Have you ever been to a shower? By that I mean a party of sorts, not a weather phenomenon. If you are like me you have been to several. I did a little research and found four main types of showers that you might be familiar with. The first is a kitchen shower. It makes sense to have these when someone moves into a new or first home because there are a lot of things that go in the kitchen. I have never been to a kitchen shower but they sound like a great idea. Along with that there is also a larder shower. I have actually participated in one of these, when a friend of mine got married and moved into a home. Instead of kitchen gadgets, people bring kitchen staples. The one I went to was called a “pounding,” the idea being to bring a pound of a pantry item, such as sugar or flour. Bridal showers are probably the ones that I have heard of the most. It is called that because they traditionally featured the bride, but nowadays both the bride and groom are typically present.
And then there is the baby shower. This one dates back to the 1930’s in the United States. Before that time it wasn’t all that practical to hold a party with gifts, as things weren’t yet being mass-produced on a large scale (also sadly the infant mortality rate was significant). They did have a special get-together in Colonial times to the mark the occasion, but these were more of a sorority-joining event with new mothers in the community than anything else. By the end of World War II, the baby shower (or stork shower, as it was called) became a mainstream event.
It still is a mainstream event. We spend a lot of money on baby care products, and a shower is where everyone is invited to participate in the spending. According to the greatestgiftapp.com, the amount people spend on a baby shower present depends on how close they are to the family. The average amount for coworkers is about 25 dollars, while close family and friends can spend around 150 dollars or more on a gift.
What about the nursery itself? Many parents-to-be spend a lot of time and money getting the baby room ready before the big day comes. The amount spent can easily get into the thousands for the room decor, crib, stroller(s), car seat, and all of the other gear associated with a bundle of joy. A years’ worth of clothes can run you a thousand dollars, as can diapers and related supplies. And let’s not even get into the costs of childcare.
Babies are expensive.
I think one of the reasons for this is that new parents just don’t know what to expect. They want everything to be just right. And the baby industry is there to help. Case in point: one of the all time best selling books on the New York Times bestseller list is a pregnancy book, “What to Expect When You Are Expecting,” with over 22 million copies in print.
All of this is to address one thing when a baby is coming: preparation. We want to know what is going to happen and how we can be ready for it. And this leads us to a very important bible passage with the same theme, at the beginning of Luke’s Gospel.
Luke 1:26-3326 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
Read over that passage again and see if you can spot how Mary was told to prepare for all of this.
The answer is that she wasn’t told how at all.
Let that sink in for a minute. We prepare like crazy for a baby. We have showers. We clean the house. We get a nursery ready. We notify friends and family. We read books telling us what to expect and how to react. But Mary, with the greatest baby of all time? Nothing.
Here is what I think. There are two types of preparation. The one we do a lot of nowadays is outward preparation. We get things ready. We buy things. We plan. We clean. But there is another type of preparation, one that is inward. Inward preparation has to do with matters of the heart and soul. It deals with how to make yourself ready for an event, not with things, but with who you are and who you would like to become.
The spotlight this Advent season is all on inward preparation. The call is to prepare your heart for Jesus. Mary was not told to get a house or wagon ready. She was told what was going to happen, and she accepted it in her heart. Imagine yourself in her position. You ask the angel how to prepare for this. What do you think the angel would tell you?
We are very good at outward preparation. This Christmas let us accept the challenge of the far more important inward preparation, as we anticipate the coming of Christ into our lives.
God Bless