The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite thanksgiving and praise for the fullness of life that we are invited to share as faithful stewards of Christ in our environment.
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 Thessalonians, CHAPTER 3, n.d.)
Psalm 90 praises 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). (Psalms, PSALM 90, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus compares the Faithful or the Unfaithful Slave.
* [24:42–44] Cf. Lk 12:39–40. The theme of vigilance and readiness is continued with the bold comparison of the Son of Man to a thief who comes to break into a house.
* [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).
* [24:45] To distribute…proper time: readiness for the master’s return means a vigilance that is accompanied by faithful performance of the duty assigned.
* [24:48] My master…delayed: the note of delay is found also in the other parables of this section; cf. Mt 25:5, 19.
* [24:51] Punish him severely: the Greek verb, found in the New Testament only here and in the Lucan parallel (Lk 12:46), means, literally, “cut in two.” With the hypocrites: see note on Mt 6:2. Matthew classes the unfaithful Christian leader with the unbelieving leaders of Judaism. Wailing and grinding of teeth: see note on Mt 8:11–12. (Matthew, CHAPTER 24, n.d.)
Michael Kavan (from 2017) invites us to tune into Jesus’ real message – one that focuses on the importance of not staying awake, literally, but instead, staying on guard in order to ready ourselves for the coming of the Son of Man.
“If I were to die today, would I be leaving earth on terms I am comfortable with and am I ready to meet face to face with God?” Am I comfortable with what I have accomplished to date or would I ask Him for a chance to return for a “just a bit,” to tie up loose ends or maybe longer in order to be the person I always wanted and knew I could become. “God, could you send me back to earth since I’ve been wanting to say ‘I love you’ to my wife and kids, or ‘I’m sorry’” to someone I have hurt.” Or maybe I need more time to be a nicer boss or to give an extra hour or dollar to a cause meaningful to me – after all, I have been meaning to do those things for, well, a long time…. Being born in God’s grace causes me to believe that despite my many shortcomings that I have the potential to be and do a lot of good. Matthew’s reading allows me the opportunity to reflect on whether I am living in God’s grace to its fullest or am I falling short and, in essence, allowing the thief to rob my home or for me to be the unfaithful servant. (Kavan, 2023)
Don Schwager comments on “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) (Schwager, 2022)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 24:42-51 comments that like this faithful and prudent servant, we are all servants of the Lord. We don’t really own anything—it has all come to us from the hand of God. And in that sense, we are not just God’s servants; we are also his stewards, which is how Luke describes the servant in his version of this parable (12:42). God has entrusted everything to us, and our job as stewards is to use and manage our possessions, our time, and our talents for his purposes and glory. That requires us to be both faithful and prudent.
Today, consider everything that God has entrusted to you. Thank him for his confidence in you, and then ask him if there are any ways you could be a better steward of his gifts. Every step you take, no matter how small, will make you ever more ready for the Master’s return!
“Jesus, show me how to be faithful and prudent in all things.” (Meditation on Matthew 24:42-51, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the conclusion of three chapters of thanksgiving for the faith of the Thessalonians. The passages have the characteristics of a parenesis that is usually found at the end of a letter. Friar Jude notes that the Gospel of Matthew is rich in themes of being prepared for the time of accounting.
James Finley comments that the critical factor is not so much what the practice is in its externals as the extent to which the practice incarnates an utterly sincere stance of awakening and surrendering to the Godly nature of the present moment. Finley stresses the importance of prioritizing intentional presence on a daily basis, while encouraging us to do what we can within the limitations of our lives.
Remaining faithful to our contemplative practices calls for the integrity of remaining faithful to a commitment that nobody sees; it consists of giving ourselves over with all our heart to simple acts which, on the surface, seem to be but the incidental passage of time. But if we are faithful to this unassuming path of fidelity to our daily contemplative practices, the subtle awareness of the depths to which they grant access begins to permeate the very texture of our daily experience of living. Slowly, almost imperceptibly at first, fidelity to our contemplative practices evolves into an habitual awareness that does not miss the surprise appearance of God showing up in something as immediate and simple as the sunlight that suddenly fills a room on a cloudy day. (Finley, 2023)
We have experiences of awareness of the temporal limits to our earthly journey and we are invited by the Spirit to contemplate the connection with the Divine that reassures our faith in eternal truth, beauty, and love.
References
Finley, J. (2023, August 31). Find Your Practice and Practice It — Center for Action and Contemplation. CAC Daily Meditations 2023. Retrieved August 31, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/find-your-practice-and-practice-it-2023-08-31/
Kavan, M. (2023, August 31). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved August 31, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/083123.html
Matthew, CHAPTER 24. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 31, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/24?42
Meditation on Matthew 24:42-51. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved August 31, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/08/31/770223/
1 Thessalonians, CHAPTER 3. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 31, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1thessalonians/3?7
Psalms, PSALM 90. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 31, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/90?3
Schwager, D. (2022, October 2). Are You Ready to Meet the Lord? Daily Scripture net. Retrieved August 31, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=aug31
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