Ten Days to Go.

Ten days to go.  Are you ready?  Except for doing the wrapping, I am.

Part of the thrill of Christmas is the anticipation.  I will readily agree with many that the commercial Christmas push starts waaaaay too soon (Christmas decorations on sale even before Thanksgiving?).  If I ran the world, Christmas celebrations - including all marketing and music - would launch on December 1 with a full orchestral score played on an Electro Whocarnio Flook.  Unsure what that is?  You’d better rewatch the original “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”

Anticipation is only joyful if there is preparation.  As much as I joke about doing my shopping on the 24th at Circle K (everyone could use a good ice scraper and washer fluid, right?), if preparations are being completed just days or hours before the Big Day, stress will cancel joy.  There have been years when I’ve felt uncomfortable with how late in the season I was doing my preparations . . . and I promised myself, “Never again.”  

Poor preparation creates stress and turns anticipation into worry.  We all know the feeling of dread when a deadline looms and we are not ready.  Remember writing an essay the night before it was due, or starting to floss one week before a dentist appointment, or rushing to get the laundry off the couch when your friend sends you a “CU in a few” text message?  We’ve all been there.  And we all resolve, “Never again.”

Two thousand years ago the “Big Day” was anticipated to be really BIG - a day of political revolution, of reversal of fortune, of ultimate justice and righteous vindication.  So when a baby is born in questionable circumstances (yeah, the angelic announcement that some shepherds allegedly witnessed was a nice touch to give some credibility to the story) and this is supposed to be the fulfilment of the hopes of generations . . . it is easy to see why there was not a lot of enthusiasm.  There was no lack of anticipation;  there was a huge vacuum of preparation.  

The Political Vindicator was turned out to be a gentle reconcilliator.  He did not overthrow the Romans;  He said, “Turn the other cheek.”  He did not bring the sword of vindication;  He lived a quiet life of submission to His heavenly Father and (so it seemed at first to His followers) to the religious and political elite of His day.  Don’t be fooled, though.  This was The Big Day and those who were prepared slowly understood exactly how big.  However, the majority of people completely missed the significance of what was happening.

It took a full 30+ years for The Big Day to be completely understood.  In general, people still struggle to accept that this was The Day when all Big Things were happening.  It isn’t just about a child born.  It is about God becoming human, dying sacrificially and rising victoriously . . . and setting the stage for another Big Day.

Everything has changed and yet nothing has changed.  There are those who are heavy on the anticipation with their timelines, maps and charts.  There are those who have no idea - and don’t really care - that another Big Day is pending.  There are few that are preparing.

Preparation is not the same as date-guessing, prediction-making, and assigning prophetic significance to current political events.  Jesus said preparation is made by learning now to live in His Kingdom that is to come.  He articulated this when He preached His sermon on the mountainside (with an emphasis on deferred gratification, forgiveness, and peacemaking).  He taught this in the parable of the wedding (Matthew 25):  the Big Day is coming . . . be ready!  

Anticipation is at its richest when preparation is in place.  We prepare by being intentional now to learn and live the truths of His Kingdom.  Our perspective on what is true, what has value, and what is real will be distinct from those who are not preparing.  We won’t obsess over priorities which are (from a Kingdom perspective) trivial.  We will pursue the greater things.  Jesus put it this way, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness . . .”  This doesn’t mean we live in a holy hovel.  It means we engage in God’s created order with a passion to model and pursue the truths and values of the Kingdom of God even though they are (almost always) in stark contrast to those of our culture.

Enjoy this Christmas Season to the max.  Finish your preparations so you can anticipate with great joy.  And keep looking forward and upward . . . another Big Day is coming!