Prepare the Way

“Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”

Luke introduces John the Baptist’s ministry with a long list of rulers—emperors, governors, kings, and priests. Power is named carefully and publicly. Yet the word of God does not come to any of them. Instead, “the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.” This is already good news.

God’s saving word arrives not in palaces but in the wilderness; not in polished halls of power, but in places of waiting, hunger, and vulnerability. Lent is such a wilderness. It is a season when we step away from noise and excess, when we face our limits honestly, and when we become more aware of our need for God.

John’s message is not complicated: repent and prepare. Repentance here is not shame driven self-rejection. It is a turning—a reorientation of life toward God’s coming salvation. Isaiah’s words, quoted by Luke, imagine valleys lifted up and mountains made low. The work of repentance is not self-improvement; it is the reshaping of a life so that God’s grace can move freely through it.

Notice that the promise is expansive: “all flesh shall see the salvation of God” (Luke 3:6). This is not salvation for the powerful alone, nor for the morally impressive. It is salvation for all—especially those who know they are in the wilderness.

During Lent, we are not asked to create salvation. We are asked to make room for it. Today, ask gently: What needs to be cleared away? What crooked path needs straightening? Where is God inviting you to turn again toward life?

Lord Jesus, meet me in my wilderness and help me prepare my heart for your saving work. Amen.

MARCUS WAMEYO
Master of Divinity Student
Kisumu, Kenya