Tuesday in the 29th Week of Ordinary Time, October 19, 2021

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.”

In these verses, St. Luke relates how the Lord Jesus compared his return for judgment at the end of time to a familiar occurrence for the Jews, the wedding feast.  

“To gird one’s loins” was a Hebrew idiom for making ready or standing up.  Literally, the expression means to get up from a sitting or reclining position and to tuck one’s long clothing into a belt worn about the waist so as to take up some activity.  “Light your lamps and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding.”  We can compare this to the action of the wise bridesmaids in Matthew 25, 1-8.  The groom escorts the bride to his home, now theirs, and his servants are awake with lit lamps to greet the couple and let them in.  Interestingly, the Greek text does not say “servants”, but “men”, thus: “Be like men who await their master’s return.”  Perhaps the purpose is to make clear that the Lord is speaking of all of us.  The translation here says, “their master’s return from a wedding.”  But the Greek uses the definite article and so it translates better as “their master’s return from his wedding.”  As we continue to read on, we find that this is indeed the case.  Knowing this is essential for understanding the Lord’s meaning.  “Ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.”  The bridegroom knocks, even though it is his house.  He knocks to give the servants the signal to open the door.

“Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.”  In the context of a wedding feast, the word translated here as “blessed” would be understood as “happy”, an alternative meaning.  The ambiguity of the word’s meaning — the happiness of a wedding feast versus spiritual blessedness at the end of the world — helps us to see blessedness as a state of happiness and even exultation.  The servants — the “men” of the house — enjoy the wedding feast, as it is a time of festivity, even for them.  The vigilant servants can expect a gift of some kind, as well.  “Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.”  Here is the twist that shows this to be a “parable”.  The bridegroom seems to set aside his bride in order to wait on the servants.  The Lord’s description of this mad behavior must have baffled his hearers.  In no case whatsoever could it be imagined that a man would treat his servants like this.  He causes the wedding feast to be a reward for his servants vigilant behavior — behavior that would be expected of them on such an occasion.  The food has been prepared and the wine is ready, and he serves the servants.  These would certainly be dumbfounded.  The Lord concludes, “And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants.”  The second and third watches of the night run approximately from 9:00 PM until midnight; and from midnight to 3:00 AM, respectively.  A greater reward would be accorded to the servants who remained awake and ready at these later hours because of the difficulty of keeping vigilant and not giving up as morning approached.

The Lord is telling us to persevere in our faith until he comes again.  This does mot mean simply outlasting our desire “to sleep” — to lose our zeal and letting the flame of our faith weaken and die — but in actively looking for the coming of the Lord as well as in encouraging our fellow servants.  We “gird our loins” with our determination to fast, to pray, and to give alms.  We “light our lamps” by giving good example of the Christian life to all around us.  We become as “servants” by taking up our station in the world, prepared to welcome our Master.  He “knocks” with the signs of his coming (cf. Mark 13, 24-25).  We “open” to him with cries of jubilation, for our redemption is at hand (cf. Luke 21, 28).  And then he, the Lord of heaven and earth, makes his coming about the elect, not about himself, as though vindicating himself before the world.  The purpose of his coming is to bring the saints into his Kingdom to gaze forever in wonder at his glory, while dismissing the wicked into everlasting darkness.  He no more flaunts his victory at the damned then he appears after his Resurrection to rebuke Pilate.  He shows himself so that he may shine upon the just.

We should consider how blessed we are to believe in the Lord and to belong to him through Baptism, and how more greatly blessed we shall be if we persevere in our faith through all the temptations of the flesh, the world, and the devil, until he comes again.