At the time of Christ, whenever a local ruler was travelling through the countryside, his servants went before him to remove obstacles from his path so that he could make a smooth, safe journey. On this second Sunday of Advent John the Baptist uses that same image, familiar to his listeners, as he cries from the wilderness: ‘prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight’. The best way to prepare the way of the Lord is to tune into His presence, which surrounds us every day. It means removing from our lives any obstacles that would hinder His entry into our hearts and minds. It means straightening the crooked places within us that prevent us from being the best of ourselves, the kind of people He intended us to be. If we use these Advent days in this way, then the beauty of Christmas will be found, not in the presents, but, rather, in His presence.