{"id":377,"date":"2012-11-18T14:06:21","date_gmt":"2012-11-18T22:06:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/?p=377"},"modified":"2015-03-12T16:51:46","modified_gmt":"2015-03-12T23:51:46","slug":"of-fig-trees-flat-tires-am-i-ready","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/2012\/11\/of-fig-trees-flat-tires-am-i-ready\/","title":{"rendered":"Of Fig Trees & Flat Tires – Am I Ready?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Today I had an object lesson in readiness that has me pondering the \u201cbigger picture\u201d conveyed in today\u2019s Gospel message from Mark\u2019s 13th chapter<\/a>, where we read:<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cBut of that day or hour, no one knows,
\nneither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

My little lesson happened along a rural road on the outskirts of Fresno. Our son Adam has a friend visiting from out of town, so after Mass this morning, Greg and I had the bright idea to take the kids for a spin in the foothills in our Volkswagen bus. Longtime friends of my work have met \u201cArnold\u201d in the past: he\u2019s our \u201974 work of art who\u2019s named after his original owner. Arnold, the owner, a former mechanic, lovingly cared for the bus until his death a few years back. His son sold Greg and I the bus for a song and we\u2019ve had fun retooling it a bit. We often mentally thank Arnold the mechanic for the fine care he took of our bright red treasure. It\u2019s our traditional ride to Mass on Sundays \u2014 when you drive Arnold the bus, you can always expect a smile and a story about someone\u2019s bus experience. It seems most of us born before 1980 have memories of cool bus-moments (many of which we don\u2019t dare share with our kids\u2026)<\/p>\n

So all was well on the country meander this morning until a biker couple passed us on the road and gave a thumbs down signal, pointing to the left rear driver\u2019s side tire. We waved, obliviously until another car came up on their tail, gesticulating frantically and pointing at that same spot on Arnold\u2019s rear end. At about that moment, we began to smell burning rubber as Arnold began to sway.<\/p>\n

By the time we found a safe spot to stop, we had smoldering rubber, two less than thrilled teens (who had plans that didn\u2019t involve being broken down with mom and dad on the side of the road), and a plan to call AAA.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019m married to a \u201cdo it yourself\u201d guy, a champ really, who began foraging around in the back of the bus and came up with Arnold\u2019s original jack and spare tire we\u2019ve had a few years. Skeptically, I dialed the Auto club, assuring myself that the tow guy would arrive in time to help Greg figure out how to work the jack.<\/p>\n

In the end, I was wrong \u2013 it was our 18-year-old Adam who solved the problem of the jack (motivated to get off the side of the road, no doubt). The flat was changed, the call for help cancelled, and Arnold\u2019s now parked safely in his spot at home awaiting a new tire.<\/p>\n

So what does this tale of woe have to do with today\u2019s Gospel passage? Aside from the fact that we\u2019re surrounded by fig trees here in Fresno, I\u2019m left pondering that \u201cNo one knows<\/em>\u201d phrase. We may see the signs arrayed before us, we may smell a tad of burning rubber, and we continue to drive along in oblivion, ignoring the problem until we\u2019ve got a festering blowout on our hands.<\/p>\n

At Mass today, our Deacon preached on the need for Penance and reconciliation in our lives. His words took me mentally back to Cardinal Dolan\u2019s opening address at last week\u2019s USCCB General Assembly<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The New Evangelization reminds us that the very agents of evangelization \u2013 you and me \u2014 will never achieve that abundant harvest Blessed John XXIII described unless we are willing and eager to first be evangelized themselves. Only those themselves first evangelized can then evangelize. As St. Bernard put it so well, \u201cIf you want to be a channel, you must first be a reservoir.\u201d<\/p>\n

I would suggest this morning that this reservoir of our lives and ministry, when it comes especially to the New Evangelization, must first be filled with the spirit of interior conversion born of our own renewal. That\u2019s the way we become channels of a truly effective transformation of the world, through our own witness of a penitential heart, and our own full embrace of the Sacrament of Penance.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The signs of our times may not always be so straightforward as today\u2019s flat tire. But I know in my heart that my readiness level is not where it should be. I don\u2019t have a proper spiritual \u201cspare tire\u201d and \u2014 to tell you the truth \u2014 I have no idea how to work the jack! The good news is that the Gospels serve as a road manual for life, and together with the Catechism they provide all I need to do my very best to \u201cbe prepared\u201d.<\/p>\n

