Recently, I helped coordinate and celebrate two major gatherings in my extended family – a reunion of my mother’s side of the family and the 65th wedding anniversary of my parents.

So, the emphasis on the importance of the servants’ readiness for the arrival of the head of the household in today’s gospel sparked a bit of anxious memories. Did we plan for enough food? How many guests will come? Would everyone enjoy themselves? Did we forget anything and/or anyone in our planning? What would the weather be like?

Obviously, some of these questions need to be addressed by any host(ess). Yet, in this chapter in Luke’s gospel, the importance on the servants’ readiness is more about ongoing preparedness, rather than getting ready for a special event. It is about an absolute trust in God’s loving goodness and presence. Unlike our attention to detail so as to not forget anything or anyone, this gospel chapter’s larger context sends a message that God is always there for us. We need not get bogged down by the minutiae of life so much as to try to be open to God’s love in our midst. Perhaps this story is not so much about us, as it is about God’s invitation to ‘lighten up’ on ourselves in our day to day worries and to be ever open to God’s presence in our lives.

In the first reading from Romans, we are reminded that we have been gifted with the unbelievable reality that God loves us…even in our frailties and vulnerabilities. From the beginning of time, humans have made mistakes and misjudgments. Yet, though we know that we are all capable of sin, we really need to emphasize the greater truth that God loves us so much that Jesus came to live among us. Through the Paschal mystery of Christ’s life, death and resurrection, we are invited,… no, perhaps we are commanded to focus on God’s healing spirit of forgiveness and love, evidenced through Jesus’ life, words, actions and being God’s living love among us.

Even today’s psalm will not let us forget that God’s wondrous love for us has no bounds. It is God who wants no sacrifice or oblation, no holocaust or sacrifice for sin, but rather for us to open our ears and our hearts to God’s loving kindness. The gift of God among us through the Holy Spirit’s presence is where we really need to focus our attention. All we have to do is say, “Here I am! I have come!”, just as the psalmist does in today’s song of praise.

Perhaps as I re-enter a saner schedule following the whirlwind of family celebrations, I will try to remember today’s message to open my ears, eyes and heart to God’s loving presence…be still and answer, “Here I am.”