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b'(Ws.18:6-9;\\xa0\\xa0 Ps.33:1,12.18-20,22;\\xa0\\xa0 Heb.11:1-2,8-19;\\xa0\\xa0 Lk.12:32-48) \\u201cYou also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.\\u201d \\xa0\\u201cOur soul waits for the Lord.\\u201d\\xa0 Though we do not know the day or the hour of His return, we must always be ready for His coming.\\xa0 As the ancients, the Hebrew fathers and especially Abraham the father of faith himself, we must ever be seeking our heavenly homeland.\\xa0 By faith the ancients, who saw the promise only from afar, \\u201cawaited the salvation of the just\\u201d; by faith Abraham \\u201csojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country.\\u201d\\xa0 As he dwelled in tents, nonetheless, \\u201che was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and maker is God.\\u201d\\xa0 With the incarnation of Christ, and in His death and resurrection, what greater assurance have we of that which we hope for.\\xa0 We now have Jesus speaking to our hearts: \\u201cDo not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.\\u201d\\xa0 How much more are we called to follow His way in faith; how much more we should now be prepared for the coming of the Son of Man. \\u201cGird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master\\u2019s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when He comes and knocks.\\u201d\\xa0 If the Lord finds us \\u201cvigilant on His arrival,\\u201d how blessed will we be.\\xa0 If we have distributed well the food He has put in our charge here, if His work we have accomplished according to His word, we shall ourselves sup at the table the Lord prepares for us in the heavenly homeland.\\xa0 But all we are given here, all the graces and blessings which are ours through Jesus and through His Church, we are responsible for; by them we must bear fruit in patience and in faith, Peter first, as the first of servants, and all of us beneath his charge in proportion to \\u201cthe food allowance\\u201d placed in our hands for distribution at the proper time.\\xa0 (This refers primarily to our priests, but we all do share in the priesthood of Christ, and all are graced with a measure of the flesh of Christ to share with the world.) \\u201cExult, you just, in the Lord,\\u201d for what was held \\u201cin secret\\u201d by \\u201cthe holy children\\u201d of times past has now come to light in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ.\\xa0 Now we await the second coming of Christ with a \\u201csure knowledge\\u201d far surpassing the one granted our fathers.\\xa0 We are \\u201cthe people He has chosen for His own inheritance,\\u201d and a promise so sure should spur us on to a readiness that is meet to such a wonderful gift.\\xa0 The Lord is coming to sit us at table at the place He now prepares; let us \\u201cmake preparations\\u201d of our own, remaining ever the servants of Christ, that we shall not be taken unawares when it is time to fold up our tents in this world and join the Lord in glory.\\xa0 Hear Him knocking even now at the door of your hearts. Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. Music: "The Readiness Is All" from Bearing the Birth Pangs, tenth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, our hope is in you; may we patiently await the coming of your kingdom. YHWH, how we hope for your kindness to deliver us from death, to save us from our adversaries, even from our very selves.\\xa0 We place all our trust in you \\u2013 O may our faith soon be rewarded! If we but had the faith of Abraham, dear LORD, blessed as he would we be, with no fear for the impending darkness, with hearts set solely on your coming light.\\xa0 The salvation of the just let us await with steadfast hearts, knowing well that you are faithful to all your promises and that you have promised a heavenly dwelling to all who seek their place with you. To this earth let us not be attached; all of this world let us offer freely to you.\\xa0 You are our only treasure, dear God \\u2013 you are all that is worthy of our concern.\\xa0 And so, let us await your Son\\u2019s return with loins girded and lamps burning.\\xa0 Let us be ever vigilant for His coming, serving well your holy will all our days, and our inheritance we shall find in you.'