I tend not to like surprises. I mean, some are ok, like birthday greetings, or flowers that come unexpectedly. But generally, I like to be prepared. I want the dishes done when company arrives. I like to have something to offer an unexpected guest. That, of course, means that I have to do some planning. Our residents tell stories of the importance of a well-stocked pantry. “You never know,” is the mantra.
Advent is a season of getting ready. The season asks us- are you ready to meet your God? Are you mindful that the time and place are unknown and unknowable? The preparation we are called to is deeper than an annual “baby shower’ to be prepared for Jesus’s birth. Not that this yearly preparation and retelling of the event of Jesus’s birth is a bad thing. It is important and joyful and fills us with hope. But there is more. Advent reminds us and awakens us to the reality that to be prepared for Jesus is a daily way of life. It is a mindfulness of mortality. It is a willingness to be ready at all times.
Often, our residents are more comfortable than we expect in conversations about life, and about death. Many of them are at an age where they have, at least fleetingly, faced the reality of death. They have experienced loss. It is not that they are anxious for this life’s end. It is not that they do not find joy in life. It is not that they have no fear. But, for some at least, it is about having prepared hearts. The thing that can be learned here- preparation does not invite the unexpected. Preparation allows peaceful living in the time of waiting for the Lord.
King of Peace, prepare our hearts, minds and spirits to live faithfully as we await Christmas and every day. Amen. The Rev.
Ghislaine Cotnoir is Director of Pastoral Care at The Hearth at Drexel and Artman.
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