Teacher,
teach me today the art of wakeful waiting: not in idleness, but in love, work, and prayer.
Your word speaks to me today of readiness. You tell me not to be lazy, not to sleep, but to be ready for action, for work in your vineyard. You call me to vigilance in spirit and body.
“Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning.” (Luke 12:35)
Lord, help me today to gird the loins of my spirit. Let me not be slack in my faith, let me not postpone good works. Help the lamp of my heart to burn with the oil of love and hope, so that it does not go out in the winds of daily worries and trials.
You teach me to be like a servant waiting for his master. Not in fear, but in joyful expectation, as if waiting for the most beautiful wedding feast.
And the promise you make is unbelievable, exceeding my understanding and anything I would ever dare to ask for.
“Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes! Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.” (Luke 12:37)
What a God you are! A God who turns the order of the world upside down. A God who stoops down to his small, unfaithful servant and serves him. This thought takes my breath away and fills me with holy awe.
This is the motivation that surpasses all fears—I am not waiting for a Judge, but for a Bridegroom who will Himself serve me at the table of eternal life. But you warn me, Lord, that I must not fall asleep. I do not know when you will come.
Perhaps in the middle of my duties, perhaps in the middle of the night, when I am tired and vulnerable. Your coming will be unexpected, like a thief breaking into the house.
“Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming!” (Matthew 24:42)
Therefore, I ask you, keep me awake. Do not allow spiritual laziness or weariness to overcome me. Grant me the grace for a heart that watches, for a heart that constantly seeks you in all that I do and am.
Your word tells me that passive waiting is not enough. Blessed is he whom you find at work, fulfilling the mission you entrusted to him in this world.
“Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes!” (Luke 12:43)
Help me not to be like the foolish virgins who ran out of oil. I do not want to search at the last moment for what I should have cultivated all my life—an authentic and living relationship with you. I do not want to hear that it is too late.
“And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut.” (Matthew 25:10)
Lord, the thought of the shut door fills me with dread. I do not want to be left outside, separated from you.
Therefore, I ask that every moment of this day, every thought, word, and deed, be a preparation for meeting you. May I await you with work, prayer, and love. May I be ready when you knock. Today. Now.
Amen.
AMEN!!!