Prepare!

Advent is the season of preparing for the coming of our Lord in a manger in Bethlehem, at the end of time and even in our lives today.  

We prepare differently, depending on the value we place on what is coming.  If the Girl Scouts are knocking on the door selling cookies, no prep is needed.  If friends are coming for dinner, then some cleaning, shopping and cooking are in order.  If you learned that your favorite celebrity was coming for a visit, I daresay you would wipe everything else off the calendar, steam the carpets, paint, clean, make sure there is nothing out of place, prepare any possible food or beverage, etc.

Yet, when we are promised that the King of the Universe, the Lord of Lords, is coming into our lives, what is our preparation?  Maybe we’ll make an extra effort to get to church.  Perhaps an extra donation.  Maybe we’re more careful to be thankful for our food and our bounty, even as we grumble about how much its all costing.  But do we seriously look to “put our house in order?”  Do we strive to root out that nagging sin that has dogged us this past year, or even longer?  To prepare our lives as we might prepare our houses for an important guest?

How might the thought that you are preparing for Jesus’ arrival change your Christmas preparations this year?  What might you want to “clean up” or “put in order” for Jesus’ arrival?

This Advent, remember the One for whom you prepare.  And prepare accordingly!

This column appeared in the December 6, 2020 edition of St. John’s eNews. Click here for the full issue.

If you are reading this at a different time, you may click here for the current eNews.