August 7, 2022
Luke 12: 32-48
Reflection:
Today’s readings offer a compelling admonition to pay attention to our personal situation and decide if changes need to be made to how we respond to other people and circumstances.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him, upon those who hope for his kindness. We each have a “God spark” within us, which lets us know that a power beyond ourselves is working to awaken us to possibilities far beyond our puny consciousness. Some people ignore it and trust their own “lights”; others surrender and follow its lead living with faith that everything will turn out as it should be.
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go. How often are we called to do something that is outside our comfort zone and disturbing to our “plans”. How do we test the legitimacy of the request? Are we being called to a greater good or would the call result in harm to ourselves or those we love? By their fruits you will know them and that is how we can test the offer.
Stay awake and be ready! For you do not know on what day your Lord will come. How many of us have been stunned by events that were unexpected and life altering, events that happened seemingly spontaneously during these past years! We like to think we are prepared for whatever is happening around us and for any eventuality, but our lives are more free-floating than we care to admit.
A major lesson of living through an era of pandemic is that we know not the day nor the hour. Pages of obituaries in local papers gave sobering witness to how fragile life is and how little control we have no matter how loud or insistently we argue against the realities around us. Sometimes those who speak the loudest fall the hardest! Remaining centered in prayer, no matter what our profession may be, is the only preparation that we can make for events that knock us off our game.
You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” We live in a world of ever changing circumstances, where there is no “old order” anymore. Everything can be changed in a short period by forces far beyond our control. The ability to live with the unexpected and not collapse under its weight is a gift needing constant prayer.
“Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.
For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.”
“Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?” Only you can decide for yourself whether to heed this call to awareness and conversion. For what do you hope to be remembered?
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, the master will put the servant 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 the servant 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.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Meet Sister Maria Delaney, SNDdeN
