Keep Your Lamps Burning

In this Liturgy's Gospel Passage from the Evangelist Luke, we once again hear Jesus exhorting his listeners to "gird their loins and keep their lamps burning." And he tells them of the story of the Good and Faithful Servant. Jesus said that blessed is that servant who keeps watch of the Master's return and whom the Master finds awake on his return.

Many times in our lives we have been bombarded by false prophecies and omens. And in effect, we are terrified and are always "on the watch" for the Lord's Second Coming. But I think this is not the kind of anticipation that the Lord wants from us. The Lord does not want us to keep watch and be fervent simply because we are afraid of His wrath, we are frightened by the threat of eternal damnation. I would like to believe that what our Lord wants from us is the patience and fervent-ness as an effect of pure and true love. We keep our spiritual lamps burning not because we are anticipating in fear the arrival of a tyrant; we keep watch and maintain the light of our lamps because deep in our hearts, we are filled with joyful anticipation of the coming of the Lord of Love.

Let us beg for this grace then, that we may, in the spirit of joyful and loving anticipation, wait for the coming of the Lord... the Lord who loves us and the Lord we truly love. Amen.