20260827 TAKING OUR PLACE AMONG THE SAINTS OF GOD
7 August 2026, 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!
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.’
TAKING OUR PLACE AMONG THE SAINTS OF GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 COR 1:1-9; MT 24:42-51]
Our Lord in today’s Gospel exhorts His disciples to stay awake for the Coming of the Lord. On one level, this refers to the Day of the Lord, as St. Paul wrote to his community: “While you are waiting for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed; 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.” Indeed, this is the ultimate destiny of every man and woman. We are called to live in such a way that when the day comes, we will be ready to take our place among the saints of God in heaven.
How, then, can we prepare ourselves for the Day of the Lord? We must be careful not to make the same mistake as the early Christians in St. Paul’s time, who assumed the Day of the Lord was immediately at hand. From the letters of Paul to the Thessalonians (1 Thess 4:13-5:7) and to the Corinthians (1 Cor 7:25-35), we see that the early Christians thought the end was near. Consequently, St. Paul advised those who were unmarried to remain single and devoted to the Lord; he also reprimanded the Thessalonians who were idling away their time waiting for the Day of the Lord instead of carrying on with their daily lives.
To prepare for the Second Coming of the Lord, we must live every day as if the Lord is coming. In other words, we must recognise that the Lord comes every day through the various events of our lives; He does not come only at the end of time. He comes to us through the poor, the suffering, the imprisoned, the naked, the hungry, and the thirsty (Mt 25:31-46). As the Lord said, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me” (Mt 25:40). He comes to us seeking to restore us to wholeness. Citing the prophet Isaiah, He said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour” (Lk 4:18-19).
Hence, we must stay awake at all times to welcome Him into our lives. The Lord said, “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 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.” Truly, the Lord comes to us through our brothers and sisters in the ordinary events of our lives.
As Christians, we are called to serve one another because we are all servants of Christ. In most instances, all believers are called to mutual service–at home, at work, in our communities, and wherever we find ourselves. Of course, some are called to serve a larger group of people. These are servant-leaders who are called to shepherd a community or an organisation. They bear a greater responsibility because they have a broader impact on the lives of those under their charge. Being a servant-leader is an honour and a great privilege, but it also entails responsibility, commitment, self-sacrifice, and generosity of heart. Indeed, as St. Paul reminds us in the first reading, the more gifts we are blessed with, the greater our responsibility to share them with the larger community. Recognising the gifts of the Corinthians, St. Paul wrote, “I never stop thanking God for all the graces you have received through Lord 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.”
In the final analysis, all of us will be assessed on our readiness to take our place among the saints of God. This is what the Lord addresses in the Gospel when He asks, “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.” When we live in the moment–always conscious of what we are doing and whom we are serving–we will serve with dedication, devotion, and generosity. We must remember St. Paul’s exhortation: “Whatever your task, put yourselves into it, as done for the Lord and not for your masters, since you know that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you serve the Lord Christ” (Col 3:23-24). So at all times, we must live lives of integrity, staying true to our identity as disciples of Christ and showing gratitude for our blessings by blessing those under our charge. This is what it takes to be ready when the Lord comes. We must always be diligently doing our duty, no matter how simple that duty might be, because God does not judge us by our position in life, but by our faithfulness to what has been entrusted to us.
We must never forget that we are God’s stewards; we are not the masters of God’s household. God has entrusted His household to our care, and we remain servants of all. Therefore, we should not grow proud of our office or position, nor think of ourselves as superior to others. Our task is to empower others to become who Jesus calls them to be, living meaningfully according to God’s will and calling. As servants of all, we must help our fellow servants serve with dedication, discipline, honesty, and selflessness. We must remain watchful, as the Lord reminds us; otherwise, the Evil One will come like a thief to lead us into laziness, irresponsibility, and self-seeking behaviour. Leaders must not put their own interests ahead of those under their charge, nor exploit people for personal gain, as Peter reminded the elders: “I exhort the elders among you to tend the flock of God that is in your charge, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion but willingly, as God would have you do it–not for sordid gain but eagerly. Do not lord it over those in your charge, but be examples to the flock” (1 Pt 5:1-3).
Failure to remain faithful will be met with judgement–not just in the next life, but already in this one. Jesus warns irresponsible servants: “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.” Indeed, as servants of Christ, we must never forget our role as God’s shepherds feeding His sheep, as Ezekiel warned the leaders of Israel (Ez 34). We must not mislead others or impose burdens on them that we cannot lift. Let us not forget what the Lord said about those who lead the vulnerable astray: “If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling block comes!” (Mt 18:6-7).
This is a key temptation for leaders today: diluting the Gospel they are called to preach by compromising Christ’s teachings with the worldly values people seek. We are not here to proclaim ourselves, as St. Paul says: “If our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor 4:3-6). So let us walk in truth and love every day and every moment of our lives, keeping our minds focused on Christ and the Gospel. Let us be courageous in proclaiming the Gospel as the Lord teaches us, rather than pushing our own opinions and ideas.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment