What would you put in a spiritual survival kit? Fr. Joe Simmons, SJ, talks about bug-out bags and the call to be prepared in this week’s One-Minute Homily. Based on the readings for Sunday, August 11, 2019, which you can find here: https://bit.ly/33sS8gD
If Jesus came tomorrow, what would he find in your spiritual ‘bug-out bag’?
Hello, I’m father Joe Simmons, and this is my one-minute homily.
Once my nephew Edmund was going around the house, putting items into his shark backpack – fig bars, empty shampoo bottles, a toy telephone – and then he set it near the back door. We called it his ‘bug-out bag,’ in case he needed to fly the coup in the middle of the night.
A ‘bug-out bag’ comes from military usage. In case of emergency, troops needed to carry the bare essentials to survive in the wilderness – maps, water, medicine, and a bit of food. Anything excessive – like shampoo – had to go.
All of today’s readings focus on the need to be prepared. Our first reading from Wisdom mentions the preparations made for the night of Passover, and the hope of salvation for the wandering Israelites.
The psalmist cries out, “our soul waits for the Lord, who is our help and our shield.”
We hear in the letter to the Hebrews how Abraham followed God’s command to leave his homeland in hope of things not yet seen.
And in today’s Gospel, Jesus reminds his disciples to lighten their loads, give alms, and gird their loins.
Today is a good time to look at all the ‘stuff’ in our life. Do we travel lightly and give generously?
