In today’s gospel, Jesus emphasizes the importance of being ready for his return. He says: “You also must be prepared, for at an hour when we do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”
Interestingly, this gospel passage appears to emphasize the need to be prepared for the future return of the Our Lord. Through his remarks in this passage, Jesus notes that numerous Christians can forget that he is coming again, that he will be truly present with us again. These Christians, consequently, are not vigilant in awaiting his return. They are ill-prepared for his arrival. In contrast, Our Lord says that we should be “ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks” at the door of our hearts.
Understandably, thus, we might initially conclude that Jesus is speaking only about the future. This is an understandable assumption. Of course, it is true that there will be a day and a time when the Lord returns in glory to judge the living and the dead, as we profess each Sunday in the Creed. Nonetheless, if we think about the sacramental economy that Our Lord instituted before his Ascension, we recognize that Jesus is speaking not only about the future but even—and, perhaps, especially—about the present. Namely, the Master’s coming is not only reserved to the future, but he comes even now. The Master comes for us at each moment of each day.
Today, now, Jesus is fully present to us through the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. Indeed, he is not any less present with us now than he will be at the end of time, because even now Jesus communicates to us his body, his blood, his soul, and his divinity. Through the sacraments of the Church, Jesus heals us of our wounds, configures us to himself, and conforms us to his own life and being. This is why, before he ascended into heaven, Jesus spoke of being with us “even to the end of time.”
Our Lord is with us not only after the end of time. He comes even now, in the present moment. He is with us now. Knocking at the door of our hearts.
When we reflect upon the real presence of Jesus through the sacraments, we are inspired to reexamine what Our Lord teaches in today’s gospel. Subsequently, we can recognize that his message is not just about “tomorrow” or “then.” It’s about today and now. The only essential tense of the Christian life is the present tense— the eternal now.
God only knows the present moment. He sees all things with an immediacy that suffers from no contingency. And in his wisdom and love God offers to us a share in his own “present presence.” His real presence in our lives is not an exclusively future presence; it is not a merely anticipated presence. It is a real presence which is really present for us now.
This means that the moment of salvation is always now. Jesus comes for you and me today. No one has ever been “saved tomorrow.” Tomorrow is always elusive. It always lies just out of our reach. Everyone, however, receives—and has received—salvation in a “today” moment. Today is always present.
Those who, tragically, miss Jesus are not those who look for him today, but rather those who look for him tomorrow. No one objects to those who look for the “future” Christ. Everyone knows that they must “get their act together,” so to speak, some day. We all intend, sooner or later, to arrange and rectify our affairs. But what Jesus is telling us in this striking and powerful gospel is that the time to find Jesus is now. Jesus is here, today, and we should all go to meet him and welcome him now.
Jesus comes for us today. He is knocking now. This is the day of the Lord—the day of our salvation.
