Preparing for nothing
by Pastor Tim Castle-Schmidt
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Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money’. Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes (James 4:13,14).
Read James 4:13 – 5:6
Sometimes, the Christian way of ‘preparing’ for Jesus’ coming is best done by preparing nothing. I’ll say that again: Sometimes, the Christian way of ‘preparing’ for Jesus’ coming is best done by preparing nothing.
In our busy 21st-century lives, we often allow planning the future to take precedence over living in it. We get so preoccupied with ‘having a plan’ that we forget about ‘having a pray’. Preparing has almost become more important than living.
Not that ‘having a pray’ is preparing for nothing, but it is letting go of control over the consequences of our choices.
Jesus consistently withdrew from his busy ministry to spend time in prayer and just allow the opportunities of the moment to lead him to a new ministry opportunity. Jesus doesn’t appear to do much ‘preparing’ at all.
Maybe we are being invited to step out of the crazy hustle of our world to allow God to open opportunities for us to find new meaning and ministry opportunities. Therefore, Advent can be a time of true peacefulness where God reveals our plans to us.
Just imagine!
Lord of our days, you invite us to trust and live in you. As we journey through Advent, please help us to rest in whatever you are preparing us for. Amen.
By his own admission, Tim Castle-Schmidt is a broken man. Broken in body, mind and spirit, he says he is learning that God is at work in and through human brokenness. He says that while God has not ‘fixed’ him, God continues to work through his brokenness to connect with the world. Tim is the Pastor of Nunawading–Waverley Lutheran Church in Melbourne. After spending many years as a teacher in Lutheran schools, he finally listened to God’s call to the pastoral ministry. Tim is passionate about social justice and engaging the church with contemporary society. Tim shares his life with Fiona, Miranda, and a Jack Russell called Otto.
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