Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.
Matthew 24:44

On November 30, 2021, I sat down at the organ bench at St. Sebastian Parish in Akron Ohio to kick off the year’s Advent Adoration organ recital series. In the span of about twenty minutes, what I had worked hard to prepare and plan had come to a close, and as people left their seats and exited the building, I collected my music and prepared to leave. Something that had taken me months of preparation and rigorous study had finally arrived and was now finished.

Our problem is that we think of preparation as merely a prelude to the event, instead of an important event itself. When I want to go home to visit, I don’t want the four hour drive, I just want to be home. I don’t usually like the journey, I just want to get to my destination. But if we rush the destination, then we miss out on the journey. Practicing for the recital doesn’t just make the recital better. It makes me better. Advent may frustrate those of us who are too impatient and just want to get to the destination, but it also challenges us and changes us. Preparing is important because we are the ones who need to be prepared.

The entire season of Advent is a time to prepare ourselves for the birth of Christ, bringing light and hope into a dark world. From the time that I was asked to play for a recital in Akron, to the time that I finished the last chord, I had a long journey to make, and lots of preparation. The wisemen had to travel across a desert following a star to get to Bethlehem, making a very long and tiresome journey. In the end, what was hours of preparation and hard work turned out to be worth every second, and the watching and waiting had paid off.

Thought for the Day: Open our hearts to recognize not just the event, but the preparation as well.

Prayer: Dear Lord, in this time of arrival, we celebrate the opportunity to praise you and to prepare ourselves for the welcoming. We rejoice at the gift of your presence, and celebrate the moment of your Son’s birth. Amen

Nik Stackpole,
ensemble director