Speed Trap

First of all, it’s December! When did that happen and how did this year fly by? If you really knew me you would know that I have a lead foot. I drive fast and you definitely do not want me leading the caravan on the freeway because y’all would be forced into keeping up with a speed demon. It’s a problem or at least it was a problem. Years ago for Lent, I gave up speeding. I had to drive the speed limit even in the 25mph zones!!! Do you know how hard it is to actually drive 25mph???? It was such a great fast for me and really helped me pray and focus my attention on spiritual matters, that I started giving up speeding every year for Lent; however, once Easter came around I was back to my fast lane ways. This had been going on for a good 10 years. I started doing my speeding fast for people that needed prayer or during seasons other than Lent. Eventually, driving the speed limit started to become my practice. I admit that to ensure my non-speeding success, I most definitely cheated and used cruise control on the freeway so I didn’t have to think about it too much, but those darn 25mph zones really disciplined me. 

There are a few pretty stealth speed traps in my neighborhood and back when I was a speed demon I would have to do that dramatic slam on the breaks thing every single time I saw that speed gun pointing at me. Of course I would play it off and act all nonchalant like, “I wasn’t speeding and you didn’t see me just go from 55 to 35 with a single stomp on my poor breaks, officer.” As I passed I would check my rear view mirror incessantly knowing that I was finally caught and my $$$ speeding ticket was coming after me. There would be that anxious adrenaline punch to my gut and I would totally drive the speed limit like an upstanding citizen for at least a couple miles. Does this sound like our sin patterns or what? Anyway, once I had been fasting from speeding for literally a decade or so, I remember hitting one of those speed traps and instead of slamming on the breaks I simply took my foot off the gas as I looked down at my speedometer. I was so pleasantly surprised when I saw that I was indeed driving 35 and not 55!! I was still programmed to assume that I was probably speeding and my natural tendency was to shamefully slow down even if I didn’t need to. Progress. A little over a year ago, when I came upon said speed trap, I remember distinctly NOT feeling the need to break, NOT even taking my foot off the gas, and the clincher NOT even looking down at my speedometer as I drove past that menacing speed gun!!! What was this confidence? What was this assuredness? What was this faith? After I was well out of the speed gun’s sights I finally looked down and sure enough I was driving the speed limit exactly! Well that only took 12 years to conquer!!! I can’t even tell you how liberated I felt in that moment. I know this seems like a silly and petty thing, but it was an intense metanoia for me because it showed me that when I practice right behavior, eventually right behavior becomes my practice. I can undo my tendencies toward sin if I practice, pray, repeat, practice, pray, repeat. This was a huge realization for me and I think it captures the essence of today’s gospel. 

I know y’all were worried that I’d never get to the gospel and that speed traps are most definitely not an ancient Middle Eastern thing but, “Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a TRAP.’” Bam, there it is! I’m going to go ahead and say that the part of this warning that probably resonates with most of us is the “anxieties of daily life.” He includes these anxieties in the same sentence and category as “carousing and drunkenness.” Worry and stress lead to drowsy hearts and drowsy hearts steal our resilience to fight against sin. We lose focus and often find ourselves slamming on the breaks because we have been caught in a trap. Jesus wants so much more for us and he wants us to be able to simply drive through those traps without the worry of being caught. He wants us to be free to keep moving forward without having to check our rear view mirror for that consequence to finally catch up with us. He wants us to have the peace of knowing that we are no longer guilty of that sin that has been our tendency for years. The practice of this while living in this world will only make us ready to be received into his glory when that day comes. Vigilance is so important and it may take us years to break through, but Jesus gave his life to set us free from those things that give us lead feet. Sin makes us heavy and enslaved and Jesus wants us to be light and free. 

Take some time today to name your lead feet. What weighs you down? What is your biggest sin tendency? What keeps you slamming on the breaks of guilt and shame? Pray about how you can fast from those and start to move toward the freedom that Jesus wants for each of us. It is well with my soul. 

Reading 1 RV 22:1-7

John said:
An angel showed me the river of life-giving water,
sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God
and of the Lamb down the middle of the street,
On either side of the river grew the tree of life
that produces fruit twelve times a year, once each month;
the leaves of the trees serve as medicine for the nations.
Nothing accursed will be found anymore.
The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it,
and his servants will worship him.
They will look upon his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
Night will be no more, nor will they need light from lamp or sun,
for the Lord God shall give them light,
and they shall reign forever and ever.

And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true, 
and the Lord, the God of prophetic spirits,
sent his angel to show his servants what must happen soon.”
“Behold, I am coming soon.”
Blessed is the one who keeps the prophetic message of this book.

Responsorial Psalm PS 95:1-2, 3-5, 6-7AB

R. (1 Cor 16: 22b, see Rev. 22: 20c) Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus!
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R. Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus!
For the LORD is a great God,
and a great king above all gods;
In his hands are the depths of the earth,
and the tops of the mountains are his.
His is the sea, for he has made it,
and the dry land, which his hands have formed.
R. Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus!
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus!

Alleluia LK 21:36

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Be vigilant at all times and pray
that you may have the strength to stand before the Son of Man.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel LK 21:34-36

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy
from carousing and drunkenness
and the anxieties of daily life,
and that day catch you by surprise like a trap.
For that day will assault everyone
who lives on the face of the earth.
Be vigilant at all times
and pray that you have the strength
to escape the tribulations that are imminent
and to stand before the Son of Man.”