Gospel: Luke 12:32-48
Do not be afraid, little flock, for it has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms. Get yourselves purses that do not wear out, and an inexhaustible treasure in the heavens, where no thief comes and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Be ready, dressed for service, and keep your lamps lit, like people waiting for their master to return from the wedding. As soon as he comes and knocks, they will open the door to him. Happy are those servants whom the master finds wide awake when he comes. Truly, I tell you, he will put on an apron, and have them sit at table, and he will wait on them. Happy are those servants, if he finds them awake when he comes at midnight or daybreak!
Pay attention to this: If the master of the house had known at what time the thief would come, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.”
Peter said, “Lord, did you tell this parable only for us, or for everyone?” And the Lord replied, “Imagine, then, the wise and faithful steward, whom the master sets over his other servants, to give them wheat at the proper time. Fortunate is this servant if his master, on coming home, finds him doing his work. Truly, I say to you, the master will put him in charge of all his property.
But it may be that the steward thinks, ‘My Lord delays in coming,’ and he begins to abuse the male servants and the servant girls, eating and drinking and getting drunk. Then the master will come on a day he does not expect, and at an hour he doesn’t know. He will cut him off, and send him to the same fate as the unfaithful. The servant who knew his master’s will, but did not prepare and do what his master wanted, will be soundly beaten; but the one who does unconsciously what deserves punishment, shall receive fewer blows. Much will be required of the one who has been given much, and more will be asked of the one who has been entrusted with more.
Lectio Divina
READ: Here, the Book of Wisdom tells of the ancestors who trusted and awaited the promise of salvation. The author of the Letter to the Hebrew describes faith and cites Abraham and Sarah as having acted by faith. The gospel reading, meanwhile, speaks of being ready, or being prepared, when the master returns.
REFLECT: What we have in the readings today are the core elements in the success of any worthwhile undertaking, namely: faith and action. In the Christian context, when combined, they form the synergy that effects the salvation of all creation. Having believed in Jesus and followed him, Jesus instructed them of the necessity to be always ready while they await his return. Being ready means, in our day, that our faith in God needs to be accompanied by good deeds that advance His reign of justice, love and mercy. Our faith in a loving and merciful God is made concrete in our works for the needy and the marginalized. It is also made visible in our defence of the rights and dignity of our fellow humans, and in our protection of other forms of life on Earth. Possessing a steadfast faith will move us to become “keepers” and carers of all that God has created, humans and other than human beings alike.
PRAY: Lord, grant us the grace to translate our love and faith in you into concrete actions for others.
ACT: Be involve in church and civic actions that promote justice, peace, and care and protection of the natural world.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2019
