Rev.
Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia
LET
YOUR LOINS BE GIRDED AND YOUR LAMPS BURNING
There
are two most important events in our life as a human person. One is well known,
prepared and constantly celebrated, that is, our birthday. The other, which is
the ultimate, is not known and less attention and preparation is being made for
it, that is, the day of our departure from this world.
So,
Jesus knowing how important this day is, instructed his disciples in our Gospel
passage today saying: “Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning. Be like
men waiting for their master to return from the wedding feast, ready to open
the door as soon as he comes and knocks. It may be in the second watch he
comes, or in the third, wait for him, for happy are those servants if he finds
them ready when he comes.”
Here
we have a scenario which illustrates the unexpected approach of the coming of
Christ which will be a great surprise to those who are asleep as they will be
missing out on the heavenly joy and also be deprived of their earthly
treasures. But for those that shall be found awake and ready, the Lord's coming
will be a happy day, while for those that are not prepared, it will be very
dreadful. Thus our ignorance of the day and time of his coming is the reason
for our watchfulness, so we must be awake and ready at all times.
Thus,
St. Paul addressing the ugly situation that humanity found herself and the need
for us to be ready to come out of it said in our first reading today that: sin
entered the world through one man, and through sin death, and thus death has
spread through the whole human race because everyone has sinned; but the gift
itself considerably outweighed the fall. If it is certain that through one
man’s fall, so many died, it is even more certain that divine grace, coming
through the one man, Jesus Christ, has come to so many as an abundant gift of
salvation. For this reason, we should be more prepared and ready for that
glorious day of the Lord.
Dear
friends, we are called today to be ready. We are called to repentance. We are
called to embrace the new life the Lord is offering us. We are called to a life
of constant struggle towards perfection in order to embrace the Lord whenever
he comes. Therefore, preparation is the key word. Let us not be deceived when
the world suggests to us that the day of death is not coming soon so forget who
we are, and then, the day and time will take us by surprise.
Rather,
let us be like those wise servants who are prepared at all times for the coming
of the master. Thus, we must change our disposition, especially as regards our
attitude towards the things of this passing world in order to embrace more of
the things that will lead us to our heavenly kingdom for we are nothing but travellers
in this world.
LET US
PRAY, Lord God, today you ask us to be ready for your coming, increase in us
the desire to be prepared and ready for that inevitable event of death, so that
whenever it comes, it will not be a shock to us, we ask this through Christ our
Lord. Amen. It's a lovely day, may God bless your efforts and grant success to
the works of your hands.
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