John the Baptist echoes the words of Second Isaiah to prepare the people for the coming of Jesus.
Make ready a road for God. Clear a straight path for God. Every valley shall be filled; every mountain and hill shall be leveled. The winding shall be made straight and rough ways smooth, and all humankind shall see the salvation of God.
When the prophet Second Isaiah sees the Persian king Cyrus conquering the Babylonians (540 B.C.), he becomes a herald who announces God will lead the people home from exile. His prophetic poetry imagines God powerfully straightening hairpin turns, filling impassable crevasses, and smoothing exhausting terrain. People of Jesus’ time hear echoes of Second Isaiah in the preaching of John the Baptist, who calls us to get a God-attentive attitude and prepare a road for God to come among us in Jesus.
What does the road you are currently traveling reveal about where you are going?