Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. (Matt. 25:13)

 

I reflected on this commentary of the word of Life! It really made me think about my priorities! Living inside, in union with Jesus Forsaken throughout the day! Then the many things that seem so important it makes me question: does it matter?(dim?)

Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. (Matt. 25:13)

Jesus had just left the Temple. The disciples rather proudly drew his attention to the beauty and imposing character of the Temple buildings. And Jesus replied: "You see all these, do you not? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another." Then he went up the Mount of Olives, sat down and, looking out over Jerusalem, began to speak about the destruction of the city and the end of the world.

What will happen at the end of the world - the disciples asked him - and when will it happen? It is a question that successive generations of Christians have asked themselves, a question that each human being poses. The future, indeed, is a mystery and often frightening. Even today some people consult magicians or look up horoscopes to know what the future will be, to tell what will happen...

Jesus' reply is clear: the end of time will happen when he comes. He, the Lord of history, will return. He is the shining goal of our future 

And when will this meeting take place? No one knows. It could be at any moment. In fact our life is in his hands. He gave it to us; he can take it back even very suddenly, with no warning. All the same, he warns us: you can be ready for this event, if you are vigilant.

With these words Jesus reminds us first of all that he will return. Our life on this earth will end and we will begin a new life that will never end. Nowadays no one wants to speak of death... Sometimes people go to great lengths to distract themselves from it. They immerse themselves so much in daily life that they forget the One who gave us life and who will ask us for it again in order to lead us into the fullness of life, into communion with his Father, in heaven.

Will we be ready to meet him? Will our lamp be lit like the wise virgins who were waiting for the bridegroom? In other words, are we always loving? Or will our lamp have gone out because, caught up in so many things to do, by passing joys, by the possession of material goods, we have forgotten the one thing necessary, which is to love?

But how can we 'stay awake' and be watchful? First of all, we know, those who love are the most watchful. It is obvious to the wife who is waiting for her husband late at work or coming back from a long journey; it is obvious to the mother worried about a child not yet home; it is obvious to a man in love who can't wait to see his beloved... Those who love know how to watch and wait even when the person they are waiting for is delayed.

We wait for Jesus if we love him and we ardently want to meet him.

And we wait for him by loving in a practical fashion, by serving him for example in our neighbours, or committing ourselves to building up a more just society. It is Jesus himself who invites us to live like this telling us the parable of the faithful servant who, while waiting for the return of the master, looks after the domestic staff and the affairs of the house; or the servants who, thinking of their master's return set about working to make their talents bear fruit.

Precisely because we do not know the day nor hour of his coming, we can concentrate more easily on the 'now' that is given us, on the worries of today, on the present that providence gives us to live.

Some time ago I spontaneously said this prayer to God. Now I would like to share it with you.

"Jesus, make me speak always
 as if it were the last word I shall utter.
 Make me act always
 as if it were the last act I shall do.
 Make me suffer always
 as if it were the last suffering I have to offer you.
 Make me pray always
 as if it were the last chance I have here on earth
 to talk together with you."
(Chiara Lubich,  word of Life, Nov 2002)