19th Sunday-C ready for action

Be ready for action...
 What will happen to a student goes to exam without preparation, he will definately fail. One day a teacher said to John, " you copied from Matthew's  exam paper, didn't you?" John became so defensive and said, " How did you know?"  The teacher said, " Mathew's paper says, "I don't know". And you have put, " Me, neither".
If a military officer who goes on to the field of action without proper preparation, he will easily be defeated. Once an military officer said to his soldier: "Do you have a change for a dollar?". The soldier said, "Sure, buddy". The officer looked at him and said, "That is not the proper way to answer in military, Sure buddy, let us try again, "Soldier, do you have a change for a dollar?" The soldier said, "No, Sir".
Once a very faithful woman came to the pastor and said, "Reverend, I am so scared and afraid. Joe says he is going to kill me if I continue to come to your church". The pastor looked at her and said, " Yes, my child, I will continue to pray for you. Have faith and the Lord will watch over you". "Oh yes, He has kept me safe so far, only..."   "Only what, my child?" asked the pastor. She said, "Now he says if I keep coming to your church, he is going to kill You".  The pastor looked at her and said, "Perhaps it is time to check out that little church on the other side of town".  
A follower of Christ is asked to be ready to welcome the Master who is going to come at any time, may be tonight or million years from now. But we who follow Christ should be ready to welcome him.
1. Be dressed for action:  The New Testament says when time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought Jesus up to Jerusalam to present Him to God. and there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel and the Holy Spirit rested upon him. It has been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Messiah and thus he was blessed to see the Lord Christ Jesus. That is called being dressed for action. Simeon was waiting eagerly to see the Lord and was well prepared to receive him.
They say that the time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining. Once a wise man said, "Before everything else,  getting ready is the secret to success". Once president Nixon told that while talking to Winston Churchill's son, how much he admired the priminister's great ability at giving great and extemporaneous speeches. Churchill's son replies saying, "Oh, yes, I have watched my father work for hours preparing those great speeches. We are called to prepare ourselves to welcome the Lord who is going to come at an unexpected time.
There are many ways to prepare ourselves to welcome the Lord who is going to come unexpectedly.
1. Let us prepare our mind and keep the lamp lit:
"The doing will never be right until the thinking is right". Our mind never sleeps. It is thinking twenty-four seven and it doesn't mean that we are thinking right thinking. It is time to prepare our mind and keep it alert. St. Paul says today that faith is assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. As we keep our mind alert by practicing our faith, then we can say that we are ready to welcome the Lord.
2. Let us prepare our body and keep the lamp lit: St. Paul says that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit whom we received from God. We are not our own and we are brought by a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
3. Let us also prepare our heart and keep the lamp lit:  Jesus says, "For wherever your treasure is, there your heart will also be" We are not talking abourt physical heart but spiritual heart...the longing. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Yes, as Christ comes in an unexpected time, He will honor and glorify us in God. He will look at us and say, "you who have done everything well, enter into my father's house prepared for you".
Conclusion: "Mamma," said a little child, "my Sunday-school teacher tells me that this world is only a place in which God lets us live a while, that we may prepare for a better world. But, Mother, I do not see anybody preparing. I see you preparing to go into the country, and Aunt Eliza is preparing to come here; but I do not see anyone preparing to go there. Why don't they try to get ready?"
This life is but a preparation for another life. Are you preparing for that next life? That better place that God has prepared for us? It’s a prepared place for a prepared people. What do you need to do to get ready?