Tuesday – 29th Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel – Luke 12: 35-38

Buckle Up, Buttercup

On the Shores of the Dead Sea

 

Growing up in the rural farmland of Southern Maryland, we never had the chance to join the Boy Scouts.  We were 4H kids through and through, learning to be good citizens and learning how to grow and cultivate potatoes and Japanese yews, for example.  I can still remember harvesting our little plot of potatoes and then the joy of ‘selling’ them to my Dad for him to sell in his country store.  After he subtracted the original cost of the seeds, fertilizer, etc, my brother and I earned a whole 25 cents each.  Which, of course, we immediately spent on candy in the store!  Wow!

Granted that wasn’t much of a profit but there were plenty of lessons learned, not the least of which was all the time and effort, the daily care and weeding, and the tilling of the soil.  It wasn’t just throw some seeds in the ground and wait for things to happen.  It was a lot of preparation just to reach the “harvest”.  You had to prepare and be prepared (even if we weren’t Boy Scouts).

And that is what Jesus is addressing in today’s Gospel – be prepared!  Be prepared for the Kingdom, for the Master.  You can’t just sit around and then suddenly rush in a flurry of activity when the Master suddenly shows up.  We need to approach every day as a day of preparation. 

Jesus makes it very clear – this is work and it’s daily work.  Gird your loins!  Not an expression most of us are familiar with but very appropriate here.  Literally it means something like to hike up your pants, tighten up your belt, roll up your sleeves, and get to work!  I keep getting this image of “buckle up, buttercup, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.” 

We all have work to do TODAY to prepare for the Kingdom.  So let’s get to it!  Those potatoes aren’t gonna grow all by themselves!

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