WATCHING and READY

 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2023

Luke 12:35 – 40

35 “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 37 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. 38 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. 39 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

 

Have you ever experienced God’s presence in a surprising way?

What were the circumstances? How did that impact you?


One of the great realities of our faith walk is that God shows up in the commonplace moments of our living. Have you noticed that?

These are the kind of God moments that are exciting, when God shows up in an everyday conversation that has nothing to do with faith, religion, or church. We’re just talking about what we’re talking about and suddenly the whole thing turns into a holy moment, and we realize that God is up to something with us. I think of a conversation I had recently at one of our Community Dinners, a conversation started out about weather, summer, how much rain we had had. Without warning, the conversation turned toward an experience the person had that was unsettling, almost traumatic I would say, “Can I ask you a question?” the person said. “Sure,” was my reply. Before I really understood what was happening God showed up and spoke comfort into the persons life and experience.

I figure, the two disciples on the road to Emmaus must have experienced something like this when they met Jesus. When they finally realized that Jesus had been with them, they said, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us?” (Luke 24:32).

In our Luke 12 reading today, Jesus tells his disciples to watch and be ready for the Son of Man to show up when they least expect him to. Now I know that this passage in Luke 12 appears to point toward end-times and the second-coming of Jesus Christ which is undisputedly true. But what if Jesus intended a much deeper meaning and application? I wonder if part of what Jesus was referring to are those surprising God moments that happen whether we’re in prayer, reading the Bible, or just having a simple conversation. What if Jesus was suggesting that to keep watch and be ready also means being awake and alert for God’s presence and action in our daily sometimes rather mundane moments.

What if to watch and be ready is to be prepared for God moments when we least expect it. God shows up speaks through us words of hope, encouragement, and comfort into a distraught neighbor, or work colleague, or stranger. What if Jesus was saying to watch and be ready for the Son of Man to show up when they least expect him, means something deeper than preparation for a future event? What if Jesus was also saying, teaching, that to watch was to be “partners in the Gospel” with an eye looking and prepared for God’s presence, what if being ready refers to the preparation to be obediently eager, willing, discerning, and raring to go where God wants to take us.

I know this is a different way to look at this passage. Perhaps, this perspective does deserve some pondering though.

What does it mean for you to watch and be ready for the Son of Man (Jesus) to show up in your life?

What steps can you take to increase your ability to notice such moments?