When John the Baptist appeared on the scene crying out "Prepare the way of the Lord!", the crowds who heard him asked, "What then should we do?" His first response was, "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none."
You can read the full conversation at Luke 3:1-14. John was announcing that Jesus and God's kingdom were on the way but that it wasn't enough simply to be a believer. (John was talking to people who were Jews but the same is true of Christians). If people wanted to receive Jesus and his kingdom for themselves and open up the way for others to encounter him, they needed to change the way they lived and related to others.
You may be familiar with the phrase 'preparing your heart' to receive Jesus into it. Throughout the Bible God tells us that our heart and our actions are intimately connected. Preparing your heart involves changing how you live and doing practical things. Doing certain outward things can help change our hearts.
Preparing for Jesus needs more than putting up decorations and lighting Advent candles. It needs more more than quiet waiting and reflection. It needs more than prayer, even. Prayer and action always go hand in hand - something all the prophets in the Bible including John the Baptist kept stressing.
Giving away things we have in excess, or even something dear to us, has several effects. It helps us towards a place of simplicity and detachment which helps our own spiritual life. It helps us consider what is actually necessary and important in our own lives. It genuinely helps the person in need who receives what we gave away. It makes us more aware of others and more connected to them. It helps make us more compassionate and generous. These effects are all in keeping with the attitudes and effects of God's kingdom.
Read Luke 3:1-14 and imagine John the Baptist talking to you here today. What practical thing might he suggest you personally do as part of your preparing the way of the Lord?