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.
Jesus calls us to steady readiness. “Stay awake,” He says, “for you do not know on which day your Lord will come” (v. 42). To “stay awake” is not to live in fear. It is to live in faith: prayer each day, honest work, mercy toward others, and quick repentance when we fail. Readiness is not a feeling; it is a way of life.
Jesus gives two pictures. First, a householder would stay alert if he knew a thief was coming (vv. 43-44). We do not know the hour, so we live ready at every hour. “The Son of Man” means Jesus Himself (Dan. 7:13-14). In the Gospels, this title shows both His humility in coming to serve and His authority to come again as judge.
The second picture shows two servants (vv. 45-51). The “faithful and prudent servant” continues his duty while the master seems away. He gives the household their food “at the proper time” (v. 45). His loyalty shows when no one is watching. When the master returns and finds him at work, the servant receives greater trust (v. 47). Faithfulness grows into fruitfulness. The faithful are to provide steady, timely care for those entrusted to them—meeting real needs, material and spiritual, when they arise, not later.
The other servant’s trouble starts in his heart; then it shows in his actions. He says in his heart, “My master is delayed” (v. 48). Once he stops caring about the master’s return, he begins to harm others and to chase pleasure (v. 49). Jesus warns that the master will come at an unexpected time and judge with justice (v. 50). He “will punish him severely and assign him a place with the hypocrites”—this means real separation from the master. “Wailing and grinding of teeth” describes the sorrow over being shut out of God’s kingdom (final loss) and the hardening that comes from resisting God’s grace to the end (v. 51). These are warnings, not to crush us, but to wake us.
For us today, this is simple and searching. We do not need to predict a date. We need to be faithful today. If we lead others at home, church, or work, we must serve them, not use them, or mislead them as Jesus already warned (Mt. 24:4-5, 11, 24; cf. 23:13). If we are entrusted with resources, we must share them with those in our “household”—the people God has placed near us. If we suffer or feel unseen, we stay steady. The Lord sees. He will not forget quiet fidelity.
“Stay awake” also means guard the heart. Delay can tempt us to drift. We begin to think there is time to repent later. But later is not promised. We keep watch by small choices: a short prayer in the morning; truthful words when a lie would be easy; kindness to the person we would rather avoid; reconciliation instead of resentment; worship with the Church even when tired. These choices form a ready heart.
With the warning clear, the call is simple: stay awake by daily faithfulness—prayer, honest work, mercy, and quick repentance—so that whenever the Lord comes, He finds the faithful at their task (vv. 46-47).
Here is what staying awake looks like in practice: Live ready. Pray daily. Do the task in front of you. Care for the people God has entrusted to you. Do not injure others with your words or your power. Repent without delay. Forgive quickly. Give help when you see need. Stay alert in mind and heart. Keep hope in Jesus’ promises. That is how the faithful stay awake.
Lord Jesus, keep us watchful and faithful. Teach us to serve the people You have placed in our care, to repent without delay, and to love without counting the cost. When You come, may You find us about Your work. Amen.
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Sources and References:
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011), Mt. 24:42-51.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre, The Navarre Bible: Matthew (2008), on Mt. 24:42-51.
- José Enrique Aguilar Chiu et al., eds., The Paulist Biblical Commentary (2018), “Matthew.”
- Bernard Orchard et al., eds., A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture (1953), on Mt. 24.
- Raymond E. Brown et al., eds., The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (1990), “Matthew.”
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