Stay dressed for action, Jesus says, and keep your lamps lit. Then comes the surprise: the master, home from the wedding, ties on an apron and waits on his servants. Watching is not anxiety. It is love waiting for the One who loves us first.
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Lord of the late hour,
the road is dark and my eyes are heavy.
Keep a small flame alive in me,
a prayer that does not go out.
I listen for your knock in ordinary things.
Let me never answer «not now» when you come.
Open my door before I finish my excuses.
Jesus, you turn the world upside down:
the master takes the towel and serves his servants.
Teach us a greatness that kneels,
a joy that stays up late for others.
Father, give us the patience of the watchman,
who does not know the hour but trusts the dawn.
Let our work be honest, our love awake,
our hands ready.
Spirit of comfort, sit with those who wait tonight:
the sick, the anxious, the ones with an empty chair at table.
Be their lamp, and bring the morning.
Amen.
In the Gospel of Luke (12:35-38), Jesus tells his disciples to be dressed for action and to keep their lamps burning, like servants waiting for their master to come home from a wedding banquet. When he arrives and knocks, they open at once. Blessed are the servants he finds awake: he himself will tie on an apron, seat them at table and serve them. The blessing holds even if he comes in the middle of the night or near dawn. Christian watchfulness is trusting expectation of meeting the Lord.
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