3rd Saturday of Lent (Mach 29). WAITING AND READY

Prepare to Listen.  O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you.
 
Prayerfully Read Luke 12:35-40
35‘Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; 36be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks.  37Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them.  38If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.  39‘But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.  40You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.’
 
Prayerfully Wonder and Reflect
What caught your attention, confused or surprised you in these verses?
 
It’s a confusing passage, with two images and two parables, neither fully developed.  The two images are: dressed for action and lamps lit; the parables: servants waiting for the master’s return and being alert so as to avoid theft.  Two words are key—waiting and ready.
 
The parables are a warning to his disciples that something bad would happen and would “pose a serious test for” them.[1]  His death would be the serious test.  Repeatedly Jesus told them he’d suffer and die (9:21-22, 44) but they refused to listen, and were so shocked they fearfully hid when he was arrested.  His resurrection appearance was also unexpected and thus frightening, as we’ll read in Holy Week.
 
We too await Jesus’ coming and the two parables are also for us today.  Jesus’ promised return will be as surprising, perhaps even as shocking as his resurrection appearance was to the disciples.  We too must wait, dressed and ready, prepared to be surprised.  This doesn’t mean we must quit what we’re doing.  It means that we do God’s work with an urgency, trusting in Christ’s return that we can’t foretell or hasten.  We can only wait in readiness so that we’re not overwhelmed by surprise or fear.
 
“You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”  What does this mean to you and how can you make yourself ready?
 
Prayerfully Respond
Waiting and being ready aren’t easy, Lord and take more patience than I have.  Help me to keep trusting you so that I do not give up and fail you in the end.  Amen.
 
Live obediently.  Be one who waits and remains ready.
[1] Wright, N. T.  Luke for Everyone.  Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.  2001, p. 156.