You Were Called

August 28, 2008

Memorial of Saint Augustine, bishop and doctor of the Church

He will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus (Christ). God is faithful, and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:8-9

Therefore, 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. Matthew 24:42-43

Piety
http://artsci.villanova.edu/dsteelman/augustine/days/0828.html

From Augustine Day-by-Day for today:

For You I Am the Bishop: Believe me, brothers and sisters, if what I am for you frightens me, what I am with you reassures me. For you I am the bishop; with you I am a Christian. “Bishop,” this is the title of an office one has accepted to discharge; “Christian,” that is the name of the grace one receives. Dangerous title! Salutary name! -- Sermon 340, 1

Lord, whether prosperity smiles or adversity frowns, let your praise be ever in my mouth.
-- Commentary on Psalm 138, 16

Study
http://www.usccb.org/nab/082808.shtml

Why do we do what we do?

Many people seek to discover God's mercy and faithfulness from the sacred books, and yet, when their learning is done, they live for their own sakes and not for God's. They are intent on their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. They preach mercy and faithfulness without practicing them. Their preaching proves that they know their subject, for they would not preach without knowledge. But it is a different matter in the case of someone who loves God and Christ. When such a person preaches God's mercy and faithfulness, he seeks to make them known for God's sake, not his own. This means that he is not out to gain temporal benefits from his preaching; his desire is to help Christ's members, that is, those who believe in him, by faithfully sharing with them the knowledge he himself possesses, so that the living may no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for all. (From John E. Rotelle, O.S.A., Tradition Day by Day: Readings from Church Writers. Augustinian Press. Villanova, PA, 1994.)

Preaching is sharing what we know with others so that they can live for Christ, not for our own personal ambitions and desires. The unfaithful servant beats his peers because he is still living for himself. He does not care to provide to others the food they require. Instead, he uses the power of his position to exploit those surrounding him.

Those who are faithful and vigilant will provide service to others around purely because of their mission to live for Christ who was sent to serve us. Paul encouraged the community in Corinth to remain irreproachable to the end. His words also encourage those of us in the community in Virginia to stand firm to the end.

Action

Why do we do what we do? We do it because like the servants in Corinth, we too are called to fellowship with Jesus Christ. Because we are called, we must stay awake and be ready for him. Knowing that our Lord will come. Until He comes, we have to be ready because we do not know if He will appear to us as the homeless person begging on the street, as the sister or brother against whom we have a disagreement, or as the thief in the night.

To stay awake, we must be prepared by keeping praise for the Lord on our tongue and getting involved in active service with our hands. Preaching without also sharing piety and active love only does a part of the job. We may be called like the faithful and prudent servant “to distribute food at the proper time.” However, there are thousands of other ways to serve the Lord and the body of the church. Our job is to find one and be faithful to carrying out that service.