Brief synopsis of the readings: We begin in the Old Testament Book of Wisdom (accepted by Catholics but not by Protestants or Jews). The writer reminds his readers that their ancestors, while in captivity in Egypt, had advanced knowledge of the Passover. This is where God slew the firstborn males of the Egyptians, thus allowing the enslaved Jews to escape. This meant that God punished his adversaries (the Egyptians) and glorified his people (the Jews). In Luke’s Gospel Jesus told his disciples to “Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding.” Blessed are the servants who are prepared for the master’s return. Finally Jesus tells them that they “also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

My sister’s best friend used to say: “When you least expect it, expect it.” Of course that’s funny because the instant you expect it, it ceases to be unexpected. And yet that’s what we do. We try to anticipate what will happen, no matter how obscure, so that we can be ready. Preparation isn’t a bad thing and we can’t do everything on the fly but there comes a point where it can lead to undo levels of stress, anxiety and worry.

And in the context of today’s Gospel it can take us to a whole new level. If the master leaves the servants know he will return, just not when and so the “when” becomes paramount. But I think many of us have been given the impression that the master planned to come back at a surprising time to “catch” the servants not doing what they should. There’s almost a sinister tone to the master.

That may be true for the master in Jesus’ parable but I think we make a wrong turn when we try to think of the master as God. When Jesus left our ancestors he promised his return at a date that even he didn’t know (“No one knows the day or the hour except the Father”). We believe that they mistakenly expected it soon, likely during their lives. And, with varying degrees of intensity, many of us have lived with the idea that it could happen at any second. Some Christians hold a belief that the good people will be “raptured” and taken to heaven; I’ve seen a bumper sticker that says: “At the rapture this car will be unoccupied.”

Maybe it’s time to relax a little and think about how we wish to live in the meantime. Whenever there is a staff of servants there is a hierarchy with some outranking others. Normally there is a “head servant” and he is in the most danger from the master. For many this is a time settle scores, or more often, make themselves into “mini masters.” These mini masters may have been given explicit instructions that they are in charge. The good news for them is that they have authority, but the bad news is they will be called to account.

The idea of a sinister master and a power hungry lead servant troubles me for a few reasons. Unlike the master, God never really leaves us. It’s not as if he’s going to a wedding we’re not invited to, or gone on a long journey where he doesn’t know what’s going on. We believe that God is always present in our lives, always knows what we are doing. For some that is a cause of fear or worry or anxiety but it doesn’t have to be.

Because I see God as our greatest cheerleader. Nobody roots for us to do well as much as God does. I vividly remember my first experience as a priest hearing the first confessions of 3rd graders. Many us remember these as bad experiences. We knelt down in a small room knowing the priest was on the other side of the screen and we were expected to tell him about those things we were most ashamed of. The priest listened to us and assigned a “penance” that we took to be a type of punishment. I once worked for a pastor who told me that I had to be mean to children sometimes or they wouldn’t respect me. Obviously I ignored him and I noticed that the children feared him and laughed with me. I also think they respected me more.

By the time I was ordained it had changed. Our view, and what we told the children was this: “Do you have any idea how thrilled God is to see you here today? God wants only the best for you and you are here to let him help you.” For their penance I always asked them to pray the Our Father with me and this was “getting back on track.” Some may disagree with me on this and believe that we need to be tough lest they wander away. To this let me quote Jesus in today’s Gospel: “Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.”

We live in a world where God loves us passionately and where he has provided enough for all of us to live well and faithfully. We’ve never fully figured it out and we still live in a world where some purchase exercise equipment to burn off calories that are out of the reach of the basic needs of others. We still have head servants who use their power to settle scores to improve themselves at the expense of others.

But that is not our destiny. It’s not our best way of living as disciples of Jesus and it’s not our calling. Maybe its time to stop worrying about when Jesus will return and live as if the timing doesn’t matter. Anytime we have the power over the lives of others (e.g as parents, teachers, people of wealth, etc.) we need to remember that we don’t compete with them for a limited share of God’s love or mercy.

And so if we need not fear getting enough, if we can gratefully enjoy God’s cheering us on, and if we can celebrate this with each other, why do we need to fear God’s judgement?