Stay vigilant, stay alert!

Are we prepared for the Lord’s return? T

Vigilance for the Christian faithful is our middle name. Our faith calls us to be alert, awake and aware. Why is vigilance necessary? So that we are prepared and never caught off guard when the Lord Jesus Christ returns in the fullness of His glory. All the readings for the Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time have what we call, in theological terminology, an eschatological theme. Eschatological is a fancy theological word that simply means the end times.

The entirety of our lives as faithful Christians is a preparation for the coming of the Lord. That preparation begins at our baptism when our parents and godparents take those baptismal promises for us. The outward sign of those baptismal promises can be seen in the lighted baptismal candle and the words spoken by the priest or deacon: “Parents and godparents, this light is entrusted to you to be kept burning brightly, so that your child, enlightened by Christ, may walk always as a child of the light and, persevering in the faith, may run to meet the Lord when he comes with all the Saints in the heavenly court” (Order of Baptism of Children). The promises that were taken for us become our responsibility as we near adulthood. When young people are confirmed, they renew their baptismal promises at the celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation. It is at that moment when young people must now take responsibility to be vigilant, alert, aware and ready for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Through our baptism, we have been enlightened by Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. This enlightenment is known in Greek as “Sophia” wisdom. This wisdom comes to us through the power of the Holy Spirit, as we hear in the reading from the Book of Wisdom. “Resplendent and unfading is wisdom, and she is readily perceived by those who love her and found by those who seek her” (Wisdom 6:12). This beautiful hymn to Lady Wisdom is a reminder to us that she seeks us all out and in turn we are to seek her. Wisdom is given freely to all who seek her. Only the foolish refuse to be prepared and this is the meaning behind the parable Jesus tells his disciples in Matthew 25:1-13: “The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps.” 

The meaning of the lamps in the parable is a reminder to us that through our own illumination in baptism, and the wisdom imparted by the Holy Spirit, we are to hold our lamps up and profess our faith in Christ Jesus our Lord. We then — as the Church, the Bride — await with vigilance Jesus Christ, the Bridegroom, professing faith by the example of our lives. This spiritual vigilance is enriched by a strong interior life, which then enables the Church, his Bride, to actively produce good works as we await the return of the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, the Lord. 

The eschatological event of the Lord’s return in the fullness of his glory, known in the Greek as the “Parousia,” means revelation or unveiling and describes Christ being revealed from heaven. As Christ ascended to the right hand of the Father, he taught his disciples that he would return: “For just as lightning comes from the east and is seen as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Mt. 24:27).  

Are we prepared for the Lord’s return? The Second Reading from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 even warns us to not be caught off guard: “We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, about those who have fallen asleep, so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.” What distinguishes the Christian faithful from those who do not believe? We live in the hope and joy of the resurrection and Parousia. The Second Reading continues by saying: “Thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, console one another with these words” (1 Thess. 4:18).

As Christians who are illuminated through the waters of baptism, we are called to be like the five wise virgins: by being continually vigilant, alert, aware and ready for the coming of the Lord in the fullness of his glory.