Lk 21:34-36
Be vigilant: The exhortation to vigilance concludes Jesus’ (eschatological) discourse about the last things. Vigilance means two things for Luke. First, the person who follows Jesus while waiting for his return in glory must “take care” that his or her heart does not get weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the cares of everyday life and, as a result, that day come upon him or her unexpectedly, like a trap. Nothing should distract a person from his or her primary concern—the return of the Son of Man.
Dissipation and drunkenness can be summarized in one word, sensuality, which is escapism. According to Luke, Christians are not to immerse themselves into sensuality in order to escape the cares of everyday life. Furthermore, the cares of everyday life are not to preoccupy their time. The day Jesus comes in glory will confront everyone who lives on the face of the earth. The Christian stance, then, is not to let their hearts get weighed down; they are to be alert at all times, or, in other words, to stay awake.
Second, for Luke vigilance means prayer. Throughout the Gospel, the author has indicated that prayer is the opposite of losing heart, of giving up. Prayer intensifies persistence. Prayer gives a person strength to escape all the things that are going to happen, and to stand before the Son of Man.
While he has separated the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple from the Second Coming of Jesus, Luke has accomplished two other important moves in this discourse. First, he has pushed the Second Coming of Jesus into the indefinite future. Second, he has preserved the belief that Jesus will come again.
The liturgical year ends with the Christian standing in Luke’s in-between time. His or her responsibility is to witness, or give testimony, to the words and deeds of Jesus, not to be caught up in sensuality and daily cares, to pray, and to watch for the day of the Son of Man.