Anticipation

 “Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival…You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” (Luke 12: 35-37, 40)

Today we are reminded that we must live each day in anticipation of the Lord’s coming. If the Lord would come today, what would he find? I know for myself that he would find that it has been two months since my last confession and that my sins are weighing heavy on me. They cause me to be cynical and wonder why I should even bother going if I am going to repeat the same sins again. I usually go once a month but have allowed the business of my life to get in the way. A priest recently told me that I must always trust in God’s mercy and to see the sacrament [of Confession] as an opportunity to touch the hem of our loving, merciful savior. No longer will I allow my pride or cynicism to keep me from this gift God has given us; an opportunity to be reunited with Him and washed cleaned by the blood of his Son.

Being vigilant means to actively seek God, anticipate His coming, and to be watching for Him. I know that when I had family coming to town last month for my birthday there was joy in my heart as I anticipated their arrival. I made sure the house was in order and the day of their arrival I kept a watch at the front window checking frequently to see if they were here yet, you could feel the excitement in the air! As we await the Lord’s coming we must constantly live a life of holiness and virtue. And when we falter and sin, which we will do often, we must run to the confessional and once again be united with Christ. We need to nurture our relationship with Him through prayer and receive His grace that he offers to us through the sacraments.

Today’s gospel goes on to tell us, “That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely.” (12:47) Free will is a gift God gave to no other creature but man. And we will be held accountable for the choices that we make. If we “get beaten severely” it is by our own doing. We know what is right but are we willing to do it? We know that the Lord is coming, are we willing to live a life in constant vigilance or do we allow ourselves to become complacent? We cannot afford to become complacent about the Lord’s coming because it is truly a matter of eternal life or death.