Every valley shall be filled

Yesterday, we went walking to the town centre, with a mission to purchase the ingredients for making a traditional Mestizo Christmas dish, pastels. We went past the popular supermarkets to an ethnic supermarket to find specific exotic ingredients.

Traditional Christmas fare of each ethnic group requires such small pilgrimages to find ingredients. In a figurative way each group makes its own journey to Bethlehem. Christmas has a way of harkening us back to our roots, much like Joseph journeying back to Bethlehem. It has a way of making us all equal, it levels out our lives.

In this week’s Gospel, St Luke captures this sentiment- Gospel Luke 3: 1-6 ‘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 become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways.’

As we journey through the second week of Advent we are called to drop pretensions of superiority. We are reminded to embrace humility and simplicity, recognizing the common humanity that binds us together. Just as the valleys are filled and the mountains brought low, we are called to bridge divides and remove the barriers that separate us from one another and from God.

In seeking out the ingredients for our traditions or reflecting on the deeper meaning of Advent, we journey inward, preparing our hearts to receive Christ with openness and equality. This leveling process invites us to let go of pride, reconcile broken relationships, and walk together in faith, as one people journeying toward the light of Bethlehem.

Jesus gives a perfect example of mountains brought low, as we read in Phillippians 2: 6-11

His state was divine,
yet he did not cling
to his equality with God
but emptied himself
to assume the condition of a slave,
and became as men are;
and being as all men are,
he was humbler yet,

This reflection gives me great comfort as I navigate my own experience of a leveling mountain. There are moments when I feel as though my best days are behind me—that my career in the working world has passed, along with the sense of accomplishment and self-importance that came with it.

Perhaps, like me, you find yourself going through a similar season. If so, consider this a blessing in disguise. God often uses the circumstances of our lives to gently reshape us, preparing us to receive the gifts He has planned. As the mountain levels, we are invited to trust Him more deeply, knowing that He is leading us to something greater—something eternal.

May we embrace this humbling process, confident that God is always at work, shaping us for His purpose and filling our lives with His grace.