MY daily reflection and prayer:
Sunday, August 7, 2016
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dear my friends,
Here is the Gospel for us today according to St. Luke 12: 32-48
Jesus said to his disciples, “Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. 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. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them. And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” Then Peter said, “Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?” And the Lord replied, “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute the food allowance at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so. Truly, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, then that 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 unfaithful. That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.
***
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ. Again, in the Gospel today Jesus Christ reminds us to prepare for eternal life. How often we are so preoccupied and anxious about the things of this worldly things. Then we forget about pursuing the heavenly treasure “that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.” He reminds us that we easily forget about our true real purpose and the real relationship we ought to be fostering each day with God our Father who loves us.
So Jesus Christ says, “Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your belongings and give alms.” Do not be afraid to share your belongings and give alms.” He also says, “Gird your loins and light your lamps … blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.”
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ. What does Jesus Christ mean with these words? First of all, he wants to remind us to prepare for our eternal life. For the sake of it, he urges us to have this attitude: always ready.
Always ready for what? Always ready for the moment of our death. But do not be afraid for God, our Father is pleased to give us his heavenly kingdom.
So now, let’s reflect on this message that Jesus Christ wants us to be ready for the moment of our death. Each one of us is going to die someday. We don’t know when and how, but we will die.
Instead of being afraid of death, we have to be ready to welcome it in faith to Jesus Christ. How? By living each day ready to love. In that way, we’re storing up treasure for the day when we will meet God face to Face.
How would we like to meet God? How ready are we to meet him? How ready are we to welcome our death? Of course, we will die as we have lived. If we’ve lived by sacrificing ourselves for God and for others, so we’ll be ready to welcome it joyfully.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that when we die, we will meet Jesus Christ face to Face, and we will see the effects of the good and the evil we have done. We’ll also see the effects of the good we’ve failed to do.
We shall be judged on our love for God and others. So Jesus Christ’s message today is let’s live each day as a preparation to meet him with joy. Semper paratus, always ready to welcoming Jesus Christ by adoring him and doing good for others.
In the Perpetual Adoration of the Eucharist while adoring Jesus Christ we learn to be ready always to prepare for our eternal life. What things and activities in our life are emptying us and distracting us from developing a better relationship with Christ? Do our priorities and decisions radiate to those around us that Jesus Christ is the true love of our soul, true heavenly treasure?
Let’s pray: Lord Jesus Christ, you are the true love of our soul and our true heavenly treasure. Thank you for so patiently guiding us along the pathway to everlasting life. Help us convince that God is truly pleased to give us the heavenly kingdom because he loves us. We love you Lord and offer all that we have and all that we do to you, for your glory and the salvation of souls. Keep us vigilant and committed in doing your most holy will now and forever. Amen.
Kredit foto: Ilustrasi (Ist)
