Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”
NL Daily Devotion for Tuesday, February 18, 2025
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
All flesh. I love the broad, inclusivity of that phrase in v. 6. It extends to the entire human family and beyond, to every created thing. I would argue that even plants have “flesh” after a fashion—cells knit together into bodies just as animals do, even if they are of a different composition. Creation itself, I believe, has “flesh”—the earth is covered in a skin of vibrant life, which science is beginning to recognize works together in surprising ways for the mutual flourishing of all things. God’s salvation is for all of creation, not just for the very, very small segment of it that often wants to claim it all for itself (that would be us humans). Jesus’ death and resurrection was for the redemption of all things, not just us.
John the Baptist was the voice crying in the wilderness that we ought to prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus, by smoothing out the obstacles we put between ourselves at the terrifying love of God that sees and knows us as we are, that draws us into a truth that, once we see and accept it, utterly changes us and makes us restless and irritable unless we are doing the work of God’s saving justice in the world. This truth is for all flesh. And when you study the way the natural world works together to flourish, you start to wonder why it is that we seem to be the only creatures to have missed the memo.
How do I prepare the way for God to enter my heart? How do I respond when God does?
