20220825 VIGILANCE
25 August, 2022, Thursday, 21st Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
1 Corinthians 1:1-9 © |
You have been enriched in many ways in Christ
I, Paul, appointed by God to be an apostle, together with brother Sosthenes, send greetings to the church of God in Corinth, to the holy people of Jesus Christ, who are called to take their place among all the saints everywhere who pray to our Lord Jesus Christ; for he is their Lord no less than ours. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ send you grace and peace.
I never stop thanking God for all the graces you have received through Jesus Christ. I thank him that you have been enriched in so many ways, especially in your teachers and preachers; the witness to Christ has indeed been strong among you so that you will not be without any of the gifts of the Spirit while you are waiting for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed; and he will keep you steady and without blame until the last day, the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, because God by calling you has joined you to his Son, Jesus Christ; and God is faithful.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 144(145):2-7 © |
I will bless your name for ever, O Lord.
I will bless you day after day
and praise your name for ever.
The Lord is great, highly to be praised,
his greatness cannot be measured.
I will bless your name for ever, O Lord.
Age to age shall proclaim your works,
shall declare your mighty deeds,
shall speak of your splendour and glory,
tell the tale of your wonderful works.
I will bless your name for ever, O Lord.
They will speak of your terrible deeds,
recount your greatness and might.
They will recall your abundant goodness;
age to age shall ring out your justice.
I will bless your name for ever, O Lord.
Gospel Acclamation | Jn15:15 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I call you friends, says the Lord,
because I have made known to you
everything I have learnt from my Father.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mt24:42,44 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Stay awake and stand ready,
because you do not know the hour
when the Son of Man is coming.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 24:42-51 © |
He is coming at an hour you do not expect
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Stay awake, because you do not know the day when your master is coming. You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known at what time of the night the burglar would come, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed anyone to break through the wall of his house. Therefore, you too must stand ready because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
‘What sort of servant, then, is faithful and wise enough for the master to place him over his household to give them their food at the proper time? Happy that servant if his master’s arrival finds him at this employment. I tell you solemnly, he will place him over everything he owns. But as for the dishonest servant who says to himself, “My master is taking his time,” and sets about beating his fellow servants and eating and drinking with drunkards, his master will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know. The master will cut him off and send him to the same fate as the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.’
VIGILANCE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 COR 1:1-9; MT 24:42-51]
Like the Christians in Corinth, we have all been blessed with many gifts from the Lord. They received the gifts of the Spirit such as speaking, praying and prophesying in tongues, healing and miracles. Instead of being grateful and humbled that they received them, they were comparing and competing among themselves. There were divisions among them, and factions were building up around some leaders. Then there were others who were living immoral lives and bringing their fellow brothers and sisters to court over some disagreements.
Like them we, too, often take these gifts bestowed by the Lord for granted. We also have some Catholics who would even sue fellow Catholics because of some disagreement in the way an organization is managed, or because of hurtful words. Of course, sometimes the clergy is the cause of scandals, forgetting their great privilege of being chosen to be the ministers and shepherds of His sheep. We bring shame to the Church. Like them too, there is so much competition for honour, glory and recognition in the Church among members and sometimes organizations. We abuse the blessings we have received, like the servant in today’s gospel. Just because his master was late in returning, he “sets about beating his fellow servants and eating and drinking with drunkards.”
Today, St Paul and our Lord urge us to be watchful over our communities and over ourselves lest the Evil One, the burglar, enters into our house and our community. This is the theme of today’s scripture readings. Otherwise, disasters await us. This explains why many Catholics lose their faith. They do not strengthen their faith in good times. When crisis strikes, they are not able to take it. They blame God, they blame others, they blame themselves. They lose faith and become bitter and resentful. If not careful, they are drawn further away from God. Without prayers and reading the Word of God, they become easy prey for Satan to tempt them to further sins and eventually destroy themselves.
