The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today resonate with taking inventory of our preparedness for transition into eternal life.
Prepared
The reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians is a concluding thanksgiving and prayer.
* [3:9–10] The tension between Paul’s optimism concerning the Thessalonians’ faith and his worries about their perseverance remains unresolved. Perhaps this is accounted for not only by the continuing harassment but also by the shortness of his own stay in Thessalonica (even if that were over twice as long as the conventional three weeks that Luke assigns to it, Acts 17:2).1
Psalm 90 contrasts God’s Eternity and Human Frailty.
* [Psalm 90] A communal lament that describes only in general terms the cause of the community’s distress. After confidently invoking God (Ps 90:1), the Psalm turns to a complaint contrasting God’s eternity with the brevity of human life (Ps 90:2–6) and sees in human suffering the punishment for sin (Ps 90:7–12). The Psalm concludes with a plea for God’s intervention (Ps 90:13–17).2
The Gospel of Matthew recounts the parable of the faithful or the unfaithful slave.
* [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).3
John Shea, S.J. comments that to be a good steward, we need to renew our sense of friendship with God, with one another and with Creation. Do we see ourselves as good stewards of God’s Creation with its entailed responsibilities? Or do we see ourselves as the entitled beneficiaries in some contractual agreement?
I know the link between carbon emissions from human activity and the increasing number of severe and extreme wildfires, floods, droughts. I reflect on how humanity is more like the wicked servant, misusing God’s Creation and failing as good stewards. I foresee a future where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. But it doesn’t have to be this way… Jesus tells us to “stay awake” in today’s reading. As the impact of global climate change worsens each year, we must awaken to a renewed sense of friendship with God, with one another and with Creation.4
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)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 24:42-51 comments that Jesus is not a harsh judge trying to trap us. He loves us and wants to be with us. He became one of us, died for us, forgave our sins, and sent us his Spirit, all to make it possible for us to enjoy eternal life with him. So why would he be looking for an excuse to condemn us? And even more to the point, why wouldn’t we want to spend every minute of our lives in joyful anticipation of his return in glory?
It’s true that you do not know on which day your Lord will come. But you can wait in joyful anticipation. You don’t have to look busy. You just have to stay awake—awake to God’s love poured out in your life and awake to opportunities to share that love with the people you encounter. “Lord, I can’t wait for your return! Awaken my heart to serve you now so that I will be ready when you come.”6
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the Thanksgiving of Paul and his concern that the Thessalonians may become arrogant. Our service to others should not be an efficient bureaucracy, but involves love for the other. Friar Jude muses on what we would change if we knew our reunion with Christ was this evening.
Barbara Holmes shares the benefits of believing in a God who is both personal (Jesus) and universal (Christ).
After I read The Universal Christ, the first dot that I connected was that the particularity of Jesus does not obliterate the universality or the everythingness of Christ. Moreover, the cosmic scope of the Christ is not light-years away, but in every cell of our star-born bodies. The Universal Christ offers the reality that I carry the same divine spark in me that is in every living thing. This spark is seen in the resurrecting power that transformed Jesus into the Universal Christ. That same force can resurrect and transform me and every living person and thing in creation. Father Richard Rohr reminds us that while Jesus is described as the light of world in John 8:12, Jesus also describes us as having that same light. He says, “You are the light of the world” in Matthew 5:14. . . .7
Our personal relationship with Jesus informs and reassures our anticipation of eternal reunion with Christ.
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