The Isaiah reading tells about the time when the Israelite people were in exile. God addresses prophets telling them to proclaim that their exile is ended. But in reality it hadn’t. They were still living away from their beloved homeland. The prophets were to tell the people to speak and act out their deliverance even before they saw evidence of it.
They were to prepare for God’s coming by removing any obstacle that would prevent God’s approach. They were to tear down anything that would obstruct the view of God’s glory. (“Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low.”)
They were not to physically level the land, but prepare within themselves. Tear down all that would keep them from seeing the glory of God. This would take a great deal of faith – act and live out God acting in one’s life even in circumstances where there is little or no evidence of the presence of God.
Isn’t that what we are to do? Sometimes the circumstances of our individual lives or the world around us seem pretty desolate regarding God’s presence. Yet we are to live out God’s presence in the midst of whatever chaos we live in. That is how we prepare for God’s coming – today, tomorrow, at Christmas.