Chris Campbell

Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.

Beloved in the body of Christ,

Vigilance is the message of today's Gospel reading. For me it is sometimes difficult to remain vigilant, always looking for the return of the Son of Man, however I know that I am not alone in this struggle to remain awake.

For generations we have struggled to remain vigilant, and much of this is due to the distractions of this world. But constantly Jesus reminds us in his words not to lose ourselves in this temporary world, and remember that God is returning to us when we least expect it.

Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

When Jesus first spoke these words, I am sure many of his followers did not expect to die before His return, and because of this we can find true zeal throughout the history of the early church. Now, two millennia later, what are we to think?

These words should hold the same effect. For they were never meant to give a timeline of His return, they were meant to express how we should live our lives now!

But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

The church has lost its past zeal, but that does not mean that we cannot regain our vigilance. We must live every day, every moment, serving our Father in heaven, and living our lives as Jesus asks. For God has put humanity in charge of all his possessions, and, as Jesus has said:

Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives… that wicked slave says to himself, “My master is delayed”, and he begins to beat his fellow-slaves, and eats and drinks with drunkards…

So we must stay vigilant, working always at the task which the Son of Man has given us: to love all, and to care for His world and all who inhabit it.

May you live in Truth, Peace, and Love,
—Chris Campbell