Is My Room Clean

8/7/2016

Step #1: Lectio / Read

Luke 12:32-48

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not be afraid any longer, little flock,
for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.
Sell your belongings and give alms.
Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out,
an inexhaustible treasure in heaven
that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.
For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

“Gird your loins and light your lamps
and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding,
ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.
Blessed are those servants
whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.
Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself,
have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.
And should he come in the second or third watch
and find them prepared in this way,
blessed are those servants.
Be sure of this:
if the master of the house had known the hour
when the thief was coming,
he would not have let his house be broken into.
You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect,
the Son of Man will come.”

Then Peter said,
“Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?”
And the Lord replied,
“Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward
whom the master will put in charge of his servants
to distribute the food allowance at the proper time?
Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so.
Truly, I say to you, the master will put the servant
in charge of all his property.
But if that servant says to himself,
‘My master is delayed in coming,’
and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants,
to eat and drink and get drunk,
then that servant’s master will come
on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour
and will punish the servant severely
and assign him a place with the unfaithful.
That servant who knew his master’s will
but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will
shall be beaten severely;
and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will
but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating
shall be beaten only lightly.
Much will be required of the person entrusted with much,
and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”

Step #2: Meditatio / Meditate

For the longest time I used to have the messiest room. Once in awhile I would clean it, but eventually it would get messy again. But it didn't really bother me because I thought, "well who else is going to see this mess, so it's no big deal." Then a couple of years ago I lived in an orphanage in El Salvador. My room was in the boys' house and I lived with a hundred and fifty of those boys. At random points in the day kids would knock on my door asking for something and these kids wouldn't stop knocking until I answered. In fact, one boy knocked for 20 straight minutes and would not give up until I opened that door. So that summer my room was constantly clean because I never knew when someone would knock on my door and come inside.

You see the interesting thing is after that summer I constantly kept my room clean because it just felt so much better to have the freedom to allow anyone to enter at any moment. It also felt so much better just to live in a space that is clean.

Let's treat our souls like that room recognizing that Jesus might show up at any moment. But he doesn't want us to simply clean up our sin because we are afraid of him coming, but rather he knows how much more free we will be living when we are free of the dirtiness and guilt that clutters our souls. Sometimes we have sin in our soul that has been there so long that we have forgotten what it feels like to live without that sin, to live in a clean room. So let's get to confession, have our souls cleansed and live everyday knowing that Jesus can enter at any moment.

Step #3: Oratio / Pray

Lord, would I be happy if you showed up today, if not, why?

What obstacles are in my life that keep me from allowing Christ to live in the room of my soul?

What thing am I afraid of the Lord encountering in my soul?

Step #4: Contemplatio / Contemplate

There is nothing to broken or weak that my Lord doesn't want to encounter for He loves all my weakness. For it is precisely where I am most weak that He wants to be glorified.

Jesus Christ in your broken body you saved the world, now enter my broken body and save me.

For the Rest of Your Day...

Today is Sunday! So Jesus is indeed coming to live in your body. What a thing to rejoice over!

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Today's prayer was prepared by Fr. Kyle Manno.

CARPE VERBUM