Each week, Bishop Edward Malesic writes a Scripture reflection for the faithful. Follow the bishop on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Click HERE for the readings.
Comparing this year to last year we can see quite a difference. Last year we had gathered with family, shoulder-to-shoulder around the Thanksgiving Dinner. Not this year. Last year we were attending the concerts of our children in their school auditoriums and going to crowded parties in preparation for Christmas. Not this year.
We have all had to learn patience as we wait for this current pandemic to pass. But, it gets tiring.
We understand the frustration of Isaiah who cried out to God in our first reading: “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down.”
This is the Season of Advent, and we call out to God, “Maranatha. Come, Lord Jesus. Come.”
We hope in the Lord to return and set things right again. To help us be good to one another; to inspire our best minds to solve the puzzle of the virus that is wreaking havoc among us. But, that is not the only global problem we face. There is racism in many forms, prejudice, self-centeredness, cultural and political divisions, poverty, war, and the list goes on. We need the Lord to return because the servants have, in many ways, made a mess of things.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus is the Master who goes away for a while and puts the servants in charge of the household. But he makes it clear that his absence is temporary. He will return and he hopes to find the servants awake, alert, and watching. He urges us to take care of his home until his return.
So, pray for the Lord to come quickly. Still, have patience. He will come at an unknown hour to take care of us in ways that might even surprise us. Be prepared to receive him with joy when he does. And thank him in advance for the blessings that, even now, he is getting ready for us. Wait for his blessing. It will come when we least expect it.
Be watchful. Be alert.
Have a blessed week everyone.