Showing Up, Being Prepared - Advent Devotional

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.... Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” (Matt. 25:1-2, 13)

 

Daily Scripture Reading: Matthew 25:1-13 – Parable of the Five Wise and Five Foolish Bridesmaids

 

  I grew up in the age when most kids would get Cowboy focused items for Christmas. Cowboy outfits, Cowboy hats and boots, etc. Playing games made you think you lived in the wild west were common as well as watching Cowboy movies. Our lives as kids were dominated by the larger-than-life images portrayed by the biggest movie cowboy-actor, John Wayne. The rough-and-tumble, heart-of-gold, good-guy character John Wayne projected the characteristics and qualities of honor, loyalty, bravery and commitment.

  John Wayne's cowboys didn't just look good. They were good. In the classic movie, "Rio Bravo," Wayne's character summed up the essence of his cowboy philosophy by declaring to a less-than-perfect sidekick "Just showing up doesn't get the job done!"

  Matthew's parable of the five wise and five foolish bridesmaids seems to emphasize this same kind of message. Good intentions are not enough for a faithful members of the Christian community, we must not just show up, but must be prepared and ready to make ourselves present before God.

  Advent calls us as Jesus tells us in the parable, the ability to wait patiently for his arrival, now and at his second coming. Though waiting alone is not enough, we need to Show Up. Getting there, no matter fast we travel, is not everything. We need to prepare ourselves and be present with God's spirit now, in order, for us to be present to Christ now and into the future, less we miss Jesus during Advent.

  For the faithful, committed disciple of Jesus, "showing up" has a God-centered meaning and is a necessary first step, but it does not end there. The worst thing a Christian can do is fail to show up to the moment God has given us and not be prepared to receive Jesus. Jesus calls us to show up to the event God has placed us and to show up to the problem life is presenting to us. Then do the work God has called to do.

  Jesus doesn't mean we have to like it. Jesus doesn't mean we have to accept it. But Jesus does mean we must show up for the moment God has given – regardless of how crazy or hard the task before us might be. You can not respond to God's call, if you don't first show up.

  God has called us to "show up" and "be present" because God has a need of the unique gifts and strengths each one of us has to offer to this place and time. Capture the wonder and miracle of Advent and the coming light entering the world through the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, God with us. Show up, be prepared and discover the mysteries God is about to reveal. “Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” (Matt. 25:13)