"What did you go out into the desert to see?" (Lk 7:24)

What a message in today’s Gospel, Lk 7: 24-30.  I am asked why I have gone out into the desert and for whom am I looking?  Certainly, deserts are unwelcome places, at least for me!  So who is out there that has caught my attention? Have I gone out of curiosity? Have I gone to criticize? To condemn? To chastise myself or someone else?  Or am I responding to John’s message to repent and prepare for God’s visit to my interior dwelling place?  Am I seeking to be cleansed, purified of my sins? Am I longing for the Lord “to create a clean heart in me, put into me a new and constant spirit” (Ps. 51: 12)?  If I am expecting anything else or anything less, I will be disappointed. However, if I am preparing my heart  to receive my  Savior, my visit to the desert of my life will be an awesome experience whenever I have the courage and the humility to visit this place in preparation for the birth of the Lord anew in my heart and life.

Today's Scripture: Be prepared

Today’s Gospel (Lk 12: 39-48) asked us to be prepared for Christ’s coming, as we would for a thief scouring to break into our houses.  Many times when we read this passage, we translate it to mean our death. And, of course, it is that. However, Christ prepares me for that final “yes” by many visitations prior to that.  God, surprisingly most times, appears unannounced in the events of each day. For example, my computer does not cooperate with a command as quickly as I’d like and God invites me to let go and be patient. I rant and rave instead, losing the opportunity to radiate peace and experience God, who isn’t in my whirlwind reaction to that or any event. God is in the “gentle breeze.”  A fellow Sister compliments me on a job well done—God’s affirmation in human form.  Resources have exactly the information for which I am looking. A friend calls right at the exact moment I needed someone to comfort me or, vice versa, I am inspired to call a friend right at the moment she needed someone with whom to talk.  “Yeses” to God’s daily visitations prepare me for that final visitation at the hour of my death. If I look for God throughout my lifetime, in every moment of every day,  I will be looking for Him at the hour of my death and I will be ready when the thief we call death breaks in.