Be Ready for a Life Changing Partnership

I was at the gym the other day, and a woman there had this shirt on that caught my eye. It said, “Look busy, God is coming back!” Now, it was meant to be funny, but it got me thinking. The message was about being ready, but it implied that we’re all slacking off and need to scramble at the last minute. It’s a joke that plays on this idea that if we’re not constantly rushing around, God will catch us unprepared and unhappy. It’s a message that tells us that if we aren’t busy with the work God will be angry with us. It fulfills a trope about God, that God is vengeful. Our Gospel reading today from Luke has a similar theme of readiness, but with a different and more hopeful tone.

Instead of “Look busy,” Jesus starts with something much more reassuring: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Then, he follows it up with, “You must be ready.” This isn’t about scrambling in fear; it’s about living in confidence and preparing for a glorious promise. It’s a promise for a future hope, but also a beautiful invitation to be a partner with God, right here and now, in the present moment. This readiness isn’t a stressful, last-minute panic; it’s a calm, purposeful way of life.

So, how do we get ready? Our passage gives us three powerful images of God to help us understand what this readiness looks like. It’s not just one thing, but a multifaceted way of being. In his commentary on the passage Trey Clark indicates that there are three images of God present in the passage. These images are: God as generous parent, God as servant master, and God as unexpected thief (Trey Clark – https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-19-3/commentary-on-luke-1232-40-6).

First, we see God as a generous and benevolent parent. Jesus tells us not to worry, not to be afraid, because it’s God’s great pleasure to give us the kingdom. This is a radical, loving promise! It turns our normal way of thinking about scarcity and fear on its head. In Luke’s Gospel, the kingdom of God isn’t just a future event we’re waiting for, or something we earn for our own personal salvation. Instead, as Trey Clark writes, it’s about “participating in the subversive economy of the kingdom.”

What does that look like? Well, the “subversive economy” is a direct challenge to the false narratives of the world around us. It’s the idea that true wealth isn’t measured in dollars or possessions, remember our message from last week. This passage follows on its heels. Instead of wealth being measured in dollars or possession the kingdom of God values generosity and compassion. Jesus says it plainly in verse 34: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” When we choose to invest our time, our energy, and our resources in God’s kingdom—by helping the poor, speaking out for justice, or simply being a loving neighbor—our hearts follow that treasure. We start to live differently, more compassionately, challenging the status quo by being generous, kind, and just in a world that often values selfishness. Our readiness, then, begins by shifting our focus from earthly treasures to divine ones, and letting that new focus guide our actions.

The second image we get is of God as a servant master. Jesus tells a parable about servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet. When he returns and finds them ready, he doesn’t just praise them; he serves them! Now, this image can be tricky for us. The term “master” can bring up painful images of slavery, and we know that slavery in the Roman world, while different from later slave trades, was still dehumanizing and abhorrent. We can’t and shouldn’t ever condone it. This passage might even bring to mind the very real ethnic violence and oppression that still happens in our world today.

But here’s the key: Jesus uses this familiar structure of a master and servants only to completely subvert it. In this parable, the master doesn’t just return and take his place of authority; he returns and serves his servants! This is a powerful, shocking turn of events. In scripture, wedding banquets are a beautiful symbol of the hope we have in God—a time of joy, celebration, and new life. The hope here is in this surprising reversal, where the one who has all the power becomes the one who serves. This means our active waiting for God is not about retreating from the world into some private, heavenly realm. It’s about being ready for God’s radical kingdom to break in, here and now, and to participate in its worldly work—a kingdom where the powerful serve and the humble are honored.

Finally, Jesus offers a third image: God as an unexpected thief. He says, “You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” This isn’t meant to scare us into thinking God is going to steal our stuff! The point of the thief isn’t who he is, but how he arrives: unexpectedly, without warning. Jesus is the Son of Man—sometimes translated as the Human One—and in Luke’s Gospel, he’s often connected to Adam, the first man. This connection grounds Jesus in our shared humanity.

This image reminds us to be ready and attentive in the here and now, not just for some far-off, end-of-days event. Jesus doesn’t wait for an appointment; he breaks into our lives at unexpected times, in unexpected places. It could be in a moment of quiet reflection, a sudden urge to help a neighbor, a challenge that forces us to rely on our faith, or an encounter with a stranger. The question for us today is: Are we receptive to the ways that Jesus breaks into our lives? Are we open to recognizing him in the face of the stranger, in the needs of our community, in the quiet stirrings of our own hearts? Are we ready to do the work of the kingdom right now, without warning?

So, friends, let’s take these three powerful images to heart. Don’t be afraid, because God is a loving parent who delights in giving us the kingdom. Be ready, not out of fear, but out of a partnership with a servant master who promises to serve us. Be ready, not by looking busy, but by being open to the unexpected ways Jesus breaks into our lives every single day. Let’s do the work of the kingdom with hope and joy, trusting that our God is coming back. Amen.