We read Scripture at Mass to learn who God is, to grow closer to God, to learn how God has acted in history to save us, to learn how I should live in order to have a happy life and eternal joy, and many other reasons. We also glorify God by reading Scripture at Mass, because we are proclaiming his good works, the Good News, and the triumph of Christ on the Cross over Sin and Death which seek to enslave us to all who will listen.

In the book of Wisdom, we encounter a curious passage: “The night of passover was known beforehand to our fathers, that, with sure knowledge of the oaths in which they put their faith, they might have courage.” (Wis 18:6) At first glance, we might think that this is obvious. Moses told the children of Israel to prepare for the Passover by slaughtering a lamb, smearing its blood on the door post, roasting it, and eating it with their loins girded–that is, ready to run. (And I could go on a 30 minute side-track about all of that, but that’s not our topic today.) If we keep thinking about that verse, though, “was known beforehand to our fathers” isn’t talking about the children of Israel in Egypt at the time of Moses. For example, 400 years earlier, Joseph made the sons of Israel swear to take his bones when they depart Egypt, telling them, “God will surely take care of you and lead you up from this land.” (Gen 50:24) This verse in Wisdom reminds us that the children of Israel had been told that God would save them. When the time for the Exodus came, it should not have been a surprise.

This pattern happens over and over in Scripture. God warns his people. He tells them exactly what will happen, and exactly what he will do. This continues even during Christ’s time on this earth. He weeps over Jerusalem, and recalls the prophet Isaiah, lamenting that Jerusalem has been given the words that would lead to peace and righteousness, but they refuse to listen and understand. They refuse to obey and be healed. And so, Christ says, “the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides. They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.” (Luke 19:43-44) This is exactly what happened in 70AD when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem. The Christians, who listened to Christ, saw the signs and escaped destruction. Those who refused to listen and obey perished horribly.

Christ repeatedly teaches that we must open our ears and be prepared to act quickly on his word. He tells us to “Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.” (Luke 12:35-36) This instruction is quite strange, because we soon learn that the master is returning in the middle of the night. People didn’t usually travel at night in those days, and they definitely don’t leave wedding feasts early. And why is the master knocking at the door of his own house? Later we hear that the vigilant servants will be rewarded: the master will serve them at table–but where is he getting this food? Did he bring them something from the wedding feast perhaps?

There are so many questions in this parable. The master in this parable is apparently known for being wily. He doesn’t do what we expect. He leaves feasts early, he knocks on his own door, and he even waits on his own servants. One might even say the master is merciful, because he gives his servants a chance to prepare at the last moment when he knocks at the door before entering. Those servants who are attentive and learned their master’s will know that they must be vigilant, they must care for the household even when the master is gone, and they must always be prepared for the master’s return.

Just as God told the children of Israel he would save them from Egypt, and just as Christ warned Jerusalem that they would be destroyed, Christ is revealing the fate for every single one of us in this parable. The master, of course, is Christ. We are his servants. He has gone to the wedding feast of Heaven. He will be back for us: he has promised us this. When he comes, he will knock and if we have opened our ears enough to hear it, we will have one chance to make final preparations or to shake off our slumber in following him. What a generous gift this is! But what will he find us doing when he comes?

We know what Christ has asked of us. God has asked the same thing of all his children. The failures of the children of Israel in the Desert of Sin are an example to us, and they are no less relevant today simply because we have fancy technology and different government styles. St. Paul summarizes what we should learn in 1 Corinthians 10:6-11. We must not desire evil things. We must not turn to idols and allow money, fame, power, or pleasure to turn us away from God. We must not “test Christ” by being disobedient to God’s law and to the teachings of his Church. St. Paul does not ask the Corinthians thoughts on these laws, in fact he says, “Do not grumble as some of them did, and suffered death by the destroyer.” (10)

St. Paul reminds us that “whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.” So, we must prepare ourselves for our master’s return. We must conform our will to the will of God. We must turn away from the things of this world. We must always remain vigilant, awaiting our master’s arrival. For those who follow his will and have prepared for his arrival, untold joys await us at the table of Christ.