33rd Sunday in Ordinary Times

Gospel – Luke18:1-8

“Ordinary” Times?

Storms Over Mt. Carmel

And the countdown has begun!  Thanksgiving is just 11 days away!! Are you ready?  Are you prepared??  For us, the cleaning starts this week – dusting, cleaning floors, straightening shelves, figuring out creative ways to hide the mess, etc.  Add to that honey-do list -   decorating, invite guests, counting chairs, planning the menu, grocery shopping, and setting the table!  And that doesn’t even include cooking the bird, baking the pies, mixing and arranging the side dishes!  And yes there will be zucchini bread!

It is exhausting for all involved.  But, in the end, it’s Ginger’s favorite holiday, particularly when we all gather around the table to share food and family, love and conversation.  And, after the past year and a half, this year feels extra special.  This year we really do get to plan and clean and cook.  This year we actually do welcome family back into our home!  Now that’s a real reason to give thanks!

But it is also a reminder that it takes work; it takes preparation.  All this celebration can’t be last minute!!  We can’t just sit around, do nothing, and expect it will all happen like magic. 

What we hear in the reading from the Book of Daniel and from the Gospel today are the End Times, the coming of the Kingdom of God.  A time of unsurpassed distress, a time of horror and disgrace when the wise will shine bright1  A time when, in the Gospel, the sun will darken and the stars will fall, and the powers will be shaken.  A time when the elect will be gathered together! 

And the question for us is the same: are we ready?  Are we prepared??  Have we cleaned our spiritual house?  Have we made our list of things to do and have we carried them out?  Have we set our house in order?  Unlike Thanksgiving, we know not the time!!  We cannot just wait until the last minute!  What are we doing to prepare ourselves?  How are we living our lives?  How are we treating others?  What are we doing in order to be welcomed at the table of the Lord?  We must be willing to work!!  No work means no food!! 

Even with the grim descriptions in the Gospel and Daniel, the Responsorial Psalm gives us comfort.  “My heart is glad and my soul rejoices, my body, too, abides in confidence; because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld, nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption. You are my inheritance, O Lord!  You will show me the path to life, fullness of joys in your presence, the delights at your right hand forever.  

So let’s get ready and prepare!  Remember!  That turkey won’t cook itself!

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