Prepare the Way

We are in the season of Advent. The season of preparation. The season of waiting.

We live in an instant-gratification culture that hates waiting. We are barraged with Christmas sales, music, and merchandise in October. So when we hear talk about “Advent” we tend to think only of the countdown calendars… and even then, it’s hard to understand and embrace the waiting.

But wait, we must. We encounter the waiting game in every nook and cranny of our lives. We wait in lines. We wait in traffic. We wait for news of a job, news of a diagnosis, news of a birth… a death… a pregnancy… In this season of Advent, we are given the opportunity to baptize (notice the little “b” there) or consecrate (set-aside for God) our experiences of waiting as time to be present to the moment… to the yearning for goodness. Perhaps in the waiting, we can put down the cell phones and set aside the frustration and take the opportunity to pray. In embracing the waiting, perhaps we can relinquish control to the One who is the Messiah.

Advent is a Season of Preparation

What is it that we are “preparing” for? We prepare for the coming of Christ.

For young children, we certainly focus on the Miracle of the Incarnation: in Advent we prepare for the birth of Christ. But as we grow older, we hear the readings throughout Advent… readings that are not simply about the coming of the Christ-Child, but of the Second Coming and John the Baptist’s message of repentance.

St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) summed up the meaning of Advent when he suggested that in it, we celebrate three comings of the Lord: the past, the present, and the future,

The Past: The first coming was the coming of Christ in history: the Miracle of the Incarnation.
The Present: The coming of Christ within the hearts of disciples.
The Future:This final coming (often referred to as “The Second Coming”) will take place at the end of the world (the Apocalypse).

The Past – The Incarnation: Amid the secular holiday retail extravaganza, we do manage to see the images of the nativity, however meager. Look for them. Revisit the story of the Nativity. Marvel at the Mystery of the Incarnation: God became human.

The Future – The Second Coming: Though admittedly, we don’t see many images of the Second Coming in seasonal decorations. Not very heart warming, I suppose. Even as Jesus himself admits we do not know the hour (Matthew 24:36), we are called to prepare our lives for this reality by having our priorities in order.

The Present – In Our Hearts: St. Bernard referred to this dimension of Advent as the “invisible” reality. Here, we can look to the multitude of Christmas movies and focus on the messages of conversion, from The Grinch to Rudolph to even my least favorite, Frosty.

Yet still, we manage to misunderstand the meaning of this season of preparation in our daily lives. Bear with me as I ask you to take a moment to engage your religious imagination:

Imagine going to the mailbox and sorting through the bills and junk to find you have received a very special announcement: Jesus will be joining you for dinner tomorrow night, and he’s very much looking forward to it. Somehow – however you need – you know for certain that this is not a joke. Once you get over the shock, what’s the first thing you’ll need to do?

Even as I write this question and I know the “right” answer, I feel myself tempted to do an emergency house cleaning while I let my husband deal with the menu. And then there’s getting the kids cleaned up, into nice clothes and practicing their table manners.

The thing is that Jesus couldn’t care less about the condition of my house. What he cares about is the condition of my heart.

When John the Baptist tells us to Prepare the Way… to Repent and believe… he’s telling us to get our priorities in order. To quit obsessing about the things that don’t matter (consumerism, materialism, and perfectionism, just to name a few) and give our hearts to the things that do matter (love, presence, and a faith that does justice).

So perhaps in the midst of all that time we spend waiting, we could ask ourselves a better question:

What do I need to do to prepare my heart–my life–to welcome Jesus?

IMG_0220 by Alex Harden licensed under CC BY 2.0

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Read More Julie Dienno-Demarest Dec 2,2014

Action, Projects, Transformation

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Take the Time to Do the Prep Work

I am a project person. From brainstorming to execution to reveling in the completed product, I love projects, especially the home-improvement, crafty, organizational ones. I think what I love most, however, is how much I have learned through doing projects. I’m not talking about the technical stuff, either. What I’m talking about is wisdom.

About four months ago, I decided to refinish some old, tired looking patio furniture from IKEA.

Originally purchased eight years ago, the set fit the necessary criteria: it had a TABLE and CHAIRS that we could AFFORD, and it was STURDY (at least sturdier than the plastic stuff). Neither ugly nor attractive (nor comfortable), we never really enjoyed the set. And after we got nicer stuff, it was pushed to the margins of the yard, somewhat functional, but hardly used.

Refinishing the set was going to be a four-step process:

Clean and Sand the Wood
Prime with an oil-based paint
Decoratively paint
Finish with polyurethane

In all honesty, I don’t necessarily enjoy every part of every step in any given project. Specifically, I neither enjoy cleaning years of caked on dirt and spider webs nor do I like sanding. But if there’s one thing you cannot skip it’s the prep-work.

Taking the time to do the prep work always pays off in the long run.

In the case of this project, I begrudgingly admitted to my insistent husband that yes, I wanted to avoid frustration when it came time to paint the chairs, and yes, I wanted my efforts to be long-lasting, so yes, I would take the time to clean and sand the wood. Yes, I would properly prime everything with the smelly, difficult-to-clean oil based paint.

In reality, “taking the time to do the prep work” applies to practically every aspect of our lives. Take the “PIES” model of self-examination: Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, Spiritual.

Physically, when we don’t properly warm up or train, slowly building up to the goal, we are more prone to hurt ourselves.

Intellectually, when we don’t do the necessary reading or studying in preparation for a class or a meeting, the parties involved experience the frustration of wasted time, and the failure to perform can have ever-widening implications on our jobs, our reputation with others, and even in our personal integrity.

Emotionally, taking the time to do the prep work can impact our ability to truly be in the present moment. Sometimes this is about coming to terms with where we are in the process of “change.” Other times, this is about working through “differences.” Acknowledging and attending to emotions helps us to be more present to one another in the situation at hand, rather than being fixated on the past or the future.

Spiritually, taking the time to do the prep work is about cultivating ourselves as people of justice. Spiritual prep work is about developing the moral character to be good people who do the right thing. It’s about becoming a person who means it when they pray, “Thy will be done.” It’s about setting aside the time to be with God in prayer while reflecting on life. It’s about aligning our whole selves with the folks to whom Jesus says, “Come, inherit the kingdom…For I was hungry and you gave me food.” (Matthew 25:34-35).

When we take the time to do the prep work, the finished product doesn’t just look awesome. It is awesome. Through and through.

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In what areas of your life do you take the time to do the prep work? In what areas do you need to be more attentive? How have you noticed the difference prep work makes in your own life?

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Read More Julie Dienno-Demarest Aug 30,2011

Tag Archives: preparation

Prepare the Way

Advent is a Season of Preparation

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Take the Time to Do the Prep Work

Taking the time to do the prep work always pays off in the long run.

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