Gospel (Lk 12,35-38) - At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: «Be ready, with your clothes tied around your waist and your lamps lit; be like those who wait for their master when he returns from the wedding, so that when he arrives and knocks, they open the door immediately. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds still awake upon his return; truly I tell you, he will tighten his robes around his waist, have them sit at the table and come and serve them. And if, arriving in the middle of the night or before dawn, he finds them like this, lucky them!

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

Jesus contrasts the rich fool surprised by death with the disciple waiting for his Lord. Vigilance becomes one of the fundamental spiritual dimensions of Christian life. Those who are folded in on themselves and fall asleep on their things are asked to look up and wait for the Lord's return. Jesus says: «Be ready, with your clothes tied around your waist and your lamps lit». Having your robes girded meant being prepared for immediate action. It happened like this from the night of the escape from Egypt. The Israelites had to have their garments girded, that is, be ready to leave immediately (Ex 12:11). The lit lamp had the same meaning: to be ready to rush even at night. In truth, the Lord stands at the door of our heart every day and knocks, as the Apocalypse writes. And he who opens the door to him will be blessed, because he will have an incredible reward: the master himself will become his servant; he will put on his robes, invite him to sit down and himself will come to serve him. The roles were as if they were reversed. It seems incredible, but this is precisely the paradox of the grace we have received. Jesus himself presents himself as the one who serves. Not only does he present himself, but he acts like a servant, as when, during the Last Supper, he bends down to wash the disciples' feet. This image is an integral part of the evangelical message, of the announcement of a God who loves us so much that he bends down to our feet. This is what happens every time we welcome the Lord in prayer, or in service to the poorest, and above all in the holy liturgy in which he prepares a banquet to nourish us with his word and his own flesh.