Preparing for the Sabbath

Tomorrow is Sunday. How am I preparing for the Sabbath? The same way most everyone else does. I have done little to nothing to prepare! In North American culture, the major preparation for Sunday worship is getting up and getting dressed; driving to the church; sitting down in the pew; being there. In our culture, it is not the responsibility of the parishioner to prepare for worship but it is the task of the church to get me ready to worship. How does the church prepare me? Well, most of it is the task of the worship leaders. Whoever starts the service or greets me at the door has as much to do with my preparing for church as I do. Preparing is akin to motivating. If you wonder why Joel Osteen is so popular while his sermons are pop psychology rather than biblical depth, it is because he motivates. He is upbeat, excited, and engaging. He is encouraging others to worship.
The tragedy of all of this is that it is not the task of the leader to either motivate or prepare the parishioner for worship. That, my friends, is up to you. You are the one with the relationship. You are the one with the need to worship and draw close to God. Imagine someone saying to you, "Do you love your wife? Good, then she should motivate you to come and talk to her." I don't think that would go over well on Valentine's Day or her birthday. No, each of us has a responsibility to prepare to come into the presence of the Lord. The High Priest used to go through an elaborate ritual of washing and dressing before going into the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement. The OT worshiper would have to go through a whole ritual of preparation for their offering before actually sacrificing the animal. Those journeying to Jerusalem for worship would sing the Psalms on the way. In the NT the church would gather, eat, pray, sing, and then get down to worship. When Paul and Silas were stuck in prison they prepared for the earthquake by singing and worshiping before the Lord.
Preparing is not the function of the worship leader, pastor, or church musician. Preparation is up to you and me before we get to church on Sunday. While I was in Tanzania in November, the participants in the conference attended some Tanzanian Lutheran Churches. Since there are few folks who own cars in Tanzania, most walked to church. In one case, over 300 people walked an hour up Mt. Kilimanjaro to attend a worship service. The walking was part of the worship. It was preparation.
So, tomorrow (or in preparation for the next Sabbath day coming up) make sure you do something to get ready for worship. Read a devotional; spend a few minutes in prayer; have some quiet time; read the scriptures early on the Lord's Day. Preparation is all up to you. Everything else is up to the Holy Spirit. Be prepared.