Swept & Ready

Swept and ready....the words jumped off the page in a new way though I had read the passage many times in my life.     Mark 14:12-15

The next passage about the Passover is normally where people focus, the big reveal of Judas being a traitor, or the symbolic remembrance of Jesus' death and resurrection.  I almost missed these few verses again, but for the still small screech of tires that made my mind reverse and reread.

...swept and ready...

Perhaps it is because Spring cleaning has been on my mind, or because the body and mind are weird when you are fasting, regardless, my mind screeched to a halt at the words "swept and ready". What is the deal here? Should I go sweep Lord? I feel ready...I think.

So for context.... 
The disciples are sent on a task by Jesus into the city to find a place to hold the passover, to follow an unknown man carrying a water jug and boldly ask the home owner, "The Teacher wants to know, where is my guest room?" Jesus knew (can you say omni-everything) this home owner would have a room READY AND SWEPT!  So what was this homeowners story?  

I found myself wondering (thanks to my husband's tendency to wonder about the deeper story; I find my self wondering more too) what the homeowner was thinking?  Were he and his wife desperate to make ends meet? Did they have kids they were wondering how they would feed? Did his previous renter fall through? I mean, why was this room even available this last minute? If not that, then why was it ready and not stacked up with stored belongings- I mean who wants to climb stairs anyhow? Not sure how your "extra space" looks but its easy to collect things.

What would have happened if the guy's upper room was in shambles? Is your guest room always ready for guests? What if he was so put off by such forward people assuming he had room for them? I mean does everyone even have a guest room? Or what if he decided he wanted to talk pennies and dimes and time slots? After all, Jesus waited to the last minute, so he could probably get a few more Caesar coins right?! There are so many missing facts in scripture, but I guess God likes us to dig deeper and think of all the variables and how we might react if places were switched.

But the unknown made me think... The disciples had a task, the guy with the water jug had a task, and the homeowner had a task.  All these little tasks added together make an intriguing story and set the scene for something important Jesus was about to do next.  

Right now our little family have tasks....but we have felt a sense of something coming.  It is taking a long time to come and it is tempting to get lazy, angry or doubtful it is indeed coming.  There are seasons for everything, but what had my heart thumping as I read this passage? Were my talents, my time, my belongings and my attitude one of being swept and ready for God's use? If He comes with this something we have been waiting for, are we really ready for it? I know we think we are, but have we done all we can do? Are we keeping the cobwebs at bay? Are we swept and ready?


Lord, may you shine the light on our cobwebs.  
May we be faithful with the tasks at hand. 
Help us to trust your timing.
May our little family be found swept and ready for your use always!