Preparing a Place

Recently, I was leading a Bible study on John 14. Our current study isn’t liturgically aligned. Most studies during Advent and Lent focus on the season, predictable themes and predictable scriptures. But, ignoring the season, we found ourselves in the middle of the Last Supper: Holy Week, near death. And yet, the passage was Advent-y, about preparation. Only this time, it was not about preparing ourselves or our homes for Christ’s coming. Christ is preparing his home for us too.  

“In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be.” John 14:2-3.

In Lent, the focus of the verses seem to be that he is foreshadowing his death, warning the disciples of what’s to come, but assuring them that he will return. Yet in the candlelight of Advent, he is not just promising his second coming; he is preparing us a place. We spend so much time talking about preparing for his arrival on earth, both in the Incarnation and the second coming, that we don’t think about him preparing for us to arrive in heaven. Christ came to earth so that we might reach heaven with the Father. Through God’s grace, we can go. There is not only room; there is anticipation. He has prepared a place for us. He waits for us. He longs for us.

Reflecting on the passage made it all feel so reciprocal. Normally we’re at the mercy of God’s grace; nothing feels very equal. And yet, we prepare for Christ on earth, and he prepares for us in heaven. We both desire to be with each other. We prepare. We wait.

Sometimes, waiting for Christ can feel like preparing for Christ the King; the arrival and judgment of a high ranking official. Get everything in order, be on your best, be alert and ready. Other times, it can feel like preparing for Christ the Child; the arrival of new baby who needs all the support. Cuddly soft, doe-eyed baby who is wanted and cherished. Get everything he may need, everything he may want, every gift you want to bestow on this person simply because you love him. And that’s how I imagine him preparing for us. We’re about as useful as a newborn baby, but he wants us, and he loves us, and so he is preparing a place for us.

How comforting to know our season of preparation is reciprocated.