For the past three weeks, we have been preparing to welcome the long-awaited Messiah, Jesus the Savior!  These preparations came through the words of prophets, especially the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14, “A Virgin shall conceive and bear a son and will name Him Emmanuel which means God is with us.”

Today is the second Sunday of advent. Today, John the Baptist is presented to us, as that special figure and great witness for advent’s preparation. He was the one who went ahead of the Lord to level everywhere for Jesus the Savior to come in. John the Baptist prepared for Jesus, through prayer, sacrifice, and solitude in the desert, to awaken his own heart and spiritual ability to recognize the presence of Christ the Emmanuel.