Everyone is reevaluating their priorities. With all the upheaval in society, we have to ask, “What matters most?”
For us, Jesus Christ is the paramount priority. Our first desire is to know and be known by him. “To live is Christ . . .” Paul says (Phil. 1:21). In a time of resignation and reluctance, we enter a season of Recommitment in November.
Invocation
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Jesus, you said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30). I know, and you know better, that my love for you has faltered. My heart and soul are bent toward self. My mind is easily distracted and my strength fails. But I know you are gracious. Forgive me. Show me loving kindness. Reform my heart and soul, mind and strength, that I may be fully devoted to you. Amen.
Word: Mark 13:33-34
“Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
Meditation
So if we know the end is coming, the obvious question is, what do we do now? How should we live? And as he does so often, Jesus tells a story.
“It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay away.”
To those who are waiting for the master to return, Jesus says be on guard. Keep awake. But it’s not just about being alert for its own sake. Like a dog with its head in the window just waiting for their owner to come home. Instead, notice what happens when the man in the story goes away – the servants are put in charge of the estate, each with his own work.
It would seem that the master didn’t just grab the keys and head out the door. He left a to-do list. Tasks to be completed. Responsibilities to pay attention to. And whenever he returns – even if it’s sudden or unexpected – the man’s expectation is that his servants will be going about the tasks he’s given them. Jesus pairs his warning to be on guard or to stay awake with the tasks he’s given his servants to do. Keep your eyes peeled and be attentive to what Jesus is up to and the ways he’s working in the world. Each to his own work.
Followers of Jesus don’t simply sit around waiting for his return, blissfully detached from the cares and concerns of the world around them. But neither are we oblivious to it, pinning all of our hopes and dreams to the world as it is now. Instead, followers of Jesus watch for his return and seek to participate in the ways Christ is redeeming the world even now. Each to his own work.
We pray: Come, Lord Jesus. I long for your return. Protect me from both fear and complacency. And show me your work in the world this day. Amen.
Prayer
Into your hand, Father, we commend our spirits; our minds to know you, our hearts to love you, our wills to serve you, for we are yours. Receive us and draw us after you, that we may follow your steps. Take us and fashion us after your image. Into your hands, O Lord. Amen.
Benediction
May the grace of the Lord Jesus sanctify us and keep us from all evil; may he drive far from us all hurtful things; may he bind us to himself by the bond of love, and may his peace abound in our hearts. Amen.