Preparing and Trusting on the Nativity of John the Baptist

PREEEEEEEEPARE YE THE WAY OF THE LORD

For a few years after college I was part of a local production of Godspell that toured all over Rhode Island performing the show in various churches and venues. I suspect it’s the years of participating in the musical that gives me one major, unshakeable association with John the Baptist. Anytime I hear him mentioned, anytime his story appears in our Sunday scripture, anytime I hear anything about being prepared, I hear the lone male voice singing out the first lines of that slightly bizarre 70’s musical experience…

PREEEEEEEEPARE YE THE WAY OF THE LORD

You can see a clip of it here if you’ve somehow escaped seeing the show. 

The words of this opening song come straight from scripture. In the gospel of Matthew, John’s words echo the words from Isaiah,

“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.”

When we read these words in Advent, I always hear them with a little anxious anticipation. How do I need to prepare for the Lord? What will it be like when he comes? AM I DOING IT RIGHT???

When I hear the same words sung – in my head or aloud – I feel anticipation for a different reason. I know after several repetitions of the phrase the drums will start beating, and the band will join in. I know that the start of the song is a little weird, but when it gets going I’ll feel a strong urge to dance. 

I’m a summer camp director, and up here in New England we get a late start the last week in June. My staff is set to arrive soon, and the unstoppable force that is summer camp will begin. Preparing for camp this season has been hard. Like so many other camps out there, we are struggling with staffing shortages (is no one a lifeguard anymore?), increased costs of food and supplies, and a general anxiety that infiltrates almost all of us after a couple of hard years. I’ve spent lots of nights awake, tossing and turning, wondering if we can pull it all off.

Have I done what I need to prepare?

What will it be like when camp comes?

AM I DOING IT RIGHT???

I suspect I’m not alone. Even though most of us aren’t camp directors, we all know what it’s like to prepare for something. We all know the stress and anticipation that comes when something big is on the horizon – even if it’s something that we think and hope will be great (like Christmas, or camp, or summer). Even if we are looking forward to what’s coming, it’s normal to wonder if we’ve checked all the boxes and if we are prepared enough to be successful. It’s normal to be nervous, to feel the anticipation in your body and wonder if it’s excitement or dread. Add a hope or expectation that God might also appear and the stakes start to feel very high. 

But what if every time we felt that nervous anticipation we decided to trust that the drums were about to start playing? 

What if we trusted that with God’s arrival there will be dancing? 

I’ve been so caught up in the details of planning for a summer camp that I’ve practically forgotten about all the ways God will appear in our laughter and relationships and worship and play. John the Baptist’s words flood me with panic if I start thinking about all the ways I’m unprepared or underprepared. But what if —  instead of panicking —  I allowed myself to trust that God was about to show up? What if I simply leaned in to the tingly anticipation of God’s arrival, and allowed myself to be excited for the band to start playing?  

Preparing does require some work for us, regardless of what lies ahead. But part of our preparation is trusting God to do God’s work – to arrive and inspire and love – even when we humans haven’t always finished the to-do list. 

Maybe the most important thing we can do to prepare is to put on our dancing shoes.