What am I waiting for?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today I had an object lesson in readiness that has me pondering the \u201cbigger picture\u201d conveyed in today\u2019s Gospel message from Mark\u2019s 13th chapter, where we read: \u00a0\u201cBut of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.\u201d My little lesson happened along a rural […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":142,"featured_media":379,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[93,91,92],"class_list":["post-377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family-life","tag-gospel-reflections","tag-penance","tag-reconciliation"],"yoast_head":"\nOf Fig Trees & Flat Tires - Am I Ready?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Today I had an object lesson in readiness that has me pondering the "bigger picture" conveyed in today's Gospel message from Mark's 13th chapter, where we\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/2012\/11\/of-fig-trees-flat-tires-am-i-ready\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Of Fig Trees & Flat Tires - Am I Ready?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Today I had an object lesson in readiness that has me pondering the "bigger picture" conveyed in today's Gospel message from Mark's 13th chapter, where we\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/2012\/11\/of-fig-trees-flat-tires-am-i-ready\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lisa Hendey\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-11-18T22:06:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-03-12T23:51:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/300\/2012\/11\/Flat-Tire.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"612\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"612\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lisa M. Hendey\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lisa M. Hendey\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/2012\/11\/of-fig-trees-flat-tires-am-i-ready\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/2012\/11\/of-fig-trees-flat-tires-am-i-ready\/\",\"name\":\"Of Fig Trees & Flat Tires - Am I Ready?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-11-18T22:06:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-03-12T23:51:46+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/#\/schema\/person\/2686d91a14b8ef236e1ed062f9758b70\"},\"description\":\"Today I had an object lesson in readiness that has me pondering the \\\"bigger picture\\\" conveyed in today's Gospel message from Mark's 13th chapter, where we\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/2012\/11\/of-fig-trees-flat-tires-am-i-ready\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/2012\/11\/of-fig-trees-flat-tires-am-i-ready\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/2012\/11\/of-fig-trees-flat-tires-am-i-ready\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Of Fig Trees & Flat Tires – Am I Ready?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/\",\"name\":\"Lisa Hendey\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/#\/schema\/person\/2686d91a14b8ef236e1ed062f9758b70\",\"name\":\"Lisa M. Hendey\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e0732a10e73365e440d4394f24b2e84c?s=96&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e0732a10e73365e440d4394f24b2e84c?s=96&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Lisa M. Hendey\"},\"description\":\"Lisa Hendey is the founder and webmaster of CatholicMom.com and the author of The Grace of Yes,\u00a0A Book of Saints for Catholic Moms\u00a0and The Handbook for Catholic Moms. Lisa writes for several online and print publications, enjoys speaking around the country and is a frequent television and radio guest and host. Visit her at\u00a0LisaHendey.com and connect with her at Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Instagram.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/author\/lisahendey\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Of Fig Trees & Flat Tires - Am I Ready?","description":"Today I had an object lesson in readiness that has me pondering the \"bigger picture\" conveyed in today's Gospel message from Mark's 13th chapter, where we","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/2012\/11\/of-fig-trees-flat-tires-am-i-ready\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Of Fig Trees & Flat Tires - Am I Ready?","og_description":"Today I had an object lesson in readiness that has me pondering the \"bigger picture\" conveyed in today's Gospel message from Mark's 13th chapter, where we","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/2012\/11\/of-fig-trees-flat-tires-am-i-ready\/","og_site_name":"Lisa Hendey","article_published_time":"2012-11-18T22:06:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-03-12T23:51:46+00:00","og_image":[{"width":"612","height":"612","url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/300\/2012\/11\/Flat-Tire.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Lisa M. Hendey","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Lisa M. Hendey","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/2012\/11\/of-fig-trees-flat-tires-am-i-ready\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/2012\/11\/of-fig-trees-flat-tires-am-i-ready\/","name":"Of Fig Trees & Flat Tires - Am I Ready?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-11-18T22:06:21+00:00","dateModified":"2015-03-12T23:51:46+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/#\/schema\/person\/2686d91a14b8ef236e1ed062f9758b70"},"description":"Today I had an object lesson in readiness that has me pondering the \"bigger picture\" conveyed in today's Gospel message from Mark's 13th chapter, where we","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/2012\/11\/of-fig-trees-flat-tires-am-i-ready\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/2012\/11\/of-fig-trees-flat-tires-am-i-ready\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/2012\/11\/of-fig-trees-flat-tires-am-i-ready\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Of Fig Trees & Flat Tires – Am I Ready?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/","name":"Lisa Hendey","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/#\/schema\/person\/2686d91a14b8ef236e1ed062f9758b70","name":"Lisa M. Hendey","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e0732a10e73365e440d4394f24b2e84c?s=96&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e0732a10e73365e440d4394f24b2e84c?s=96&r=g","caption":"Lisa M. Hendey"},"description":"Lisa Hendey is the founder and webmaster of CatholicMom.com and the author of The Grace of Yes,\u00a0A Book of Saints for Catholic Moms\u00a0and The Handbook for Catholic Moms. Lisa writes for several online and print publications, enjoys speaking around the country and is a frequent television and radio guest and host. Visit her at\u00a0LisaHendey.com and connect with her at Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Instagram.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/author\/lisahendey\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}