11.28.2004 | "Keep watch..."

...because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. These words of our Lord from Matthew 24:42-44 (NIV) were the Gospel lesson for today, the first Sunday of Advent.

As a Baptist who sometimes attends Episcopalian services, I am sometimes conflicted. The simple Baptist in me rejects most ritual as being superfluous. Baptists also know that we are all priests of God, and need no one to stand between us and the Lord. Episcopalians also seem to grasp this, and, for all of their un-Scriptural tendencies as a denomination, also include many who are Protestant in outlook -- a congregation of priests.

One of the beneficial yet superfluous aspects of the Episcopal Church is its adherance to the Catholic liturgy, and the resultant liturgical cycles of the Christian year. Beneficial for those, like me, who often need to be reminded of the glory that is God and His Son. Superfluous, given the very words of today's Gospel message: "Keep watch...you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him".

This means 24/7, 365 days a year...we never close...we are always ready. Wish I could say that was ready all of the time. May it be your joy to be ready.