Matthew 24:42 - 51

In the prior reflection I noted that “most Christians I come into contact with (and if I am honest, this includes me) when the conversation turns to the end of the world focus more on “when”, then “are we ready?””

Jesus builds on this question of readiness—He tells us what it looks like.

In Matthew 24:42-44 he points out that we do not know the “watch” that the thief is coming, so be ready.

I used to “stand watch”. I “stood watch” a lot. Military folks know this phrase. They know the hours of “standing watch” can be extremely boring. You are often tempted to fill this time with distractions. When “on watch”, you are to be ready for the alarm to sound, ready to respond to an attack, ready for situations you are not quite sure about—but you are ready.

Jesus moves next to encourage us to not get distracted; to not be lazy. 

Standing watch properly is not easy. There can be hour upon hour of what to many might be boredom. 

When we would be “standing watch” we would use the time. We trained and drilled. We worked on mission critical tasks. We did not seek to distract ourselves. We sought to refine our readiness. But even that can grow old. You can wonder if you are drilling for things that will never happen.

But regards the end-of-the-world. It will happen. Do not be lulled into sleep.

I have easily logged over tens of thousands of hours—standing watch. 

I don’t think, until writing this reflection, that I thought about connecting what Jesus is saying with my experience of “being on watch for Jesus”. 

You might be thinking, “I don’t know what it is like to “stand watch”. Perhaps not. But perhaps you have kept vigil at the bedside of a loved one, or someone dying. 

Let’s not fill our time with distractions, but instead think about what “being ready” really looks like for us, and how we are to fill our time with mission-critical tasks.

What does it look like for you?