements of Preparation: Repent, Live Now, Expect God to Act
That same call echoes to this day. John invites us to a housecleaning of the heart. Just as we would tidy our homes before an honored guest arrives, we are called to prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ.
- First, he calls us to repentance—to turn from old patterns that diminish our lives and to orient ourselves again toward God.
- Second, he calls us to live fully in the now, because “the kingdom of God is at hand,” and there is no time to delay.
- And third, he urges us to expect God to act. The Messiah comes not only with water but with the Holy Spirit and with fire—to transform us from the inside out.
A Living Witness: The Daughters of the King
This morning we will see such preparation and transformation lived out as we commission new Daughters of the King. When a woman becomes a Daughter of the King, she seeks to deepen the promises she made at her baptism and confirmation. She receives the Silver Cross of the Order not as an ornament, but as a daily reminder of the promises she makes before God. At its center are the words Magnanimiter Crucem Sustine—“With heart, mind, and spirit, uphold and bear the cross”—and the letters FHS, “For His Sake.” Just as John pointed beyond himself to the coming Christ, the Daughters take on a rule of life that points beyond themselves—to Christ and His kingdom.
Their rule of prayer commits them to daily intercession, for the spread of the kingdom of God, the unity of the Church, and support of their parish. Flowing from prayer comes the rule of service, through which every Daughter seeks to embody the love of Christ. Prayer and service together support the primary work of the Order: evangelism—proclaiming the love of Jesus to a hurting world through word and deed. The faith of a Daughter isn’t hidden, but lived, shared, and offered so that others might come to know the saving grace of Christ.
And each Daughter doesn’t walk alone. She is supported by a worldwide Christian sisterhood, a community devoted to encouragement, accountability, and spiritual growth. Their pledge beautifully echoes John’s call to readiness:
I am but one, but I am one.
I cannot do everything, but I can do something.
What I can do, I ought to do.
What I ought to do, by the grace of God I will do.
Lord, what will you have me do?
This is the posture of Advent. This is the spirit of preparation.
Christ Is Near: The Invitation Before Us
So in this special season, we’re reminded Christ is near. The time to prepare is now. John urges us to clear the clutter of our hearts, and today the Daughters of the King publicly embrace that call—for His sake. As they take their vows and receive their crosses, they demonstrate what it looks like to live expectantly, courageously, and faithfully—turning from the past, rooted in the present, and ready to do the transforming work of God. Have all of us, likewise, prepared Him room?