This sign recently appeared on the soft shoulder of a road near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It came up in a Facebook feed, adorned with a string of suitably sarcastic comments. Pennsylvania is the place where repairs to a half mile stretch of road can last for over a year. I’m sure the person who put up the sign had good intentions. The only question is, which day?

A subject we refer to every week in church is one we almost never talk about - Jesus’ second coming. We’ve been told to expect it, but we don’t know the exact date. Theologians have a fancy word for the second coming; the Parousia. In the Nicene Creed we say, “he [Jesus] will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.” Jesus is our judge at the end of time. 

Sometimes it’s a useful tactic for clergy to suggest to people that Jesus is arriving within the next hour and then ask them what they would do. I remember a T shirt with the slogan, “Jesus is coming. Look busy!” If you have ever worked in an office, you will know what to do when the CEO is about to do a tour: look busy and smile when he or she appears. 

That won’t wash with Jesus. Imagine him instead as a combination of your mother, father, brother and sister. He will immediately see through your pose and ask you what is really going on. He will want to know what you have done, but also how you have changed. 

I’m trying to picture a loving and understanding Jesus who is also my judge. I would want him to forgive me my transgressions, and in reply he would ask if I had forgiven those who had transgressed against me. He would want to know what I had done for someone else without the expectation of getting something in return. Jesus would also ask if I were ready?

Our life is a preparation for the second coming of Jesus. As we grow older, our relationship with Jesus should make us more loving to ourselves and to others. While we have Jesus’ own life and teaching to guide us, we also have the law of Moses as “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). The law provides boundaries or safeguards against the misuse of love.

I have no control over how Jesus judges me, but I have control over my own life. Every so often I ask myself, “if Jesus comes tomorrow, will I be ready?” Asking this question helps me to focus on what is necessary for my own salvation. God has already given me everything I need to get my house in order. 

Father David