Tuesday, Twenty Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

The image of ‘the knock on the door’ tends to have a negative meaning in our culture. The knock on the door is more often than not something to fear and be in dread of. In certain parts of the world, the knock on the door can spell great danger and even death. However, in today’s gospel reading, the knock on the door signals a truly benign presence. According to Jesus’ image, when the master of a house returns from a wedding feast, knocks on the door, and finds that his servants are there to welcome him, he shows his appreciation by behaving as a servant to them. He sits them down at table, puts on an apron and serves them. This is an image of a master that goes beyond anything that would have been experienced in that culture. Jesus is really speaking about himself here. He is declaring that if he finds us waiting for him when he comes to us at the end of our lives, he will serve us in ways that will surprise us. He will show himself to be the Son of Man who came not to be served but to serve, hosting us at the banquet of eternal life. The Lord also stands ready to serve us here and now. He is among us now as one who serves and he will then serve us in a way that is beyond imagining in eternal life. What Jesus calls for in in the here and now is to be alert when he knocks on the door of our lives. We are to be ‘dressed for action’ with our ‘lamps lit’, as he says.  We are to be attentive to the Lord’s daily coming and his daily call. Such a faithful alertness to the Lord’s presence and call will open us up to receive the Lord’s self-emptying service. If we daily show ourselves to be alert to his call, then we will receive from him a much greater service than we could ever give him, and we will be empowered to serve him in others as generously as we have been served.