Be Prepared
by Bishop James Folts
Such was the admonition I learned long ago as a brand new Boy Scout - a good idea then and a
good idea today. The Scouts did not invent this thoughtful admonition, for it has been around humankind for a long, long time. The Church Fathers who
conceived of the notion of an Advent Season did so with this admonition in mind: "Be prepared"...be prepared to meet your Lord once again this
December as you greet Bethlehem's baby.
Let us prepare for that encounter by remembering who He is and why He came:
- He is our
Lord
- He came that we might know of His extraordinary love for us, that we might know who we are and Whose we are, where we are going on
this journey, and who our Guardian and Guide is on the way.
- He came that we might know the reality of our eternal life with Him that we no
longer need to be scared of death.
These four weeks before Christmas, this season of Advent, is a most wonderful time to prepare, to
remember, and to live into the most glorious news ever to come into this world - the Advent, the "Coming" of Jesus Christ , the One who saved and
continues to save our relationship with our heavenly Father.
