(A sermon for Mark 1:1-8 Presented at Christ Church, Bordentown NJ, December 9-10, 2023.)

I used to have a recurring dream in which I would find myself feeling stressed and frustrated_ because today was my college final exam. In that dream, I desperately searched for the classroom that I had never bothered to learn where it was in the first place. As I roamed through random buildings on campus, I was so unsure and upset because I couldn’t understand why I didn’t look for this building yesterday.  Why didn’t I attend the class all those yesterdays? And why didn’t I read the textbooks all those yesterdays? …So that today, I would be ready.

To add insult to injury, I would typically wake up from this dream wondering_ is that my reality? Did I really let that happen? Then after a few minutes of being awake, I would realize it was just a dream, and feel relieved.

I don’t typically put a lot of stock in dreams, or what they mean. To me, it’s just the brain’s way of rejuvenating while I sleep. And sometimes the dreams are just a front row seat to some movie, and in this case, a movie that is not all that much fun to watch.

But maybe putting stock in that dream is not such a bad idea. It’s a reminder of how I’ve created situations for myself that invoke angst and misgivings that I could’ve prevented. And it’s a reminder that sometimes I go too fast, and don’t pay attention to the things that matter.

During this time before Christmas, we hear the message, “Slow down, it’s Advent.” We’re encouraged to hurry less, breathe slower and easier, and revel in the Good News that the birth of Christ is soon upon us.

It’s easy to say _ “slow … down”. Much harder to do _ especially since our modern society tells us_ this is the time to speed up, worry more, fill up our calendars and our to-do lists because _ CHRISTMAS DAY_IS_ COMING!

So how do we slow down, when there are so many expectations? Reading Mark’s Gospel today helps with some perspective _ John the Baptist exclaiming the words of Isaiah: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”

The theme of this short passage is _to prepare or_ be prepared. Preparing ourselves for what’s to come. Preparing ourselves in some way that’s not been fully explained. Preparing ourselves perhaps, for some exam, in some building that has some unknown location.

With Advent morphing into Christmastide, we prepare for both _ by slowing down and relishing in how well we’ve done. But also, to take heed and speed up, to catch up on things that we missed along the way.

Consciously this may seem hard to do. But this preparation for the future _ sometimes slowly _ sometimes quickly_ is something we do every day all day long. Our days are full of thinking about the little and big choices we make. Our minds drift all day long, thinking about the choices and how much to prepare.

We choose to continue to listen to this sermon _ or think about something else. We choose where to drive after church. We choose what we’ll eat after church. We choose if we’re going to watch the Giants not make the playoffs again. We choose to get involved. We choose to help our neighbor.  We choose if we’ll pray. We choose to prepare for the Second Coming. We choose to care a lot _or care a little.

And behind all of those choices, we think about, how much do we need to prepare for all of these choices?

As certain stages in our lives unfold, we don’t need to think consciously about many of these choices. Our choices and preparation become instinctual. Our brains act on auto-pilot.

But when preparing for the unknown, how will we know that we’ve prepared enough for everything that we want to prepare for? Moreover, how much should we prepare for Jesus’ return?

I can’t tell you the exact amount. Just like I can’t tell you what you should eat, or where to go, or how to nurse your broken heart over the so-called “Giants”.

I can say that I believe the point of Advent is to slow down, take a moment to not worry, and feel _the joy that comes from knowing that the birth of Christ is just the beginning of the story. I can also say that you have to prepare yourself in this life, not only for your daily activities and choices, but for something that surpasses all of our understanding _ which is our afterlife.

Then I think how much should we prepare for that final exam? How do we make sure that we’re not running around regretfully trying to find the right building?

It’s up to each of you to decide. If you’re not prepared, you should be. If you are prepared, and wondering how much more you should prepare, the answer is simple, and really not as complicated, or as structured as you might think.

It’s _ prepare more today than you did yesterday, and each day continue doing just that. That’s how we’ll get the A+ on that final exam. That I’m sure.