But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. 37 For as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 In [those] days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. 39 They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be [also] at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left. 42 Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. 43 Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. 44 So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come. 45 Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household to distribute to them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so. 47 Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. 48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is long delayed,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with drunkards, 50 the servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour 51 and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.
Only the Father knows the exact time of the Parousia. Even though all things had been handed over to the Jesus (Mt. 11:27) who was fully human, he did not know the day or hour of the second coming of the Son of Man. In Philippians we read, “Though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross (Phil. 2:6-8).” All who do not pay heed to the things of God will be caught unprepared (Mt. 25:1-13). They will be living life as usual and will be caught by surprise. Two people may appear outwardly to be the same but inwardly one may be a true disciple of Jesus who will be saved, but the other may not be and will perish. Followers of Jesus must remain vigilant and faithful to God’s will and must be prepared (1 Pt. 5:8). They must not be surprised by the sudden coming of the Son of Man.
While they await the Lord’s return, Church leaders can be wise and faithful servants, or foolish and irresponsible servants. The blessed servant remains faithful, prepares himself and his flock, and waits patiently for the second coming of our Lord. He uses the time wisely. The wicked servant, who miscalculates when the Lord will return, does not act responsibly with the Word of God entrusted to him. He leads a worldly life and does not show love and spiritual leadership to those entrusted to his care. He will be assigned a place with the hypocrites and punished severely.
Almighty God, grant us the patience and forbearance that your Son showed as he tried to lead us to your kingdom. Help us to live a righteous life filled with your Divine love, and to be faithful to your word while we await the return of your glorified Son. This we pray through the same Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Expanded Edition, Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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