Observation: Just before God gives the Ten Commandments to all the people of Israel, God gives Moses instructions on how to prepare the people. Everything needs to be just so. This is a once-in-a-lifetime encounter with Divine Holiness, and the people have to spend three days consecrating themselves. It kind of reminds me of the precision of dinner preparations at Downton Abbey. The Guest of Honor is arriving in three days, which means the servants (all God's people) are hard at work.
Application: Today is my son Ezra's first birthday. The party is tomorrow. I'll be the first to admit (because I am by no means a neat freak) that we do not keep our house "guest ready" 24 hours a day. Above you'll see a video parody our family made a little over a year ago called "Jahnton Abbey." Yeah, that's pretty much how we roll. Actually, now that I think of it, that filming may have been the last time I dusted the chandelier.
But when we know company is coming over, we go into "cleaning mode." In fact, as much as I love spending time with friends, another prime reason we invite folks over from time to time is because we know it'll get us cleaning, which we need to do anyway.
As I think about preparing for guests, it makes me think about preparing for our encounter with God in the season of Lent. If we didn't set aside a special season of prayer and reflection to spend connecting with God, it would be easy to forget how special of a thing it is that God really has come to dwell with us, and Jesus really does show up every time Christians gather around bread and wine. So it takes some preparation: not because God won't show up or will judge us harshly if everything isn't "just so" in worship, but because without reminders, our hearts fall into disarray.
Ash Wednesday is THIS Wednesday, March 1st. Even though it's later than most years, it has still managed to sneak up on me, and there's a lot to do. Let's prepare our hearts and minds together, to once again meet the Guest of Honor--who, as it turns out, is actually the true Host at our meal.
Prayer: God, Holy Spirit, prepare us. Set out for us the work of your kingdom, and make us holy as you are holy. Amen.
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