All day the just man is merciful and lends. Let us lay hold of this blessing, let us earn the name of being considerate, let us be generous. Not even night should interrupt you in your duty of mercy. Do not say "Come back and I will give you something tomorrow." There should be no delay between your intention and your good deed. Generosity is the one thing that cannot admit of delay.
-- Saint Gregory Nazianzen
All day the just man is merciful and lends. Let us lay hold of this blessing, let us earn the name of being considerate, let us be generous. Not even night should interrupt you in your duty of mercy. Do not say "Come back and I will give you something tomorrow." There should be no delay between your intention and your good deed. Generosity is the one thing that cannot admit of delay.
-- Saint Gregory Nazianzen
THURSDAY OF THE TWENTY-FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Lectionary: 428
Reading I
Paul, called to be an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
and Sosthenes our brother,
to the Church of God that is in Corinth,
to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy,
with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
their Lord and ours.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I give thanks to my God always on your account
for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus,
that in him you were enriched in every way,
with all discourse and all knowledge,
as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you,
so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift
as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He will keep you firm to the end,
irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is faithful,
and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Responsorial Psalm PS 145:2-3, 4-5, 6-7
R. (1) I will praise your name for ever, Lord.
Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.
R. I will praise your name for ever, Lord.
Generation after generation praises your works
and proclaims your might.
They speak of the splendor of your glorious majesty
and tell of your wondrous works.
R. I will praise your name for ever, Lord.
They discourse of the power of your terrible deeds
and declare your greatness.
They publish the fame of your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your justice.
R. I will praise your name for ever, Lord.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Stay awake!
For you do not know when the Son of Man will come.
R. Alleluia
Gospel
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Stay awake!
For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
Be sure of this:
if the master of the house
had known the hour of night when the thief was coming,
he would have stayed awake
and not let his house be broken into.
So too, you also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.
“Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant,
whom the master has put in charge of his household
to distribute to them their food at the proper time?
Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so.
Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property.
But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is long delayed,’
and begins to beat his fellow servants,
and eat and drink with drunkards,
the servant’s master will come on an unexpected day
and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely
and assign him a place with the hypocrites,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”
******************************
When Jesus Comes for You
What will Jesus find you doing when he comes for you? This does not necessarily mean he will make his Second Coming appearance in your lifetime. But most certainly he will come for you in the moment you die. What will you be doing for the kingdom of God at the time of your death?
As Jesus says in today’s Gospel reading, we don’t know when that will happen. What if you have a brain aneurysm while enjoying a movie that glorifies violence, or shows sex outside the sacred union of a married man and woman, or other immoralities? What if you have a massive heart attack while swearing angrily at a motorist who cuts you off on the highway? Jesus comes for you and says — ?
Hey, it could happen! There is no guarantee that our death will come while we’re being nice to someone. Nor can we count on dying in bed peacefully while a priest gives us the Sacraments of Anointing and Holy Communion to send us on our way to heaven free from all sin.
Jesus tells us: “Stay awake! Don’t get sleepy and close your eyes to the needs around you! Pay attention! Look at what you could be doing!”
St. Paul points out in today’s first reading that God endows us abundantly with every gift and talent that we need, every bit of knowledge that we need, and all the strength and endurance that we need to remain blameless until Christ comes for us. How do we remain blameless? By choosing every day to live the reality of who we really are: As followers of Christ we are no longer sinners but are saints learning to be holier today than yesterday, and in this reality we continue the mission of Christ right up to the moment of death, even with our dying breaths!
The far-sighted servant that Jesus mentions is one who wastes no time in worthless activities that have no eternal value. We are faithful servants if we bless the kingdom of God through everything we do, even — and especially — in secular places. Everything we do can have eternal value if we pay attention to the Holy Spirit’s guidance and do everything for the glory of God.
Washing dishes can have eternal value. Taking a friend out to dinner certainly has eternal value. We work for God when we smile at a stranger or give a compliment. We can serve his kingdom in the way we drive and in the birthday cards we send. Every task in our jobs glorifies God if we do it well and honestly. How we spend our money can honor God. Each word we speak should bless and not curse.
We don’t have to be constantly active in ministry to be God’s faithful servant. But we do have to stay awake and alert to what we’re doing, how we’re doing it, and for whom we’re doing it. Ultimately, everything we do should bless the kingdom of God.
Today's Prayer
We thank You, Lord, because You have entrusted to us great things! Grant us the grace of having an alert and persevering heart in expecting Your Word. Amen.
God Bless You.....
No comments:
Post a Comment