Luke 12:35-38

Romans 5:12, 15b, 17-19, 20b-21

Psalm 40:7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 17

Luke 12:35-38

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 them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.

And should he come in the second or third watch

and find them prepared in this way,

blessed are those servants.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, bless me today as your child and servant. I await the glorious return of your Son and will continue to prepare myself to welcome him. May I be a vigilant and diligent servant as I work in the vineyard of your Kingdom.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Blessed are the Vigilant Servants: On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus instructs his disciples that they need to be alert for his coming. He tells a short parable about servants awaiting the arrival of the master. “Gird your loins” was an expression that meant to tuck an ankle-length robe around the waist. A person did this in battle or sometimes when working or serving. For an Israelite, it recalls the Passover, when the Lord told them before the exodus from Egypt, “This is how you are to eat it; with your loins girt” (Exodus 12:11). Just as Israel was to be vigilant on the night of the Passover (Exodus 12:42), Jesus’ disciples need to be vigilant. Jesus speaks about his return during the second or third watch of the night. While the Romans divided the night into four watches (Mark 13:35), the Jews divided it into three. The first watch went from about 6 P.M. to 10 P.M., and the second and third watches covered the time from 10 P.M. to sunrise (about 6 A.M.). When the Messiah comes during the night, there is a reversal. Instead of the messianic Lord being served by the servants, the Lord will serve his servants. As Jesus says, “I have come not to be served, but to serve” (Matthew 20:28). The meal Jesus serves to us until his glorious coming at the end of time is the Eucharist: “The Eucharist, which Jesus establishes at that meal after his coming to Jerusalem, thus becomes the foretaste and anticipation of the messianic banquet in the kingdom (Luke 22:30) at his second coming” (Gadenz, The Gospel of Luke, 244).

2. Sin and Death through Adam’s Disobedience: In the first four chapters of his Letter to the Romans, Paul described the foundation and basis of our justification. Beginning in chapter five, he considers the benefits of justification. Paul does this by making a typological antithesis between Adam and Christ. Adam abused his freedom and introduced sin and spiritual death into the world. Paul “is talking about the death of our original union with God, which only secondarily results in physical death. Adam’s relationship with the Lord was pronounced dead at the very moment he committed the first sin, long before the years left his body lifeless. This is the full scope of ‘death’ that Paul sets in opposition to the gift of ‘eternal life’ (Romans 6:23)” (Hahn and Mitch, Romans, 81-82). What Paul teaches is that we inherited Adam’s sinful separation from God as his descendants. While Adam alienated human beings from God, Jesus unites his disciples to the Father. 

3. Grace and Life through Jesus’ Obedience: There is a radical difference between the sinful disobedience of Adam and the saving obedience of Christ. The actions of the one affected the many. “Thanks to Adam’s misdeed, virtually every member of the human family died, physically in their bodies and spiritually in their relationship with God. One man determined the lot of all. So it is with the one person Jesus Christ. Having made his life a gracious gift of sacrifice, he caused the grace of God to overflow for the many. Jesus, in other words, accomplished a universal redemption that makes possible the salvation of every descendant of Adam” (Hahn and Mitch, Romans, 88). The saving grace of Jesus far surpasses the sinful actions of the first Adam. Adam’s transgression brought condemnation and death to all; Jesus’ righteousness brought justification and life to all. Jesus offers us all a gift, but we individually need to accept this gift by faith. The sinful state of humanity will only last for a time and will eventually give way to the holiness of eternal life.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you have recreated all things and brought me to share in them. You have charged me to work in your household and serve my brothers and sisters in the Church and my community. Help me to be a good and faithful servant.

Living the Word of God: How can I be more vigilant and diligent in my Christian life? What are my current strengths (virtues) and weaknesses (vices)? What are the opportunities (hopes) and threats (temptations) on the horizon? Where have I been lazy (slothful) in living out my Christian vocation?