The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost - The Rev. Colette Hammesfahr

 

Luke 12:32-40

            Kurt and I love to go camping. We’ve been camping since before we got married. After we got married, we often went tent camping and hiking in the mountains of North Carolina. We took our triplets tent camping for the first time when they were just 2 ½ years old. We moved to Arkansas, where it was sometimes too cold to camp in a tent, so we bought a pop-up camper. We eventually moved to a much bigger camper, then to a smaller camper, and now to a medium-sized camper.

            I’m a list maker. Before every camping trip, I’d print out my Excel spreadsheet and check off everything we needed to bring – bug spray, dish soap, umbrellas, sweatshirts, extra socks. It was a long, long list, but it was helpful because I rarely ever forgot anything. I even had a spreadsheet of all the items I’d need to make our go-to meals. That way, when I’d go grocery shopping, I’d have everything we needed.

            As we became more seasoned campers and our kids got older, I stopped using my lists. We’ve been camping for over 35 years. By now, surely I know what we need for a couple of nights of camping. Kurt will tell you that I do not remember what we need for a couple of nights of camping. Without fail, I will forget something, and we will have to find a Walmart. I cannot remember a recent camping trip where we did not set up camp on day one, and by the morning of day two, I told Kurt we had to go to Walmart. It’s a running joke with us now. When we pull into the campground, Kurt now asks if I’ve looked to see where the closest Walmart is. As much as I try to be prepared and ready, I never am.

            In all of our lives, God wants us to be prepared. Not to be prepared to go camping, but for God’s coming again. “Be dressed for action and have your laps lit” (Luke 12:35) because “the Son of Man is coming at an hour you did not expect” (Luke 12:40b). We don’t know if the master will come “during the middle of the night, or near dawn” (Luke 12:39).

Throughout Jesus’ ministry, in his preaching and teaching, he repeatedly promised his return. He said, “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself” (John 14:3). At his ascension, the angels confirm the promise Jesus made. “This Jesus,” they said, “who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). Jesus has promised to come again but in the meantime, while we wait, we are to be prepared.

    Keep your lamps lit. When I used my checklist, I was prepared. I anticipated our needs. I was ready for anything – cold, wet, hot, bugs – anything. I had assurance that by keeping up with an ongoing list, I could relax and enjoy the camping experience because I was ready before anything happened. Keep your laps lit. It’s about daily habits that keep our spirit alert. Jesus wants us to be spiritually attentive through scripture, humility, and generosity. It’s about consistency in these areas.

    Be alert when the master arrives. When I stopped using my checklist (I checked my Excel spreadsheet, and it hasn’t been opened since 2014) I made assumptions that I had enough experience to do it all by myself. I thought I didn’t need the one thing that had kept me prepared for years. When it counted, I didn’t have what I needed…a poncho in a rain storm, matches when it came time to cook the burgers, soap to wash the dishes. Life will test our readiness unexpectedly through a crisis or a need. We’ll sometimes be caught off guard. If we’ve stopped preparing, we’re not ready to respond when the moment comes. We stay prepared through prayer, with small check-ins with God throughout the day. We practice being still, being silent, and listening for God. We stay prepared by being curious about what God is teaching us through the happenings in our lives.

    The Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hours. Camping surprises often come without warning – a sudden rain, a neighbor needing help, the realization that I’ve forgotten something essential. We need to be ready when the unexpected hour comes. But, the “unexpected hour” isn’t just when Christ returns. The “unexpected hour” can be any moment when God calls us to show up fully – quiet little invitations in our lives. It can be a chance to forgive someone. It can be when someone is in need of compassion. It can come when a friend or neighbor needs us to simply sit with them and listen. These moments don’t come on any particular schedule. But when we stay attentive, we’re ready.   

    Forgetting something when I go camping steals something from me. It steals my piece of mind. It steals my comfort. It can add frustration and anger. It’s a consequence of assuming I’m ready and prepared when I’m really not. I have the means to begin a camping trip stress-free, if I’d only open my Excel spreadsheet.

    Have any of you noticed that as I’ve preached this homily,  not once, did I say that I have learned my lesson and I now use my checklist. No…while I continue to camp year after year, I still have not learned my lesson. This often reflects our relationship with God, we stumble and we stumble, thinking we know what’s best for ourselves – thinking we can do life on our own, but we can’t.

    Jesus isn’t calling us to live in stress. Being prepared is about grace, not pressure. When we live with awareness and humility, we’re ready for those unexpected moments. So, live prepared and not panicked. Stay spiritually awake through quiet and steady preparation. Like camping without a checklist, unprepared hearts miss the moment when it matters most.

 

Amen.