Preparation
Read Matthew 26:14-30.
Yesterday, Cathy was busy cleaning the house. For what? I asked. We don't have anyone coming over for Easter (that I know of!). Why was she wearing herself out trying to do it all in on one of her two days off? Because she wants to be prepared—so I was told. For what? I asked again. One of these days, I'll learn to stop asking questions that don't have an answer.
Most of us like to be prepared for whatever might come our way. I grew up as a Boy Scout, and our motto was, "Be prepared." I've tried to live that out ever since then. Many things you can prepare for; some things you can't. We can prepare for a visit to the doctor's office; we can't prepare for the diagnosis that hits us out of left field. We can prepare for a long trip by packing and making reservations; we can't prepare for the flat tire that leaves us stranded along the road.
Consider the disciples, for instance. Jesus sends them ahead of him to prepare for the evening meal. It's to be a Passover meal, which requires extensive preparations, but I doubt these disciples are actually doing most of the work (certainly not the kitchen work!). They're going to make sure it's done. They're going to check the room and see that everything is set up properly. They're Jesus' "Secret Service," the advance guard going in first to make way for the VIP to come and celebrate the feast. They can do that; they can prepare for the meal that they know so well. What they can't prepare for is Judas' betrayal and the way Jesus alters the liturgy. They are prepared for the meal; they have no idea what is to come next.
We know, of course. We have the benefit of hindsight, looking back on an event we now call Maundy Thursday. ("Maundy," by the way, comes from a corruption of the Latin word for "mandate," part of the traditional reading for this evening: "A new mandate or command I give you...") But even though we know what is coming, we typically prepare so little. We rush here and there, filling our day and maybe, just maybe, going to worship service on this holy night. We rush in, sit down, and wait for it to be over. We do little to spiritually prepare ourselves for what is to come—because we know the story so well.
Yet, so did the disciples. They knew the Passover story. They had celebrated it every year of their lives in the same way, at the same time. We know their minds were elsewhere on that night—they were arguing about which of them was the greatest! But early on, Jesus had called them to prepare. Was it, perhaps, that lack of preparation that frustrated him the most that night, even more than their arguing (which he had heard before)? He called them to prepare—not just the room, but themselves. And once again, they were more concerned about themselves than they were what was really going on.
Jesus calls us to prepare before we go with him to the table. What will you do today to prepare?
Yesterday, Cathy was busy cleaning the house. For what? I asked. We don't have anyone coming over for Easter (that I know of!). Why was she wearing herself out trying to do it all in on one of her two days off? Because she wants to be prepared—so I was told. For what? I asked again. One of these days, I'll learn to stop asking questions that don't have an answer.
Most of us like to be prepared for whatever might come our way. I grew up as a Boy Scout, and our motto was, "Be prepared." I've tried to live that out ever since then. Many things you can prepare for; some things you can't. We can prepare for a visit to the doctor's office; we can't prepare for the diagnosis that hits us out of left field. We can prepare for a long trip by packing and making reservations; we can't prepare for the flat tire that leaves us stranded along the road.
Consider the disciples, for instance. Jesus sends them ahead of him to prepare for the evening meal. It's to be a Passover meal, which requires extensive preparations, but I doubt these disciples are actually doing most of the work (certainly not the kitchen work!). They're going to make sure it's done. They're going to check the room and see that everything is set up properly. They're Jesus' "Secret Service," the advance guard going in first to make way for the VIP to come and celebrate the feast. They can do that; they can prepare for the meal that they know so well. What they can't prepare for is Judas' betrayal and the way Jesus alters the liturgy. They are prepared for the meal; they have no idea what is to come next.
We know, of course. We have the benefit of hindsight, looking back on an event we now call Maundy Thursday. ("Maundy," by the way, comes from a corruption of the Latin word for "mandate," part of the traditional reading for this evening: "A new mandate or command I give you...") But even though we know what is coming, we typically prepare so little. We rush here and there, filling our day and maybe, just maybe, going to worship service on this holy night. We rush in, sit down, and wait for it to be over. We do little to spiritually prepare ourselves for what is to come—because we know the story so well.
Yet, so did the disciples. They knew the Passover story. They had celebrated it every year of their lives in the same way, at the same time. We know their minds were elsewhere on that night—they were arguing about which of them was the greatest! But early on, Jesus had called them to prepare. Was it, perhaps, that lack of preparation that frustrated him the most that night, even more than their arguing (which he had heard before)? He called them to prepare—not just the room, but themselves. And once again, they were more concerned about themselves than they were what was really going on.
Jesus calls us to prepare before we go with him to the table. What will you do today to prepare?
Yeah, it definitely does makes difference when we prepare for anything, including church services and His call on our lives.
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