Prepare for Him a Prepared People
Pope Shenouda III speaks about the importance of preparing a people who are ready for the Lord, referring to the mission of Saint John the Baptist, whose role was to prepare a people ready for the Lord.
Salvation is the work of the Lord alone, while the role of a person and a servant is to prepare souls to receive God’s salvation and to prepare hearts that are ready for the work of grace.
He emphasizes that this responsibility is not limited to pastors, priests, prophets, and servants, but includes fathers, mothers, spiritual people, and everyone who can influence the lives of others.
Spiritual Message
The Pope explains that a person who is ready for the Lord must live a life of repentance, purity of heart, love, and virtue, and must be ready to partake of the Eucharist and to meet the Lord at His coming.
He presents Saint John the Baptist as an example of a servant who leads people to repentance and then rejoices when Christ increases in their lives and he decreases.
He also points out that throughout the ages, the Church has prepared her children for life with God, for steadfastness in faith, for responding to doubts and heresies, and even for readiness for martyrdom when circumstances required it.
Educational Lesson
The teaching emphasizes that serving others does not mean that a person himself saves them, because salvation comes from Christ; rather, he participates in preparing them to receive this salvation.
The servants are compared to the workers in the vineyard who plant, water, and care for souls, while God is the One who gives growth and produces the fruit.
The Pope also explains that the family has an essential role in preparing children, as fathers and mothers are called to make their children love the Church and God and to teach them righteousness, the love of God, and purity of life from an early age.
Practical Application
The Pope asks us to begin with ourselves, because anyone who wants to prepare others for the way of the Lord must himself be walking in that way.
He encourages a life of continual readiness through prayer, reading, meditation, repentance, confession, and communion, while keeping the Lord before us at all times.
He also explains that trials and tribulations can contribute to preparing a person spiritually because they lead him to prayer, fasting, and seeking refuge in God.
True readiness means remaining steadfast in the love of Christ, being prepared to face temptations and spiritual warfare, and also seeking to prepare one or more people to walk in the way of the Lord.
Finally, the Pope calls every person, every family, and every group to be ready to meet the Lord, so that the entire Church may become a bride prepared for her Bridegroom.
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