19th Sunday C. 2025

Wisdom 18:6-9

Psalm 33:1,12,18-19,20-21

Hebrews 11:1-2,8-19

Luke 12:32-48

Be prepared, is a big theme in the Gospel of Luke.

Luke tells his community, be prepared for the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Kingdom will come, maybe like a thief in the night.

The Kingdom will come maybe, like the boss returning from a wedding; returning even in the early morning.

The Kingdom will come maybe like a Covid-19 pandemic.

The Kingdom will come, maybe like a January 6th insurrection.

The Kingdom will come, maybe like a chaos bringing asteroid.

Be prepared.

How do we prepare?

We prepare from a vision. With faith in the vision, we look beyond the present time and material horizons seeing that future in which the Kingdom of Heaven is. We prepare by nurturing our bond of friendship with Jesus; by our deep breathing of the holy Spirit; by obedience to our father God. We prepare by our readiness to serve in the Kingdom of Heaven. Now let me break this down.

Imagine you are sitting the bench at the game. You are a player. You have a vision of winning the championship and enjoying the glory of victory. The championship is months away. Today is only the second game so you sit on the bench, waiting to be called into play.

All week you have trained. All month you have sacrificed. All year you have developed your relationship with the coach, your teammates and the community. Now you sit on the bench connected in spirit, in love and in faith to vision shared with those who are in the game.

You are in synch with their movements. You hear the commands of the coaches. You can barley sit still. The vision of victory is a painful hunger made more exquisite by todays win. The vision sees beyond the horizon of this game all the way to the national championship.

You are not called into play today. Plunged into darkness as you may be, you continue to prepare: body, mind, soul, and relationship. The day will come. That great and terrible day will come, you know not when. You will be called into play and you are prepared.

God’s core principle for the human person is that we see God as God is. That we become like God. That we gather united in a Holy Spirit, one body of people, of every race, language and way of life in a wedding celebration of tears of joy, cries of victory, washed clean and free in the blood of the Lamb of God.

Our Catholic Church gives us seven levels of preparation. Level one: Baptism. But some parents handicap their children being lazy about baptism. Level two: Holy Communion. But some players eat only junk foods. Level 3: Reconciliation. But some players never learn to play well with others. Level 4: Confirmation. But some players never commit to the game. Level 5. Anointed Healing. But Some players enjoy their ill health. Level 6 and Level 7. Matrimony and Holy Orders. But some teams never develop a winning team spirit.

For those players motivated by the core principles of the Kingdom of Heaven, they will complete the levels of preparation and sit ready and able to serve and to play for the glory of God, and win their crown of victory.

Therefore, brothers and sisters blessed are those players prepared, for an hour unexpected. Your heavenly Father is pleased to give you the kingdom of Heaven.