Thursday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time
St. Augustine
1 Cor 1: 1-9; Matt 24: 42-51
Dc. Larry Brockman
Vigilant! We must be vigilant at all times for the coming of the Lord. But not only that, our vigilance must be characterized by faithfulness and prudence as we conduct our daily lives. When you come right down to it, that’s a tall order.
First, take the vigilance part. Most of us “have a life”- work, school, raising kids, caring for others, volunteering. So, there are lots of things we feel we are required to do. And when we are not doing these required things, then we are trying to have fun for ourselves- a little TV; sports; listening to music and relaxing; playing video games or reading; maybe even partying with others and doing our hobbies and interests.
But Jesus says we need to be awake at all times for the coming! Yes, Indeed, Jesus wants us to be ready at all times in our relationship with God, and that is challenging. Between our responsibilities and our leisure, where is the time for God?
Now in the Gospel, Jesus gives us a strong hint on what it means to be ready. First, he talks about servants being ready; not people being ready. That means he wants, even expects, all of us to serve him in some way, to be servants. Clearly, taking care of our families and their needs are part of God’s plan; they are part of being a servant. But sometimes we can spend so much time providing for our worldly needs, including our leisure, that we neglect our spiritual and some of our social needs.
Jesus goes on to say that this servant needs to be both faithful and prudent. To be sure, there are some people who are neither faithful nor prudent. Some people shirk responsibility in favor of serving themselves; and some people are not prudent with their gifts and things of the world, doing things in excess and ignoring their relationship with God altogether. That’s what the bad servant in the Gospel did.
But most people are honestly trying to do what is right. So what message is there for us?
One of the old Church Masters, Origen, has observed that people are either faithful or prudent; but rarely both. There is a balance required there, and it is the essence of what Jesus is saying to us this morning. We can be faithful in our commitment to our jobs, school, and others; but lack the wisdom and prudence to balance these things with the rest of our lives. We can be faithful to our God in terms of what we believe; but lack wisdom and prudence in tempering the rule of law with the need to always love. Jesus wants us to be both Faithful and Prudent at the same time; and that involves a balance; it is faithfulness but with a heart.
In our first reading, Paul tells the Corinthians He is confident that they are not lacking in any spiritual gift as they wait for the day of the Lord. That is our challenge. We must balance our responsibilities with our play. And we must also be responsible in our faithfulness. We need to know and serve God with faithfulness and prudence so that we will not lack in any spiritual gift as we wait for the day of the Lord.
