Jesus said to his disciples: “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. Amen, I say to you, he will gird
himself, have the servants recline at table, and proceed to wait on
them.” Luke 12:35–37
Vigilance, hard work, determination, attentiveness,
fidelity—these are some of the qualities that Jesus is speaking about. To “gird
your loins” means that you are immediately prepared for some challenging task.
You are ready for the hard work ahead and are committed to it. To “light your
lamps” implies that you are not in the dark but that your mind is enlightened
in such a way that you are able to see that which is the will of God.
As we go through life, it is easy to become complacent in
the things of faith. It is easy to become lazy, disinterested, distracted, and
unfocused. This parable goes on to speak of a thief who tries to break into a
house in the middle of the night. This is Jesus’ way of saying that the evil
one, with his lies and attacks, is constant, vicious, forceful, and
unpredictable. For that reason, we must never grow tired of being vigilant in
the spiritual life and must always be attentive to the light of God’s voice.
How attentive are you to the mission of Christ on a daily
basis? This is an essential question to answer honestly. Most people will find
that they become distracted from the mission God has given to them. We
experience countless things every day that compete for our attention. Many of
those competing voices might not appear to be sinful. For example, perhaps a
certain hobby has become the dominant focus of your free time. Or perhaps
responsibilities at work have spilled over into your family time. Or perhaps
some painful or even enjoyable experience has had your full attention for some
time. Though it is obvious that sinful distractions in life are evil, it might
not always be as obvious that there are many other neutral distractions that
are a real problem. The problems they can produce are a lack of attentiveness
to the will of God and a lack of readiness to engage the will of God the moment
He calls.
Imagine, for example, that a very important person calls
you to ask for a favor. Most likely you would drop all you were doing and
respond immediately. But, sadly, when the King of the Universe attempts to
speak to us and inspire us to some mission, we can be too distracted to even
listen, let alone respond with immediacy and zeal. This is a problem. If,
however, a person is continually attentive to the voice of God and responds to
His interior promptings as soon as they are received, then Jesus says that this
person is truly blessed and that He will “have the servants recline at table,
and proceed to wait on them.” In other words, the result of being vigilant in
our attentiveness to the inspirations of God is that God Himself will reward us
with His service. He will invite us to the table of spiritual rest, peace, joy,
and fulfillment. He will serve us His mercy, which will be more than we could
ever imagine.
Reflect, today, upon the call from God to always be
attentive to His voice the instant He speaks. Reflect upon how aware you are of
His constant presence in your life and His ongoing communication. Know that if
you can form a habit of always listening, then you will never miss out on the
grace-filled mission given to you by our Lord. Always listen to Him, seek out
His still and gentle voice, and be ready to respond to Him every time He calls.
My ever-speaking Lord, You have so much to say and so
much to reveal. Please enlighten my mind and strengthen my resolve to always
listen to you and respond with all my heart. Your will is perfect and will lead
me to a life of the deepest joy and fulfillment. May I believe this with all my
heart and act accordingly. Jesus, I trust in You.
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