Mean What You Say

O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
~ O Come, O Come Emmanuel

This is a quick question for you:  Do you really mean what you say?  O come, O come, Emmanuel.  Do you mean that?  Do you really want Emmanuel to come?  The reason I ask that is because of this question to you:  Are you ready for Emmanuel if He were to come today, this very moment, right now?

That’s a tough question, isn’t it?  It might even be a scary question.  After all, we continually ask God to come to us, to come to our aid, and to return in all of His glory.  The implication for that final petition, however — come in all His glory — is that we will have to be ready for His return.

We don’t get a do-over.  We don’t get the chance to ask Him to delay for a half hour while we get ourselves ready.  We don’t get a chance to ask God to “hold on a moment” so that we can rush to confession or attempt to pray an act of contrition.

When it’s over, it’s over.  Right then.  Right there.  Boom.

I’m not trying to scare you.  Don’t get me wrong.  I’m just trying to help us all refocus.  I deal with focus issues quite often with my eyes.  As a matter of fact, I am on a new eyeglass prescription in order to see things with more clarity.  We need to focus in all sorts of ways — physically, emotionally, and spiritually — if we are going to be able to be at the top of our form.

We are preparing for the coming of our Lord.  This Second Sunday of Advent begs the question, “Are you ready?”  If not, make a plan to better prepare.  O come, O come, Emmanuel!

FAITH ACTION:  Examine your spiritual plans for the remainder of Advent and pray, as well, for those who are not using this holy season to the best of their abilities.