Tuesday 22 October 2024

Today is Tuesday the 22nd of October in the 29th week of Ordinary Time.

The community of Taizé sing Wait for the Lord: ‘Wait for the Lord, his day is near. Wait for the Lord, be strong, take heart.’

Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Luke.

Luke 12:35-38

‘Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those servants.

Waiting for someone to arrive. You know they’re coming, but you don’t know when. That’s the central image in this reading from Luke’s gospel. What’s it like to wait in that way?

These words could refer to Christ’s return at the end of time. They could also be an encouragement to be on the lookout for the ways in which Jesus appears in your everyday life, in the people you meet and the situations that you face. How do they strike you when you hear them today?

There’s a suggestion here that the wait could be a long one. What’s your experience of waiting for God to do something in your life – make God’s presence felt, give you a needed gift, answer a prayer?

As you listen again, notice the promise Jesus makes to those who remain alert for the signs of his coming.

Speak to Jesus now about whatever you are currently expecting, or on the lookout for, in your relationship with God.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.