Jan42026
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A soccer player had a penalty kick. I think his name was Renaldo. The opposing team formed a human line between the ball and the goal so that if you hit the ball toward the net, it would bounce off the wall. The striker hit the ball with the side of his foot, and it curved like one of my bad golf shots. The ball looped around the wall of men and swung into the top corner of the net. It was an amazing shot. It got a lot of likes on YouTube. After the shot, I thought to myself that he must have practiced that shot a million times, beginning as a young boy in the back yard with no cameras and no one watching. At night, before he would fall asleep, he would picture that kick in his mind, studying where the feet struck the ball, the hand positioning, and the twist of his body. And when that moment finally came, he was ready.

In the ancient world, making friends with the superpowers was a good idea. You do that by bearing gifts to them like gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Superpowers could protect you from enemies and offer trade opportunities to bolster your economy.

There were two kings in Israel. One was Herod, who was powerful, had a great army, and was backed by the Roman Empire. The second king was a baby in his mother’s arms. How did they know? How did they know that this child was the most powerful of all kings, who would bring peace and transform the world?  They knew from years of looking up at the sky every night, studying and reflecting. And when that star appeared with its very special message, they were ready.

Mother Theresa’s greatest moment was not winning the Nobel Peace Prize, receiving an honorary doctorate from Harvard, or founding one of the largest religious congregations in the twentieth century. It was in the back alley of Calcutta, holding a child and feeding him. How did she know to be there in Calcutta at that moment? It was her years of prayer, reading Scripture, and the inspiration she drew from it. And when that moment came, just before the boy would die of starvation, Mother Theresa was ready.

God offers us opportunities to do great things. We just have to be ready.

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