Prepare Ye the Way
The Revd Deacon Polly Bowen
The past few weeks have been a busy time around the parish hall. Outside, the stonemasons repaired the front steps and did some work on the chimneys, the roofers did their necessary mending and the “garden angels” planted new bulbs in anticipation of spring blooms. Inside, the “color committee” toured the Barker building with color chips, consulting others, comparing and contrasting and making decisions that led to the smell of new paint and the advent of “Roycroft Rose” trim in the hallways. You can’t help noticing how new and fresh things are beginning to look.
In the offices, the usual piles of papers and books testify to the complexity of running a parish. The Rector works on the liturgy for the celebration of Father Wipfler’s 50th anniversary as a priest, fielding phone calls and drop-in visitors and the usual day-to-day interruptions.
The deacon works on yet another paper for the four EFM classes, or a schedule, or the bulletin, or the prayers for a lay minister, or revising one of the endless “lists” for which she is responsible. The phone rings again and again, as she tends to miscellaneous needs.
Downstairs the garden club (or a quilting club, or some other group) is meeting. The ladies are having a party and they laugh and chat, and the sound drifts upward, derailing the various trains of thought. The capable office manager Alice, who keeps everyone on track and always manages to do it with a smile, comments that even she is “just a bit behind” this month. This is serious!
One morning, all this busy-ness drove me to the chapel, where it was relatively quiet (if one ignores the traffic sounds from Maple Street.) At first, it was like being in the eye of the storm, for the awareness of the confusion swirling around me did not give way easily to serenity.
I reached in my pocket for my ever-present prayer beads and began repeating the Jesus Prayer, and gradually peace filled my heart and my racing mind, calming my soul to rest in the Presence of God. This was the stillness I needed, the tranquility for which my heart yearned.
Suddenly it was an hour later. Where had the time gone? What had happened while I was lost in prayer? Reluctantly, I returned to my office to find things strangely the same, and yet not nearly as hectic as I had thought before. I began to see all the rushing around not as confusion and chaos, but as preparation.
The Season of Advent is upon us. What better time for us to be dusting and cleaning and painting our house? What better time to tie up the loose ends, finish the lists, write the reports, send messages to the homebound?
This is the season of making ready, of preparing the way. It’s the time to notice the tarnish and the smudges and the imperfection of our lives, the time to dust ourselves off, to sweep clean our hearts and souls and prepare for the Christ to enter.
Advent is a short season – just four weeks long. In anticipation of the coming of Christ (in memory and expectation), find a way to prepare. Perhaps you can make it a priority to read the scripture lessons each day, along with the short commentary in Forward Day by Day. Or perhaps just reading the Sunday lessons will help you to focus more closely when you come to church. Take stock of the plusses and minuses in your life, determining where amendment is needed. Read a devotional book. Share some “holy time” with your family or with a friend. Take time to rest in God’s Presence.
Remember that you don’t have to match someone else’s devotional practices – what you do is between you and God, and it must be right for you. However you choose to prepare for the coming of Christ, do it with peaceful anticipation, knowing that God honors our good intentions. You’ll find Christmas all the more joyous because of your special spiritual preparation.
We wish you a holy Advent and a joyful Christmas season.
