MEDITATION: Preparedness and Readiness The Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost: November 9, 2014 By The Reverend Nathanael Saint-Pierre We invite you to worship and be in communion with us during our 8:30 and/or 10:30AM Service of Holy Eucharist to hear the full sermon. +++++++ Preparedness and Readiness When certain people look at our determination to conform to the law of God and start mocking us, don’t let their behavior cause us to be lazy in our commitment to work for The Lord. We should know what we are after and what we are up against; for expecting The Lord is the most important event in the life of a believer. To get ready for a coming that does not have a predefined date and time is not obvious. It requires a constant and thorough preparation. We all want to go to heaven but we all want a free pass. It is being irresponsible to ignore all the notices just because we know of the grace of God. In order to overcome darkness we need an important provision of light. And to maintain light requires lamps that are filled with oil. If that’s the name of the game, ignoring the rules is just being unaccountable, irresponsible and unrepentant. I am not sure exactly why Jesus used the lamp and oil analogy for the people of his time, but I do know that he often used images that were current and familiar to them. Today the presence of electricity. Today the presence of electricity, incandescent or energy saving bulbs may lead us to forget that oil is still being used to provide lighting in many places of the globe; lamps during Jesus’ time were burning oil. For us nowadays, oil is a very important and expensive ingredient used to provide heat during winter, used as fuel in transportation; it is also used to produce fire and energy. We now know that to get ready to travel requires that we procure enough fuel for the distance. Often, however, we take for granted that there will be a gas station at least every mile and we don’t anticipate that the gauge may be broken. Having the wisdom to have enough gas in the tank before we take the road is a smart decision. In today’s gospel, Jesus tells the story of several foolish bridesmaids. They did not have enough oil in their lamps; they did not expect the bridegroom to be delayed. They did not think of miscellaneous possibilities, these non-predictable circumstances that occur in life and to which we all need to adapt. We realize at the end how smart it is to have a sense of reserve, to keep with us some fuel for an extra mile. To predict the worse and be prepared to face it. Jesus is inviting us to be good stewards of the blessings of God. What is wisdom if we are still acting irresponsibly crazy? What is preparedness if we are surprised by unpredictable events? We may never be completely ready but: 1. We should remain vigilant, constantly monitoring the signs of time and adapting to changes around us. 2. We need to anticipate that the Lord will come without notice 3. In times of crisis we can only carry essentials. Accumulating unnecessary goods that cannot go with us on the other side just exhibits our lack of wisdom. At the end, it is important to realize that preparation is an ongoing process that may never end when it comes to the kingdom of God. It will end only when the kingdom is established. Readiness is also not achievable. There are too many unknown factors that we cannot anticipate. Let’s get down on our knees and keep on with our preparation until we meet our Creator in Heaven. Amen. + + + + + + + St Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church 286-290 Henry Street New York NY 10002
Posted on: Fri, 07 Nov 2014 23:12:41 +0000
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