The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today remind us that the intimate Presence of Jesus is our guide to perseverance as faithful disciples.
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| Persevere in the Mystery |
The Letter of Paul to the Corinthians declares that their relationship in Christ will bring them strength to persevere to the end.
* [1:1] Called…by the will of God: Paul’s mission and the church’s existence are grounded in God’s initiative. God’s call, grace, and fidelity are central ideas in this introduction, emphasized by repetition and wordplays in the Greek.
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus contrasts the actions of those who expectantly await deeper intimacy with Him and those who put their own desires ahead of communion with Him.
* [24:45–51] The second part of the discourse (see note on Mt 24:1–25:46) begins with this parable of the faithful or unfaithful servant; cf. Lk 12:41–46. It is addressed to the leaders of Matthew’s church; the servant has been put in charge of his master’s household (Mt 24:45) even though that household is composed of those who are his fellow servants (Mt 24:49).
Eileen Wirth has trouble relating to the tone of today’s gospel because it stresses fear of the master rather than love for the master.
Jesus loves us. He’s not playing gotcha with us. He knows we’ll mess up from time to time but he’ll always take us back.
So welcome Jesus into your home. Say good morning to him and talk to him as you go about your mundane life. Don’t worry about what he would find on a surprise visit because loves you as you are.
Don Schwager quotes “You do not know the day,” by John Chrysostom (347-407 AD).
"But his meaning is like this: If ordinary persons knew when they were going to die, they would surely be striving earnestly at that hour. In order therefore that they may strive, not at that hour only, he does not tell them the hour or day. He wants to keep them on their toes looking for it, that they may be always striving. This is why he made the end of each person’s life so uncertain. In this passage he openly implies that he himself is Lord. Nowhere before has he spoken of this so distinctly. But here he seems to me also to be putting to shame those who remain careless about his lordship. They take much more care about a thief taking their money than about their own soul. Those who care about their house and do not want their possessions stolen take measures against the thief. They watch; they are prepared for the thief. So it is with you. You do not know when he will come. But you know assuredly that he will come. If you do not continue to watch, you will not be ready on that day. You will be unprepared. Destruction will come in your sleep. If the person had known when the thief was coming, he would have been prepared. So be like the one who is prepared at all times, so you will escape free. Having then mentioned the judgment, he directs his thoughts next to teachers, speaking of honorable and dishonorable actions. His discourse closes with that which is alarming, for he speaks first of those who do right, then of those who continue in sin." (excerpt from the THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 77.2-3)
The Word Among Us Meditation on 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 notes that Paul used prepositions again and again to describe how we relate to Christ.
Consider “in Christ,” for example. You could say that it means your life has been completely taken up into Christ’s life. In Christ your old self died. In Christ you were raised up and made into a new creation. In Christ you are loved as a son or daughter of God.
That’s not all. Because Christ lives in you, he is with you always. Wherever you go, you bring Christ with you. Like Mary, you bear him to the world.
Friar Jude Winkler outlines how the Corinthian letters of Paul were addressing a difficult community. Waiting for the end of the world is a time to dedicate ourselves to the work of the Lord. Friar Jude underlines the theme in Matthew's Gospel of recompense for those who reject Jesus Way.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, resonates with the theme of evolution in faith as he quotes Rabbi Rami Shapiro and describes a state to which we are invited to evolve with Christ.
Finally, we make the breakthrough to seeing that God’s grace and love is present within us, through us, with us, and even as us! We wake up to who we truly are: the image and likeness of God. The mystery of incarnation has come full circle. We can now enjoy God’s temple within our own body as the Apostle Paul teaches (1 Corinthians 3:16-17 and throughout), and we can love ourselves, others, and God by the one same flow. It is all one stream of Love! We fully realize that it is God who is doing the loving, and we surrender ourselves to being channels and instruments of that Divine Flow in the world. We do not initiate the process; we only continue it.
We encounter the challenge of being open to change as we persevere in our spiritual journey to animate the Life of Christ that dwells within.
References
(n.d.). Matthew chapter 24 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved August 30, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/24
(n.d.). Online Ministries Home Page - Creighton University. Retrieved August 30, 2018, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/preparing.html
(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 30, 2018, from http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
(n.d.). The Passion of Saint John the Baptist (Memorial) - Mass Readings .... Retrieved August 30, 2018, from https://wau.org/meditations/
(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archives - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved August 30, 2018, from https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/
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