Gospel • MT 24:42-51
*
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.”
* * *
Jesus is returning to Jerusalem to complete the Father’s work and usher in the Kingdom of God. His disciples ask him in private about the end of the age. Jesus quashes any form of speculation, pointing out that while the timing remains uncertain, the event itself is bound to happen. He thus instructs his disciples repeatedly to keep watch, be ready, and be faithful.
As they prepare for the final day, the disciples should not be crippled by fear of eternal punishment. They should rather be motivated by an earnest desire to meet the Lord and to be with him. This encounter, Jesus points out, is not limited to a remote time in the future, but can happen today.
Our love for God emboldens us to be in solidarity with our neighbors, particularly the needy. Faithfulness is lived not by keeping an eye on the prophetic clock but by serving the marginalized and providing for the needs of the poor. Does Jesus’ second coming occupy your thoughts, or is it farthest from your mind?
* * *
SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord 2020,” ST. PAULS Philippines, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.