Hence, we must not take things for granted. There is always a grave danger of complacency. This always happens when we take our spiritual life and gifts as a matter of course; not just with our faith but also with our loved ones and colleagues, and even our jobs. One day when we lose them, whether it is our health, our loved ones, our job, then we regret. The servant in the gospel abused the position the master gave to him. He was supposed to take care of the house and the other servants. Instead of being responsible in managing the household, he was drinking, getting drunk and abusing the other servants. He forgot his position and his privilege.
Indeed, today’s gospel has a warning, especially to those who hold positions in life, whether in society, in organization or in church. The greater the privilege, the greater is the trust and the responsibility demanded. When leaders abuse their positions of trust, they are often severely punished because of the implications of their actions on the larger community. Indeed, the Lord warns, “his master will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know. The master will cut him off and send him to the same fate as the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.” Often, leaders forget the need for accountability. When they are dishonest, using their positions to enrich themselves, further their interests, they will eventually be exposed and be condemned. Unfortunately, this is a lesson leaders do not seem to learn. They forget that they would be held to accountability. The writing is on the wall. It would be a matter of time before they are deposed.
Indeed, we must be prepared at all times by being watchful. We should not even be thinking of just being prepared for the final judgment. The real judgment is not when Christ comes at the end of time. Judgment is taking place every moment and every day. On the last day, God does not judge as if an accountant is taking stock of the company’s financial balance. Every decision we make here and now will draw us closer to the Lord, or take us away from Him. No one decision will change us, but the accumulation of choices. So when the Lord said, the master will come any time, what He meant was that He is watching us all the time. We cannot hide from God. We must live in the moment.
So the best way to prepare ourselves is really to make the right choice at every moment in our lives. We must live in such a way that we are already in the last day. The last day is not a day when we can change our character and our life suddenly. This is why, some Catholics think that they can continue committing sins and hopefully just before they die, theirs sins will be forgiven. We are not too sure whether if one lives a sinful life, when his heart is hardened by evil, numbed to sin and to what is good, and to God as well, would he even desire to repent and have his sins forgiven. By continuing to live a sinful life, that person would have reinforced all the sinful decisions he makes each day and be hardened in them.
When we are prepared for the last day, every day becomes a day of true joy and freedom. In fact, the last day is already anticipated today, like a student sitting for an exam. If the student is preparing himself every day, studying regularly, when the exam comes, it will just be another day. There is no need for him to feel tensed because over the months, he has accumulated and done his studies. Exam for the student would be a day of liberation and celebration because he will be bringing together all that he has read and researched, and sharing his knowledge with others. Exam is only stressful for those who are unprepared.
So too in our spiritual life. If we have been praying every day, meditating on the scripture texts, participating in the Eucharist, reading up our faith, when the trials set in, we will be ready to withstand the onslaughts of the storms. We would have armed ourselves with our faith in the Lord and remembered all that He has taught us or assured us. We will never lose hope so easily and be misled by the world. We remember the words of our Lord when He said, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock.” (Mt 7:24f) Let us, as St Paul says, continue to be inspired by our teachers and preachers.
Hence, we should not delay further in preparing ourselves to welcome the Lord into our lives. He is coming to us every day, here and now, in our friends, in our colleagues, in our family members. He comes to us in a special way at worship, especially in the celebration of the sacraments. He comes to us when we reach out to the poor, the sick and the abandoned. He comes to us when our friends approach us for a listening ear and for encouragement. So we must be attentive and alert to the different ways the Lord is entering into our lives. Every opportunity lost means we are further away from the Kingdom.
Let us be like the faithful servant. Don’t waste time on futile and useless activities, like getting drunk, watching pornography, gambling, taking drugs and gossiping. Rather, we must use our time well. Life is short. We use our time to build God’s kingdom of love and mercy and avoid harmful and destructive activities. We should use our time and resources to give glory to God so that what we do today will have eternal value in the next life. Loving, caring, sharing are eternal values that we can bring to the next life. Following St Paul, let us be responsible, thanking God for the blessings we have received and grow in perfection of life, in holiness. This is a lifelong process. No one becomes holy overnight. We must wholeheartedly work on it day and night. Indeed, St Paul urges us, to be “steady and without blame until the last day, the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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