Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
Be Prepared
As I write this meditation, I look out over the backyard of the parsonage and witness more than ten inches of snow accumulating before my eyes. I can cope with a winter storm as long as I am “dressed for action.”
I have always packed an emergency backpack full of items one might need for a roadside emergency. If the vehicle breaks down or slides into the ditch, I abide by the Boy Scout proverb “Be prepared.” Winter driving builds character. Winter driving expects us to slow down, leave earlier, and persist carefully. In our car emergency backpack we have all the conceivable items needed to keep us safe or address possible problems. From blankets, to jumper cables, flashlight, used Moravian candles and fresh matches, to extra gloves, hat, cup, and food, we pack prepared. So, when physical calamity occurs, we can unpack solutions.
On this summer’s day, has your spiritual journey with God slid off the road? Has your prayer life gone flat? Has a personal fender bender disabled a friendship? Do you seem faithfully stuck at the end of the driveway—spinning your biblical wheels—going nowhere quickly? A Godly jump start certainly would provide a pertinent solution.
Most of us reading this meditation want our physical, emotional, and spiritual lives in a classic order. The pandemic taught us different lessons. Today’s Gospel calls us to prepare for the bridegroom’s return. We prepare for God’s will shining through our lives.
Today, we gather unafraid, enlivened, and ready to worship the Lord and grasp the Word of God that inspires our souls, opens our minds, heals our hearts, tests our mettle, and calms our spirits. Today, “be dressed for action and have your lamps lit” (Luke 12:35). Tomorrow, Jesus may return. So, be dressed for action again.
John Wallace, pastor, First Moravian Church
Dover, Ohio