Preparation

Anyone every set a reminder in your phone for an appointment?

Anyone set a reminder alarm of the reminder?

Anyone set a reminder alarm to the the alarm reminder?

Life is busy! Would you agree?

It is so busy that we have to set reminders to our reminders and still can miss the point if we are not careful.

How do we approach those important moments in life and not miss the point?

Mark 15:42 ESV

42 And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath,

I’m not sure about you, but I think the day the ladies discovered the empty tomb is a pretty significant point in history.

The problem for the ladies and gentlemen, that Jesus called disciples in the first century, was their disconnect from the full story of what had been communicated to them.

Pay attention to the details in the present with an eye on the road ahead.

The disciples had walked with Christ, both men and women, for around three years.

Yet, they had only a minute understanding of the message He communicated.

The human mind seems to hear what it finds exhilarating, whether positive or negative.

For instance, we can hear a story and only remember the parts that excited our senses because that brought joy or anger.

Our verse, Mark 15:42, deals with the removal of Jesus from the Cross.

Joseph of Arimathea sought to remove Jesus’s body and prepare it.

But why now?

Joseph sought to prepare His body before the Passover.

Notice: this is a preparation for an important time.

We should also notice no human grasped what was about to take place.

Their preparation was a religious practice devoid of understanding of the divine side about to occur.

In essence, like us, they could not see the forest for the trees.

Why Preparation?

So we look to the Jewish people and the idea of preparation.

Exodus 16:26 ESV

26 Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.”

God wanted His people to work on 6 days, but to take the seventh as a day of rest.

The rest was multifaceted:

Physical

Focal

Relational

Preparation

In the physical rest — there is the satisfaction of the body’s need to regain freshness for work.

In the focal — there is a need to connect our attention where it should be.

In the relational — there is opportunity to refresh our relationship with the Lord.

In the preparation — we are making ourselves ready for all of the above.

Even today— Jewish families prepare for the Sabbath.

They clean the house.

They prepare food.

They place two candles to remember the commands of Moses remember and observe the Sabbath.

They finish all chores.

They organize everything.

They make sure there is liquid soap and cut paper towels.

So what does all of this have to do with Preparation in our sense and our season?

Advent is Starting!

Advent means Arrival!

So what is our preparation for the arrival of someone special?

1. We get the house ready (spring cleaning).

2. We go shopping.

3. We buy special provisions

4. We make repairs on anything needing it.

5. We get out the special towels/soap.

6. We make a second store run for the things we forgot the first time.

7. We mow the lawn/rake the leaves.

8. We set the stage (table prep, serving area prep, appetizer prep, attitude prep).

9. We get ourselves ready (shower, clothes, ironing, hair, make-up, nails, smelly stuff, hair again, clothes straightening, make-up touch up, hair touch up, and last mirror check).

10. We relax momentarily as to not seem anxious for the arrival of the guest.

If we do all of this for the arrival of a human guest…how much more for the King of KIngs?

So I want to give us a challenge this year as we begin the Advent season:

Walking Away, But In...

Let’s Start With Informational: The Book of Luke has 24 Chapters.

If we read 1 chapter a day, we will read the entire book by the Christmas Eve Sunday Service.

This will have us not only grab hold of the narrative of the Nativity, but also the full story of the life/ministry of Jesus.

Further, we will have spent the month recognizing that the birth is significant because without the birth we don’t have the life. If we don’t have the life, we don’t have the qualification for the cross, if we don’t have the cross we don’t have the tomb. If there is not sacrificial death there is no resurrection and if no resurrection no hope.

Let’s Move to Relational: If we study His Life we can recognize the worthiness of worship.

If we grow relational it will be in study and prayer.

We talk to those we know.

Those we know we trust.

Those we trust we prepare for.