Week 3: Tuesday December 13
Matthew 24:32-44
“What to Expect When You’re Expecting”
Vs 36 ‘But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
Jesus has been having a major discourse with his disciples. He’s been telling them about the second coming and they know he has the inside scoop. So they're saying, “let us in on the secret. You already told us ‘that we’ve been given the secrets of the kingdom of heaven.’ ” (Matt 13:11)
Jesus says, “guys, I don’t even know. All I can tell you is to be prepared.”
As expecting parents most of us - at least those of us who had children before 2000 when the internet became the source of expertise in all things - read “What to Expect When You’re Expecting.” This book gave us information on what to expect as our (the momma’s) bodies and our moods changed; what to expect as the fetus growing inside of us took on its own life and form. This book urged us to take care of our bodies, seek prenatal care, and informed us on all things related to how to prepare for this new life.
We knew preparation was the best way to ensure a healthy pregnancy and birth. Even before we became pregnant, we began preparing; is our home/ or apartment and our car big enough? I (momma-to-be) need to make sure I’m healthy so I can conceive and bare the pregnancy. After conception, planning and preparation took over our lives. We picked out an OB/GYN and a pediatrician. We watched what we ate. Registered for all the physical necessities. Determined things like will I breast or bottle feed; use cloth or disposable diapers; will we need child care and if so we needed to do our research there - nanny, grandma, or daycare. If there are older siblings, they need to be prepared for how life is going to change with the birth. And most importantly, we have to decide upon a name - do we go with a family name or something more unusual? As seems to be the case these days.
Nowadays expecting parents do all (or most of) their research and preparation via the internet. They do big gender reveals so everyone is prepared. Some foreign cultures prepare for births by engaging in bizarre rituals. Pregnant Chinese women are discouraged from gossiping, laughing too loudly, or attending funerals as these are all seen to be bad luck. However, sleeping with knives under their bed is a perfectly appropriate way to ward off evil spirits. And an old Russian superstition has couples tell each other the names of previous lovers to make childbirth easier.
Not surprisingly preparation for pregnancy, birth, and welcoming our new baby has evolved. What hasn’t evolved is how we prepare for the second coming of our Lord and Savior. Jesus says to his disciples and us that the only way to face the second coming is to be prepared. There are no shortcuts or cliff notes. Jesus reflects on the two women grinding and working in the field; how one will be taken and the other will be left. Both doing the same work, but one had Jesus in her heart; she was prepared.
What would be the result of approaching pregnancy and childbirth without any preparation? Pretty much disaster - for you and your baby! So why would we think it ok to approach this birth without any preparation? Worse than disaster - death!
The Bible is our version of what to expect when you’re expecting. While most pregnancies take about 40 weeks, no one except God really knows the arrival time. And just as the expectant family spends a fairly standard time eagerly waiting for the arrival of their new bundle of joy with preparation and prayer, our waiting for the second coming of Christ, having really no idea of the time, we likewise, wait with preparation and prayer. My hope is that your preparation is rooted in the Holy Scriptures and quiet time with our Lord and Savior.
Now that you’re just about “20 weeks” into this period of waiting (halfway through this season of Advent), take heart that your preparation is not in vain. The joy of expectancy always lights up the hopeful. Amen!