The Faithful or the Unfaithful Slave

Be ready and waiting for your Master’s return.

In today’s gospel, the parables of the householder and of the burglar reminds us to be vigilant. Today many people live worried about the end of the world. We have slogans and messages on internet and posters on the walls and banners saying that Jesus is coming. We have a feeling of urgency and get worried about what will happen to us if Jesus comes in the near future.

The same problems existed in the Christian communities of the first centuries. Many people of the communities said that the end of this world was close at hand and that Jesus would return. The Christians lived expecting the imminent coming of Jesus. Jesus would come for the Final Judgment to end the unjust history of this world here below and to inaugurate a new phase of history, the definitive phase of the New Heavens and the New Earth.

Dear family in Jesus, Yes ,we are to be ready when the Lord comes .We all know the embarrassment of being called on when unprepared. Jesus told everyone to be prepared for His coming – which is the most important thing anyone could ever be ready for. The way to be ready for Jesus’ return is to live in constant readiness in accordance to scripture and obedience to God through mother church.
Jesus clearly connected the readiness for His return to a life of love, spiritual focus, and self-control. Likewise, the heart that says, “My master is delaying his coming” is connected to a kind of low and fruitless life.
Some get weary of waiting for His return, or cynical about the return of Jesus because it hasn’t happened yet. This is the exactly the attitude Jesus is warning against here. If, in the perception of some, Jesus is delaying His coming, it is to rescue more people from the judgment to come upon the world in the very last days. When the master comes, He will let the punishment match the offence. Those who knew how to be ready and yet were not will be punished worse than those who did not know and were not ready.

So my question to everyone who is reading this reflection : Is Jesus not with you today? We all are waiting with firm hope for the total liberation of humanity. But what if our Master visits us today as an individual? You need to be ready today if it’s your last day on earth. Then it will not matter whether Jesus is coming tomorrow or day after. Your day of judgment is today. You will face your death. The second coming is for you to help others to be prepared for the Lord. You may sow the seed today in a person’s heart and die after that. But when the Lord comes you are ready to face the second judgment because the seed you have sown has been fruitful even after your death. Let us all prepare ourselves in such a way that we are ready to die today and stand before the Lord when ever Our Master chooses to come.

Lord help us to be your good and faithful servant. Amen.