“Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. 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. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.” (Lk. 12:35-38)

Have your lamps lit. There is such a sense of joy, anticipation, expectation as the servants in this parable wait all night, completely prepared to open the door and light his way into the house, remove his sandals and wash his feet, and then prepare dinner for him, at whatever hour he may arrive.

There is no sense in this parable that the servants are angry that they are inconvenienced by having to serve their master. Or that they’d rather be in bed or entertaining themselves. Their lamps are lit, and they are dressed for action!

Ask yourself: if Jesus were just outside the door nearest you, knocking gently, what would you feel: relief, unease, indifference, or joy? That’s a tough question, because it might reveal to you something very deep about your relationship with God. Let us walk gently into whatever your answer may be.

We read about joy and anticipation in this passage, but we are very complex creatures with threads of thousands of experiences, relationships, and hurts making up the knots that can stand in the way of a deep joy and trust in God. Even though we show up for Church on Sunday, we may still wish we knew how to lean into that joy at knowing the presence of Jesus who is madly in love with us, so much so that he died to rescue us, and he remains with us in the Eucharist.

What has made intimacy with God feel “far away” for you—has it been disappointment, distractions, fear, or something else? Stay gently with whatever comes up.

Sometimes we push through our spiritual lives, not noticing the parts of us that can’t keep up. If you can’t lean into the joy of this passage, if your lamp feels a little dim, lift up the threads of your life that you have become aware of in this reflection. Show them simply to Jesus and ask him to come to you in a way that feels safe. Maybe he puts his hand on your shoulder, instead of coming through the door. Maybe you just have a felt-sense of his kindness and mercy.

Imagine yourself with a lamp lit next time you go to Mass. Say to Jesus in your heart, You are welcome here. Let that concrete image of anticipation create a space where you can be with Jesus.

Image by Ragu Jeevith from Pixabay

Image credit: Photo by Rebecca Peterson-Hall on Unsplash

Praying with this Passage of Scripture