Preparing for the Master's Return: What Does God Expect of Us?

Jesus told many parables about his going away and then coming back. These parables created a expectation about Jesus' second coming. We are not only to expect this coming, but we need to prepare for it, because Jesus expects certain attitudes of us in preparation for his return.

The first expectation is vigilance. We do not know the day or the hour of God's return. We must be ready, awake, with our lamps alight as Jesus speaks about in the parable of the 10 virgins. We have to be listening and waiting for his coming, anticipating it.

Vigilance however, is not sufficient. We need to welcome the Lord when he comes. We must be attentive to his return so that we can know when he is coming and then joyfully receive him when he does.

Moreover, God expects us to be generous as we wait for his return. Jesus told a parable about the servant who was waiting for his master's return. When the master returned, the servant waited on the master without expecting any gratitude or compensation. The servant said, "I am just a useless servant. I did what I was supposed to do." God expects us to give him what is his. He looks for produce of what he has given us. Generosity is not just toward the Lord but also toward our neighbor. Recall the parable of the servants who beat their fellow servants when the master was away. Because they did not act with love and compassion to their fellow servants, the master did not treat them with compassion upon his return.

In addition, God expects us to be temperate as we wait for his return. We are not to get lazy or slothful about life or assume that the master is not coming because he delays. This is the message in the parable about the 10 virgins, five of whom were too lazy to bring along oil for the lamps when the bridegroom was away.

The Lord expects us to invest what he gives us. Think of the parable of the coins. The master gave his servants coins to invest and expected a return on them. The servant who buried his coin and gave it back to his master without any interest was condemned for being lazy. God has given us all gifts and responsibilities, and he expects us to invest ourselves in faith, in the Church, in other souls, in proclaiming the Gospel, in a life of service, in a life of prayer. God has expectations of us, through the vocation and gifts he has given, and he expects a return.

Think of the words of the Our Father. "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." The many parables which Jesus tells about the master going away and then returning are to help us prepare for the Master's coming. We will have to give an account of how we use our time. God expects a harvest. Did we give him 100%? Did we give ourselves to our vocation so totally we were able to bring forth life through it? Did we hold back because we lacked trust in God, or because our faith was small, or because we felt broken or ashamed? Did we get lost in sin, in addictions, in the things of this world? Did the things of the world distract us so that we lost sight of what the Spirit was teaching us? What does God expect of us upon his return? He expects us to have done what he gave us to do, and to have done it with generosity, love, and faith. Are we meeting his expectations? It is best to get ready, for we know neither the day nor the hour when the master is returning.

--Father David Mary Engo, FBM