“Therefore, you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” [Matthew 24:44]

For generations, some Christians have been preoccupied with the imminent return of Christ. And in these globally tumultuous days, some folks are exceedingly interested in our Lord’s second advent and the issues and events that surround it. Instead of speculating on the timing of Jesus’ return, the Scriptures detour us from date setting and instead exhort us simply to be ready.

So the question that ought to grab us is: “What does it mean to be ready?”

Biblically speaking, being ready is not listening to the latest end-times preacher or reading a doomsday blog or scrutinizing events in the news that supposedly give clues about the nearness of Jesus’ return. Being ready is about faithfully doing “God’s work” until quitting time. Two verses after the one above, Jesus says, “Blessed is that servant whom his master will find at work when he arrives.”

So what is this work? What ought someone be doing that shows that he is ready? In the next chapter, Jesus describes how, as the returning judge, he will separate the sheep from the goats. Here is where the “work” is described and one’s readiness is measured. Those who are ready and whom Jesus blesses upon returning are those who were feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty, welcoming the foreigner, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, and visiting those in prison.

Of course, one’s good works do not redeem or earn favor from God. But those who have been redeemed, whose character is becoming more like Christ’s—they will be putting their faith to work by demonstrating God’s love and mercy to those who do not “deserve it” nor can pay it back.

Being ready for the return of Jesus is all about caring for people, about sharing God’s mercy and love with the “other.” Let’s be “caught” doing that by the returning Christ.

As Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.”

And at the name of Jesus
A trademark value at Trinity Church where I pastor is the creating of original work. Our children’s ministry has an engagingly unique program called “Lionheart,” based off C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia. The original concept and curriculum of Lionheart is written by Trinity’s Communications Coordinator, Katherine Wetzel. Our women’s and men’s discipleship materials are written by Sue and me. And David Erlandson, Trinity’s Pastor of Worship and the Arts, writes some of the songs the church family sings on Sunday mornings—including this one that we introduced on February 1. For your blog-reading accompaniment, enjoy “No Other Name.”

In this world you will have trouble
I was recently sitting in our Indian ministry board meeting hearing about our great impact on the marginalized people at the bottom of the caste system in that South Asian country. Churches, schools, clinics, and women’s centers are all being used powerfully by the Lord to bring freedom and flourishing to the marginalized. The Indian leaders of our movement spoke with a bit of fatigue and frustration as they reported on the perilous state of the ministries.

And that’s the rub these days. In a nation led by extreme Hindu nationalists, any faith that is not the preferred religion and yet makes generational, life-changing impact becomes a target for persecution and trouble. As one news outlet puts it: “Anti-Muslim violence has soared for more than a decade under Indian PM Modi’s government. Now, Christians face the brunt of Hindu majoritarianism, too.”

It is a privilege to serve with and pray for the work that this great movement so effectively yet dangerously accomplishes. Sue and I will always devote our lives and influence for the sake of “the least of these” in India, whatever the cost.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
I visited a small branch of Youngstown’s Butler Art Museum in Warren, Ohio several years ago. They had a special exhibit of Norman Rockwell’s work. I have never paid much attention to Rockwell, preferring the European and Italian masters.

But Rockwell’s work is more poignant than first lets on by his popular views of Americana depicted regularly on the covers of The Saturday Evening Post. In 1961 Rockwell painted a work that is still deeply relevant today. “The Golden Rule” reflects Norman Rockwell’s belief in the profound impact of everyday kindness to connect us all. The piece is a hopeful vision: a world guided by compassion, respect, and care for one another: values rooted in our shared humanity.

I learned that Rockwell felt obligated to reflect the times in which he lived, reminding us still that hope and caring are not abstract but something practiced daily, person to person. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” was Rockwell’s (and Jesus’) timeless message.

The Son of Man has no place to lay his head
As housing costs rise across this country, many people are finding it very difficult to remain in the cities and communities they love. In the city of Boston, where houses and rent are becoming unaffordable, the search for affordable homes can be depressing. But a creative idea has given rise to an innovative partnership. Boston is showing how libraries (long trusted as community anchors) can be part of the housing solution.

The New England city is renovating aging library branches and fashioning those building upgrades with new, multi-story affordable housing developments built on the same footprint. Instead of expanding outward, the city of Boston is building upward, preserving the library’s important role in the community while adding affordable homes above them.

By thinking creatively about its community and the people’s real needs, Boston is effectively blending housing, learning, and community support literally under one roof. And they are reshaping how cities think about public space.

You’ve heard it said
“For understanding in spiritual matters, the golden rule is not intellect but obedience.” [Oswald Chambers]

“That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn.” [Rabbi Hillel]

“The first thing to get clear about Christian morality between man and man is that in this department Christ did not come to teach any brand-new morality. The Golden Rule of the New Testament (Do as you would be done by) is a summing up of what everyone, at bottom, had always known to be right.” [C.S. Lewis]

Our Tuesday Afternoon prayer
“O Lord, mercifully receive the prayers of your people who call upon you, and grant that they may know and understand what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to accomplish them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.”
[Book of Common Prayer]