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PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
Jesus, help me understand that my parents and you need to be away sometimes - but you all still love me! Amen.

"Be like servants waiting for their master to come home," Jesus said. "Blessed are the servants who are awake and waiting when their master comes home, even if it's very late. He'll have them sit down, and he'll wait on them! So be ready, because you don't know when I'll be coming back."

If your parents go out and you stay home with a babysitter or an older brother or sister, it probably feels kind of weird. You understand that it was their date night or they had to work, but you feel like parents are supposed to be around all the time.

When you wake up in the morning and your mom is making your lunch, you feel relieved: Everything is back to normal! People are where they should be.

This week's Gospel (Luke 12:35-40) is about servants waiting for their master to come home - but the servants are us and the master is Jesus.

Just like it's kind of weird when your parents aren't around, Jesus said it's kind of weird that He's not in the world right now as a person, the way you read about Him in the Bible. You might even feel jealous of the people who got to eat and hang out with Jesus.

Someday, though, Jesus will come back - and He promised that, if you think it's exciting and a relief to have your parents back home, having God around all the time will be really great!

Of course, the one thing your parents don't want when they come home is a report on how you've gotten in trouble while they were out. Jesus said God doesn't want that, either. He reminded everyone to be good, so you're ready whenever He comes back. Then the party can really start!

(08/05/10)
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