Be prepared! This is a huge theme throughout the Gospels. Fr. Eric Immel, SJ, reflects on how we can prepare ourselves for the Kingdom of God. Based on the readings for Sunday, November 12, 2023.
Ready or not, here I come!
I’m Fr. Eric Immel, and this is my one-minute homily.
Sometimes, when I’m scrambling out the door, I forget essential things – my wallet, my phone, my keys – It’s an awful feeling to miss something when we need it, and so before we leave, we need to GET READY. A major theme of the Gospels is that the Kingdom of God is at hand. The real question in today’s Gospel is whether we’re ready for that Kingdom, and whether we’re ready to join Jesus again.
What do you need to do to get ready? It might be that there’s someone for you to forgive, or a habit to break, or a deep wound to heal. Perhaps instead of scrambling all the time, you need to slow down a bit. Whatever it is – trust that the work will be worth it, that thinking ahead will help, that anticipating the kingdom is one way of getting a glimpse of it here and now. So – as the old Gospel song recalls, keep your lamps are trimmed and burning – get ready for Jesus.
