⁷ Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. ⁸ Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”

⁹ “Where do you want us to prepare for it?” they asked.

¹⁰ He replied, “As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, ¹¹ and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ¹² He will show you a large room upstairs, all furnished. Make preparations there.”

¹³ They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

Significant moments with the Lord most often come through preparation. While we do have surprise encounters with God, we can be sure when our hearts are prepared, Jesus meets us in a timely fashion. We often miss moments of growth, change, challenge, revelation, and personal encounter because we live our Christian walk without preparation or expectancy for meeting Jesus.

In Luke 3:4-6, John the Baptist is introduced as the voice of one crying in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord.”  He called out to be ready for the One who would level hills, make crooked paths straight, and rough places smooth.”   He called us to see the Salvation of God. We once again face walking through the commemoration of the last week of the life of Jesus. Tomorrow will be the cries of Hosanna. Then we will consider His last meal with the disciples, His arrest, His trial, His walk through the streets of Jerusalem with His cross, His Crucifixion, His death, those days silence and then, His Resurrection.

The invitation of the Word today is to prepare. Specifically, it is to prepare for the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Both preparations and celebrations of the Salvation of God for the people of God. There are customs to observe, our condition to consider, places to organize, devotional acts to observe; all to prepare for an encounter with God. These moments of preparation require meaningful and purposeful action on our parts. The preparation is so that we might receive the very most from our encounter with our Holy God whenever He meets with us. The end of the gospel is much like the beginning. We are called to prepare to see the Salvation of God.

Let us now begin our preparation for what God wants to accomplish in us this coming Holy Week. Prepare to enter fully into the moments of celebration. Prepare contemplation of His sacrifice for you. Prepare to embrace repentance where His Spirit directs us. Prepare to experience the sorrow of the disciples and His sorrow for our sins. Prepare to sit in the silence of a sealed tomb. Prepare to experience the joyful reality of your promised resurrection.

Prepare to meet with the Risen King. He is prepared to meet with You!

Author: Virgil Askren

Other Lenten readings for today:

• Psalm 31:9-16
• Leviticus 23:1-8