Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord
Isaiah said it (Isaiah 40:3). John the Baptist said it (Matthew 3:3): Prepare.
Last time I was talking about preparation at work, and how I wanted to focus on always being prepared in my work this Advent. I thought it was appropriate because Advent is a time of preparation - preparing for the birth of Our Lord.
After I wrote that, something else struck me. It was just how much preparation time God put into sending His only begotten Son: centuries. I guess God knew the value of preparation.
What I was thinking too was how appropriate centuries of preparation really was. You know, sometimes I wonder why God waited so long to send the Messiah. Believe me, I don't have the answer to that one. But it still strikes that - whatever God's reasons - it really does make perfect sense. You see, He was preparing the Jews - and the entire world - for the greatest event ever. The birth of Jesus Christ is the single most important event in the history of the world.
In His Divine Wisdom, God spent centuries preparing us all for this greatest event. Maybe part of His reasoning was so that we would someday understand just how important the coming of Jesus Christ was - that nothing in all of history compares to this event.
Repeat: the greatest event in the history of the world was the birth of Jesus Christ. Everything that came before led up to His birth. Everything that came after occurs in the light of the Truth that He brought to us with His birth. Everything changed when He was born. Nothing would remain the same after He was born.
Oh, and another thing. Now that God took care of preparing the world for the Birth of Jesus, and now that Jesus was born, lived with us, suffered and died for our sins, and rose from the dead to show us that we ourselves are destined for eternal life with Him, the fact is preparation didn't stop there.
You see, now we're preparing yet again - this time for His Second Coming.
Father Benedict Groschel puts it this way. He says that the difference between Jews today and Christians is this: The Jews are preparing for the Messiah to come; Christians are preparing for the Messiah to come - again.
Okay, I'm not a theologian. But I think what I just said about preparation makes sense. Preparation is really important for us Christians.
So now I'm looking at my work today and reminding myself of two things:
1) It's Advent and it's time to prepare for Christmas: Divine Infant of Bethlehem, come and take birth in my heart.
2) During Advent, I'm going to focus on always being properly prepared in my work - and in all that I do.
And when I'm tired, or temped to be lazy, I'll remember, like I said in my last post, that Our Lord also faced exhaustion and temptation, but was always prepared - because He loved us people so much. He knew how badly we needed the Truth. And He delivered every time.
I'll also remember just how important God thought preparation was when He took centuries to prepare His people for the coming of His Son.
And if I'm really blessed - if God will send me the grace necessary to see this truth and act upon it - I will prepare every day knowing that my preparation is an act of love: love for my work, love for my family, whom my work supports, love for my clients and colleagues who will benefit from my good work, and, finally, love of God.
Last time I was talking about preparation at work, and how I wanted to focus on always being prepared in my work this Advent. I thought it was appropriate because Advent is a time of preparation - preparing for the birth of Our Lord.
After I wrote that, something else struck me. It was just how much preparation time God put into sending His only begotten Son: centuries. I guess God knew the value of preparation.
What I was thinking too was how appropriate centuries of preparation really was. You know, sometimes I wonder why God waited so long to send the Messiah. Believe me, I don't have the answer to that one. But it still strikes that - whatever God's reasons - it really does make perfect sense. You see, He was preparing the Jews - and the entire world - for the greatest event ever. The birth of Jesus Christ is the single most important event in the history of the world.
In His Divine Wisdom, God spent centuries preparing us all for this greatest event. Maybe part of His reasoning was so that we would someday understand just how important the coming of Jesus Christ was - that nothing in all of history compares to this event.
Repeat: the greatest event in the history of the world was the birth of Jesus Christ. Everything that came before led up to His birth. Everything that came after occurs in the light of the Truth that He brought to us with His birth. Everything changed when He was born. Nothing would remain the same after He was born.
Oh, and another thing. Now that God took care of preparing the world for the Birth of Jesus, and now that Jesus was born, lived with us, suffered and died for our sins, and rose from the dead to show us that we ourselves are destined for eternal life with Him, the fact is preparation didn't stop there.
You see, now we're preparing yet again - this time for His Second Coming.
Father Benedict Groschel puts it this way. He says that the difference between Jews today and Christians is this: The Jews are preparing for the Messiah to come; Christians are preparing for the Messiah to come - again.
Okay, I'm not a theologian. But I think what I just said about preparation makes sense. Preparation is really important for us Christians.
So now I'm looking at my work today and reminding myself of two things:
1) It's Advent and it's time to prepare for Christmas: Divine Infant of Bethlehem, come and take birth in my heart.
2) During Advent, I'm going to focus on always being properly prepared in my work - and in all that I do.
And when I'm tired, or temped to be lazy, I'll remember, like I said in my last post, that Our Lord also faced exhaustion and temptation, but was always prepared - because He loved us people so much. He knew how badly we needed the Truth. And He delivered every time.
I'll also remember just how important God thought preparation was when He took centuries to prepare His people for the coming of His Son.
And if I'm really blessed - if God will send me the grace necessary to see this truth and act upon it - I will prepare every day knowing that my preparation is an act of love: love for my work, love for my family, whom my work supports, love for my clients and colleagues who will benefit from my good work, and, finally, love of God.
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