awake

"Do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be of anxious mind. For all the nations of the world seek these things; and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things shall be yours as well.

"Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms....

"Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the marriage feast, so that they may open to him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes..." (Lk 12.29-37)

I read this again the other morning and it stood out because Heather and I had just been talking intensely about being spiritually alive and awake. And I noticed that the verses that lead up to this last one address two of the main forces in human lives that spiritually deaden us: the all-consuming concern for daily needs or the lethargy of wealth.

I've written quite a bit about the way having an abundance puts us to sleep spiritually, trusting in the false security of material wealth. But now I'm becoming more aware that having little and constantly being concerned with providing for ourselves also tends to deaden our spiritual lives. The stress and unending physical labor captivates our attention and leaves us with little time or energy to focus on anything else. Jesus warns of these two things again later in Luke:

"But take heed to yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life... But watch at all times..." (Lk 21.34,36)

The "dissipation and drunkeness" of wealth and the "cares" of those anxious about providing for themselves. Both weigh down our hearts and keep us from spiritual watchfulness.

Jesus' answer was the one he lived. "Do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be of anxious mind... Sell your possessions, and give alms..." Neither struggling to provide for himself nor gathering possessions around him for security. Poor yet unconcerned. That left Jesus' attention free to watch. To focus on his Father, who would both provide for all his needs and show him what to do for the kingdom.

Awake.