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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 the
servants recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.” Luke
12:35–37
Vigilance, hard work, determination, attentiveness, fidelity—these
are some of the qualities that Jesus is speaking about. To “gird
your loins” means that you are immediately prepared for some
challenging task. You are ready for the hard work ahead and are
committed to it. To “light your lamps” implies that you are not in
the dark but that your mind is enlightened in such a way that you
are able to see that which is the will of God.
As we go through life, it is easy to become complacent in the
things of faith. It is easy to become lazy, disinterested,
distracted, and unfocused. This parable goes on to speak of a thief
who tries to break into a house in the middle of the night. This is
Jesus’ way of saying that the evil one, with his lies and attacks,
is constant, vicious, forceful, and unpredictable. For that reason,
we must never grow tired of being vigilant in the spiritual life
and must always be attentive to the light of God’s voice.
How attentive are you to the mission of Christ on a daily basis?
This is an essential question to answer honestly. Most people will
find that they become distracted from the mission God has given to
them. We experience countless things every day that compete for our
attention. Many of those competing voices might not appear to be
sinful. For example, perhaps a certain hobby has become the
dominant focus of your free time. Or perhaps responsibilities at
work have spilled over into your family time. Or perhaps some
painful or even enjoyable experience has had your full attention
for some time. Though it is obvious that sinful distractions in
life are evil, it might not always be as obvious that there are
many other neutral distractions that are a real problem. The
problems they can produce are a lack of attentiveness to the will
of God and a lack of readiness to engage the will of God the moment
He calls.
Imagine, for example, that a very important person calls you to ask
for a favor. Most likely you would drop all you were doing and
respond immediately. But, sadly, when the King of the Universe
attempts to speak to us and inspire us to some mission, we can be
too distracted to even listen, let alone respond with immediacy and
zeal. This is a problem. If, however, a person is continually
attentive to the voice of God and responds to His interior
promptings as soon as they are received, then Jesus says that this
person is truly blessed and that He will “have the servants recline
at table, and proceed to wait on them.” In other words, the result
of being vigilant in our attentiveness to the inspirations of God
is that God Himself will reward us with His service. He will invite
us to the table of spiritual rest, peace, joy, and fulfillment. He
will serve us His mercy, which will be more than we could ever
imagine.
Reflect, today, upon the call from God to always be attentive to
His voice the instant He speaks. Reflect upon how aware you are of
His constant presence in your life and His ongoing communication.
Know that if you can form a habit of always listening, then you
will never miss out on the grace-filled mission given to you by our
Lord. Always listen to Him, seek out His still and gentle voice,
and be ready to respond to Him every time He calls.
My ever-speaking Lord, You have so much to say and so much to
reveal. Please enlighten my mind and strengthen my resolve to
always listen to you and respond with all my heart. Your will is
perfect and will lead me to a life of the deepest joy and
fulfillment. May I believe this with all my heart and act
accordingly. Jesus, I trust in You.
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