onthly MeditationMeditation for October 2009
Judith reads:
The Parable of the Servants Watching appears only in the Gospel of St. Luke. It is the fifth parable in our current series of meditations, which looks at the parables of Jesus unique to St. Luke’s Gospel.
The parable begins, Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning, as though you were waiting for your master to return from the wedding feast. Then you will be ready to open the door and let him in the moment he arrives and knocks. Luke 12: 35, 36 (New Living Translation).
The parable ends with the words, Understand this: if a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would not permit his house to be broken into. You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected. Luke 12: 39, 40, N.L.T.
It is interesting that Jesus likens a burglar’s break-in to Christ’s return to the world. Jesus says we don’t know when a burglar is going to break in to our house—if we did we would be ready for him and would prevent ourselves from getting robbed. We don’t know, either, Jesus tells us, when he will return and so we must be ready for this event at all times.
When we are expecting something or someone to come, we are full of anticipation and are constantly watching for the arrival of the object or the person. If the arrival is later than we had anticipated we may begin to worry, or become discouraged; we may begin to think that something has gone wrong; we may even think that we have been let down and that the person’s arrival or the important event is not going to happen. We may stop looking for the coming event, for we would rather anticipate being let down than be unprepared that this might happen. As far as Christ’s return is concerned we must continue to be prepared for its happening —we must not give up. We must continue to keep our light burning so that when he knocks we can run to the door and open it without tripping in the dark. We must never allow ourselves to think that because we’ve waited so long that he can’t be coming. Christ will not let us down and we, too, must be faithful and wait in constant expectation.
Anyone who has worked night shift knows the dreaded night hours when one’s eyes refuse to stay open, one’s breath goes deep and quiet, and one’s head falls forward on one’s chest. These are the low ebb hours when it is easy to be taken by surprise. These are the hours when we must be extra vigilant and perhaps ask a friend to watch with us.
The parable says, He may come in the middle of the night or just before dawn. But whenever he comes, he will reward the servants who are ready. Luke 12: 38, N.L.T.
It is good for Christians to help one another in watching and waiting for Christ’s return, especially in times of low energy. It is important to be ready for Christ’s coming, not because we expect a reward but because we long to welcome him and be with him.
© Judith Lawrence October 2009
Comments:
Total number of comments: 1
| FROM | AT |
|---|---|
| Ian | 2009-09-29 10:49:58 |
| I feel that anticipation is the reward for waiting and watching. | |
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