19^th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

 

Readings: Wisdom 18:6-9
                 Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-12
                 Luke 12:35-40

 

 

 

"Blessed are those servants whom the master
finds vigilant on his arrival.”

 

 

 

We saw last Sunday how greed spoils a person's life and brings him to ultimate ruin. God, the author of everything, sends the sword of death at a time the greedy knows not. But God's final verdict is unknown not only to the greedy but to all. That is why everyone is called and expected to be prepared all the time. This is the theme of today's gospel which gives continuity to last Sunday's gospel. Today, therefore, we center our meditation on two points: one, the call to preparedness, two, the need to set our hearts to the real treasure.

 

1. One time in a formation house, the little kids were down playing in the field when one of the fathers came and called them at his side. He asked: “What will you do if right now is the end of the world?” One answered: "I'II run to the chapel." The other said: "I’ll recite the rosary." And so on and so forth. "But what about you, silent little boy?" asked the priest. And his answer was: "Well, I just stay here and continue to play.” Touched by the boy's sincerity, the priest realized not only the boy’s innocence but his preparedness. It came straight from his heart. – The boy was St. John Bosco.

 

The gospel's first point invites us to be prepared for at least two reasons:

 

a. "You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come." Part of man's psychology is to behave just exactly as expected. That is why sometimes, although it is quite difficult to act or behave in a manner we are not used to, we are forced to do so because we are simply expected to. This applies even to the most ordinary situation and setting. That is why when a visitor is expected to come; we see to it that our place may just be as presentable as possible. And when we expect nobody, we seem to let things go and not to care how our place may look like. Jesus seems to pick this basic human behavior as he teaches a lesson about the hour. He is so dogmatic about its surety, but is just so wise as to keep it a secret when will it really come. Not even the angels know about it (cf Mt 13:32). And he has one big reason for this: that man maybe prepared all the time and any time. At first, we may be forced to be prepared just as someone is forced to behave in a manner he is not accustomed to. But this is precisely how it is to cultivate virtue. It is done through constant repetition of the same thing. But once it becomes a virtue - i.e., a good habit - it becomes a second nature to man. By that time, doing it would be easy, and what comes out of it comes straight from the heart. This is the path the saints used to take and follow. And indeed, to them, the how does not anymore become a dreadful thing but a joyous event.

 

b. "Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.” The second reason why we must be prepared is because it is our responsibility to. The parable likens us to servants. And as servants, we have definite responsibilities our master expects us to meet. Thus, we are judged to be faithful or unfaithful servants just as how ready we are to open the door once the master comes and knocks, i.e., just the way we keep or neglect our responsibilities. The faithful ones are, therefore, those who do it in and out of season. The unfaithful are those who forget or even intend to forget their responsibilities and turn to other businesses and preoccupations unworthy of a servant.

 

Now, this will be the basis of the master's dispensation of justice. By his parable, Jesus just speaks in a language we too are so familiar with. Per experience, this has been the common attitude of people. At childhood, we are often told about the wisdom of the old saying: “When the cat is away, the mouse will play.” The same wisdom is taught in the parable. At the master's back, servants become care free. That is why the church is full only when there are signs that the master is near. But worse, the parable throws another deeper message. The servants are not only carefree, but act as if they were the master. In this case, the mouse does not only play. The truth is: "When the cat is away, the mouse becomes the cat" (and worse than the cat, for that matter). This is just also true to people who lose the sense of the end-time, who forget the message of the hour. Of course, literally beating fellow servants may not be today's fashion. But exploitation, manipulation and opportunism are most likely the behavior of modem man who has lost sense of his final destiny.

 

2.   It is clear, then, that we are called to be always ready and prepared. But the more important question follows” how? This brings us to the second salient point of today's gospel which practically starts at the gospel of last Sunday. And as we see, both gospels offer one prevailing answer: setting our hearts on the real treasure. For indeed, they are the only imperishable ones that defy time and behold eternity. Neither thief can reach nor can moth destroy them. But where are they to be found?

 

The parable suggests that this treasure is found not elsewhere but directly in our very midst as servants. That is why the gospel closes with: “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.” We are all servants under one Master. And our servanthood varies, just as the church has members. But whether great as the head or insignificant as a part, everybody has an equal share of importance and responsibility. The parable is clear: the master puts the faithful ones in charge of his properties – of the treasure, we may say. So, what makes us worthy of the treasure is our faithfulness. But being faithful is not merely doing what is expected. Doing one’s responsibility must come from the sincerity of heart. It is not only the responsibility all the time, but keeping it all the time with joy. In short, it must be out of virtue. This is the real sense of the evangelic attitude:” Where your treasure is, there will you heart be.”

 

This must be the deeper meaning of Jesus' message since every reward is sweetest when merited out of love and not out of force. Lest, we may not even talk about any reward at all. Was it not Jesus too who said that a servant simply acts according to his obligation? (cf Lk 17:7-10). Thus, Christian responsibility does not stop on mere obligation. Otherwise, we may still be enslaved within the bounds of law, and Christianity would not have something novel and noble to offer. Christ came to give us the truest sense of freedom - freedom that comes straight from the heart. So, if there should be any law that governs and rewards the faithful servants, that law is the law of love.