Devotion for the Week

… week of August 10, 2025

Always Ready

For which events are you always prepared? Perhaps the coffee is always on in your house, awaiting the unannounced guest at any hour. Or perhaps you always have your passport up to date, ready to take advantage of that spur-of-the-moment vacation deal that arrives in your inbox. Being prepared for what life brings us, knowing we’re ready to tackle whatever comes our way, can give us a sense of security.

Today’s gospel reading takes the idea of readiness to divine proportions as Jesus reminds the disciples to be prepared for God’s inbreaking at any moment. How are we prepared for God to show up in our everyday life? How are we prepared to encounter God being at work, even now?

God’s kingdom is like a grand wedding party where everyone is invited and has a light to shine. God’s realm is like a gigantic feast where all are fed and no one goes away empty. God’s reign is one in which humanity can invest in things that last, instead of hoarding for lean times, because in the community of God there is enough for all so we never need to be afraid.

While many people might hear this reading as referring only to Christ’s final coming, in our liturgy we are reminded that Christ arrives in many and various ways all the time. We are blessed by the Holy Spirit in the waters of baptism, in the bread and wine of the eucharist, in the face of our neighbors as we greet one another with God’s overwhelming peace.

The kingdom of God is always at hand, breaking through the ordinary and mundane in extraordinary ways. Today we are reminded to be ready for it, to look for it, to anticipate it with fearless expectation. So, how are we ready to encounter Christ today?