NO ADVANCE NOTICE
Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
My dear encountered couples:
Ever have someone drop in on you by surprise? You expected no one. Dirty dishes were in the sink, burned cigarettes in the ash trays, the carpets needed vacuuming, everything needed dusting, you hoped to God they stayed out of the bathroom, and let’s not even mention your hair.
What a much better world this would be if everyone would just call first and give enough advance notice so we could have everything in perfect order!
“Let your belts be fastened, your lamps be burning ready,” says Jesus. “Be like men awaiting their master’s return so that when he arrives and knocks, you will open for him without delay. Should he happen to come at midnight or before sunrise and find them prepared, it will go well with them.”
Jesus isn’t going to give us a phone call before coining. Are we in respectable enough shape for him to drop by at midnight or before sunrise?
When Jesus comes, it will most likely be a real shocker for us, especially if we die in our sleep and don’t know we’ve died. Do you wear pajamas?
But it is our souls he is interested in not in our houses; not in how we are dressed, or even if we are dressed; he doesn’t care about our hair being combed, and he’ll stay out of our bathroom — unless, of course1 that is where we drop dead.
To be ready for Christ means to have living and active faith in our souls and true love in our hearts for him and our neighbors. Jesus loves you. When he comes, he’ll just be checking to see if you love him.
So, as Luke reminds us, we have to be vigilant. Our lives, particularly now, can be very challenging and often we can never be quite fully prepared for every event in our lives. It takes a deep breath of faith to stay ready and alert for the unexpected. But we can take comfort that in our consistent faith, we have a loving master at the ready to provide for our needs even in turmoil.
