Will He Know You When He Comes?

“Stay awake, be ready” is the command in today’s Gospel as we draw near to the liturgical season of Advent. We will hear many more such teachings reminding us to prepare for the Second Coming of Jesus; to prepare ourselves to receive our Savior. It is an important time for us as Christians for it calls us to reflect upon our own readiness to meet Jesus face to face. Jesus promised his apostles before he ascended into heaven that he would come again and the apostles lived their lives and engaged in the ministry of taking the Good News of the Risen Jesus to the world expecting that Jesus’ return was imminent; that they would experience it in their lifetime. Not so. We as a Church still wait today along with all of our Christian brothers and sisters. We await with great hope the coming of Jesus when all will be united by his love.

Our waiting cannot be inactive. We are to be living our lives in such a way that when witnessed by others they will come to know the love of God for all his people. We are to be models of that love, we are to reach out and care for one another, to show compassion and mercy to those with whom we share life, forgiving those who hurt us and asking forgiveness when we hurt another.

Will Jesus know us when he comes? Will it be evident that we are a model of his love? Will he see in us people who care for one another or those who care only for their own welfare? Will he see many who are wealthy while others do not have the basic necessities in life? Will he greet us with open arms because of our relationship with him or will he question who we are?

The choice is ours and we are free to make it. We can stay awake and be ready, prepared to meet Jesus or we can live life without restriction, doing what we personally desire without regard for others or God. Will Jesus know you when he comes? Let us pray that together we can support one another so that all indeed will be united in love when Jesus comes again in glory!

In hope, Deb Rudolph