At the end of the day when it is time for bed, who would turn the lights on and start getting dressed? Who would defy nature’s routine and act this way? Maybe a person who had a job doing night work.
Who did “night work” in Jesus’ time? Servants awaiting their master’s return from a wedding feast. We know that wedding feasts were a big deal. They would last for days, or as long as the wine held out. It was not uncommon for people to return home late at night or in the early hours of the morning. A wealthy man would expect his servants to be at the door ready to meet him, maybe prepare a meal, and help him unpack from his trip.
Jesus told his disciples to learn from these “night workers” (Luke 12:35-38).
“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.”
While the master was gone, the pressing purpose of servants was to get ready for his return. This was their first item of business. Vigilance was the primary virtue of such servants.
Commenting on this gospel passage Fr. Anthony Schueller wrote:
“In prosperous times especially, it is tempting to think that this life is all we have to look forward to, that there is nothing more that God intends for us and for creation. Jesus praises those servants who don’t succumb to such thinking…” ( Living with Christ, October,2018, p.164).
Many of us are living in “prosperous times,” and most of us are recipients of service rather than servants. It goes against our nature to be like servants who put the master’s needs first. Lulled into a sense of complacency, we don’t even think about preparing for the Lord’s return.
St. Luke is telling us to stay awake and go against the grain of world. We see an ultimate purpose in life that those of this world cannot see. We hold on lightly to the things of this life, knowing that we belong, not to the world, but to Christ. Our goal above all is to be ready for his return.
In this context we gird our loins with grace—the presence of God. We keep the light of faith burning ever brighter in the lamps of our hearts. The greatest tragedy would be to be undressed and asleep when the Master returns.
Jesus shocked his listeners when he told what would happen when the Master returned.
“Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.”
What? The master serves his servants? He, to their surprise, creates a wedding feast for them, right there in his own house. What kind of Master is this, who cares about his servants as much as a bridegroom cares about his wedding guests?
“Be vigilant at all times and pray that you may have the strength to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:36).
