Sacred Scripture
Jesus said to his disciples: “Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come. Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household to distribute to them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so. Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is long delayed,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with drunkards, the servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”( Matthew 24:42-51)
Reflection
Jesus’ parable of the thief in the night vividly reminds us of the the necessity for watchfulness and being on guard to avert the danger of plunder and destruction, especially under the cover of darkness and secrecy! But what plunder? What destruction?
Our adversary the devil seeks to rob us of the very treasure which the Lord freely offers us. It is the treasure of a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus himself – who is our greatest gift and portion in this life. That is teh greatest gift we have ever been given and one which we don’t want to lose.
Since none of us knows when our last day on earth is and since Jesus did not reveal the day and the hour, then we should live each day as our last. If we did that, how different your life and mine would be.
Central to that last day would be the love in our hearts and how that translates into the actions of our day. That love requires us to embrace all people, including those who are not one with us and those who cannot seem to accept us as their equal in Christ.
That is a tall order indeed. But it is no less than His call. As believers we should be faithful and far-sighted servants who care for God’s people. We have to be able to spend our lives for the interests of others. When we have love in our hearts, we fulfill God’s foremost command to love Him above all and our neighbor as ourselves.
The call is for each of us to be a “person for others” who regards self as second and last in the distribution of benefits, who sacrifices self for another and forgets self for love of God and neighbor. Is that possible? Yes and yes. It’s possible because the grace of God which has been bestowed on all of us in Christ Jesus has enriched us in every way.
We are called to be faithful and to follow his will every single day. This is the path to holiness and union with God; there is no other way we can be close to God except by doing his will, out of love and gratitude.
Every day we need to renew our spirit of faith in God and in his constant presence, living each day to please him, no matter how long the delay seems to be. We need to live in his presence through faith in him and his revelation, which guides us along the pathway to eternal life. That is not pulpit talk. That is the reality of being Christian!
Prayer of The Day
“Lord Jesus, take my life and all that I possess so that I may see you as my treasure and joy. Make me strong in faith, steadfast in hope, and generous in love that I may seek to please you in all things and bring you glory.”
Daily Note
The Lord gives us his Holy Spirit so that we may have the wisdom, help, and strength we need to turn away from sin to embrace God’s way of love, justice, and holiness. The Lord’s warning of judgment causes dismay for those who are unprepared, but it brings joyful hope to those who eagerly wait for his return in glory. God’s judgment is good news for those who are ready to meet him. Their reward is God himself, the source of all truth, beauty, goodness, love and everlasting life.
