Commentary on Luke 12:35-38

In today’s Gospel, we have more advice from Jesus today about readiness. It is an echo of the parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids (Matt 25:1-13).

We are to be ready, with our belts fastened and our lamps burning. Like servants waiting for the groom to return from the wedding. When the master comes and knocks, we will be ready to admit him without delay.

There is a reward, a surprising reward, for servants thus prepared. When the master comes back and finds his servant awake and ready, he will seat them at table and himself wait on them:

Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them.

Jesus had said of himself:

…just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. (Matt 20:28)

He is the one who, as Master and Lord, washes the feet of his disciples. And if the master comes in the middle of the night or before dawn, blessed are those servants who are ready for his return.

This need for readiness is not a reason to be anxious nor a reason to be afraid. Reason and experience tells us again and again that the Lord’s call comes at the most unexpected times. The only solution is to be ready here and now and leave the future to take care of itself.

In our relationships with God, it is always the present which counts. The prepared servant lives constantly in the present and seeks and finds God there. A life so lived takes care of itself—and its future.