Wait in Joyful Hope

Nothing gives us greater hope or peace than the Spirit opening our hearts to a God whose plans for us are wonderfully, unimaginably good. Through Christ, every promise of God is now available to us—freedom from sin, healing of wounded relationships, physical healing, joy, peace, and strength. Even if we find ourselves struggling against sin, our hope is secure if we have placed our lives in Jesus’ hands. As St. Paul wrote, “He who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all, how will he not also give us everything else along with him?” (Romans 8:32). In fact, the second coming of Jesus is the only promise of salvation history that has yet to be fulfilled. The challenge for us now is to prepare our hearts for Jesus’ return at the end of time—the one promise of God yet to be fulfilled.

At every liturgy, we ask God to protect us and watch over us “as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ.” Brothers and sisters, God wants us to live every day in the “joyful hope” of tasting his presence in our lives and longing for the fullness that will be revealed when Jesus comes again. This is why we find this prayer welling up from within our hearts, “Come, Lord Jesus!”

Come to Me! As we deepen in our relationship with the Lord, we find that our fear of punishment at his coming begins to give way to an eager expectation of seeing him face to face. We begin to understand that Jesus wants to come back and gather us to himself. He longs for the day when he will be united with his bride, the church. As a result, even as the Church prays, “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20), Jesus himself cries out: “Come to me, all who labor, . . . and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

Jesus knows how easily we can become immersed in the demands of day-to-day living and so lose sight of our heavenly inheritance. That’s why every day he invites us: “Come to me.” As we spend time with him in prayer, we invite his Spirit to fill our hearts with his perfection and glory. Jesus also knows how the busyness of our daily lives can overshadow the expectancy he wants to nurture in our hearts. When he was on earth, he frequently told his disciples to watch and wait, eagerly preparing themselves for the day when they would stand before him and receive his kingdom.

No matter how hard we try, we will never know the day or the hour of Jesus’ return—even Jesus said he didn’t know (Matthew 24:36). In fact, the timing may not be as important to God as it seems to us. To him, a thousand years are as a day, and a day is as a thousand years (2 Peter 3:8). He is more concerned with the state of our hearts than with whether we know the details of the end-times. Whether Jesus comes back tomorrow or in three hundred years, the telling question remains the same: “When the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8). He will find faith if his people keep themselves prepared, ready to give an account for themselves before the Lord whose love burns away all sin (Romans 14:12).

The “Signs of the Times.” Jesus encouraged his disciples to interpret the signs of the times so that they would be ready to greet the Lord whenever he returned (Matthew 24:32-33). Understanding, therefore, is of prime importance. Have you ever been to a foreign country where you felt totally lost? There might have been signs all around you telling you where to go, what to do, or what dangers to guard against—but the signs were all in a language you did not understand. If only you could have read the signs, you would have felt more secure! Similarly, we need to understand the language of the Holy Spirit so that we can read the signs of the times and know how to respond to God as he prepares us for the end.

We are usually very aware of the physical realities around us—the seasons, the weather, the political climate, our relationships, our physical health. What is true for our physical lives is equally true for our spiritual lives. Believers who are in touch with Jesus in prayer can be attuned to the “signs of the times” around them. As they grow in their understanding of how God is moving on the earth, they become more ready for Jesus’ return. They are actually “hastening the day” by their prayer, obedience, and love (2 Peter 3:12).

God’s message is very simple. When a lawyer asked Jesus to sum up the whole of the Jewish law, Jesus responded with two basic requirements: Love God completely and love your neighbor as yourself. Everything else, he said, flows from this (Matthew 22:36- 39). If we want to prepare for Jesus’ return, our best course is to ask the Holy Spirit to empower us to obey these two fundamental commands. Let’s look at two of Jesus’ parables about the end times to see how important these commands are in God’s eyes.

How Can We Prepare? The parable of the ten bridesmaids (Matthew 25:1-13) gives a pattern for loving God by allowing his presence to burn brightly within us. The difference between the “wise” and the “foolish” bridesmaids was the amount of oil they provided for their lamps—oil that would feed the flame and surround them with light. How vital it is that we maintain God’s presence in our hearts! By the Holy Spirit—the fire of God’s love—we can see age-old patterns of sin and division fall away. Wounds from the past and fears for the present can be healed; we can know our Father’s love more deeply. The “oil” we need is an attentive heart that hungers for more of the Holy Spirit.

It is true that the Holy Spirit is always present within us, but it is equally clear that there can be obstacles in our lives that can limit the Spirit’s activity. Hence many believers pray for more of the Spirit, or simply: “More, Lord.” Just as the wise bridesmaids could not give oil to the foolish ones, we cannot expect other people to give us what only God can give—a greater thirst for God’s life and a greater share in his Spirit.

The parable of the sheep and goats (Matthew 25:31-46) urges us to keep love for one another alive in our hearts. The generosity with which we reach out to others is a valid indicator of the degree to which we desire to see Jesus’ kingdom established on earth. The point of the parable is not that feeding the hungry, providing clothing to the needy, or visiting the sick and the imprisoned pile up points for us in heaven. Rather, these acts of love are like a barometer, indicating how deeply we have been transformed by our relationship with God. The more we experience God’s love in our prayer and worship, the more we will be moved to lay down our lives for others. The parable suggests that Jesus—seated on the judgment seat—will determine how much we love God by the way we have loved others.

Jesus’ two great commands of love cannot be separated. When we meet another person, we are meeting someone whom Jesus loves— someone for whom he died. Whenever we love, feed, or give hope to others, the Spirit in us reaches out to share the good news of salvation with them. The best gift we can give anyone is to introduce them to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who can provide all that they need . . . and more. So we pray: “Lord, give us more of your Spirit. Empower us to love your people. Teach us how to bring your hope and your love to those who don’t yet know you. Jesus, make us your disciples.”

“Now Is the Day of Salvation.” Jesus’ teaching on his second coming calls us to concentrate on today. We cannot relive yesterday, and tomorrow may never come. But today we can seek God wholeheartedly. Today, we can live for Jesus. Today, we can serve others in little ways or big ways. Today, we can intercede for a powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit to pre- pare the world for Jesus’ return. Today, if we hear his voice, let us not harden our hearts (Hebrews 3:7-8). Instead, let us all cry out together “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20).