Timing is Everything

10/23/2018

Step #1: Lectio / Read

Click the link below or open your Bible to the passage and read through the reading at least once, paying attention to what is happening in the text.

Luke 12:35-38

Step #2: Meditatio / Meditate

Use the following meditation to help you reflect more deeply on the Scripture (you may want to read the passage again).

About 85 percent of my job is just being in the right place at the right time. Last year, I was working on a story about revitalization in a rundown part of Philadelphia. Part of the story was about two rehabbed buildings which would increase the property value. One building was a hotel and the other was a concert hall. Within minutes of walking around the neighborhood, I bumped into the developer of those projects. The interview fell into my lap.

Timing is everything. Not just at work but in life too. Play your position like a shortstop and be ready. It’s not like God didn’t tell us to be unprepared. Several parables in the Bible suggest we stay alert. In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus urges his disciples to “gird your loins and light your lamps.” We don't know the hour or the day that the Lord will return, and today he encourages us to be ready for that time. So often we treat our spiritual lives as "tomorrow's project", something we can figure out and work on eventually. We never know how life will move or how the Lord will call us to bear new burdens or new opportunities, but it's up to us to be ready to dive in headfirst to whatever he calls us to. Jesus gives us a strong declaration with a hint of foreshadowing today- we have to heed his words. Given what’s going on in our country on a political and social scale, staying ready is sound advice.

Just when you think you’ve seen and heard it all, a new wrinkle comes along. It may be a blessing. It may be a burden. Don’t ever say God didn’t warn you of what’s ahead, but instead live to be ready today for what will come. Timing is everything and we have to be prepared.

Step #3: Oratio / Prayer

These questions are to be used to talk to God; have a conversation with the Lord about these questions and what is going on in your heart as you pray today.

How am I prepared for what God might send my way next?

What can I do to be more ready for the coming of the Lord?

What do I need to change in my spiritual life to be ready for the Lord's call in my life?

Step #4: Contemplatio / Contemplate

In this step, you listen. Stop talking, let God speak to your heart. You may repeat one of these short phrases to focus your mind on the Lord.

"Jesus, I trust in you."

"Help me be ready for you, Lord."

"We wait for you."

Step #5: Actio / Act

In light of today's reading and your time spent in prayer with the Lord, what concrete action or actions will you take to let this encounter with the Lord bear fruit in you today?

We don't know the hour or the day that Jesus will come again. Take time today to consider how you are ready for Jesus, if he were to come today, and ask the Lord to guide you to any changes you may need to make.

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"Today's prayer was prepared by Brandon Hudson, a news reporter in Philadelphia, PA.

If you have anything you'd like our team to pray for, please go to the page of our website called ""Prayers"" and let us know how we can pray for you today. "

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