You Also Must Be Prepared

October 22, 2008

Wednesday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

By Melanie Rigney

… I became a minister by the gift of God’s grace that was granted me in accord with the exercise of his power. To me, the very least of all the holy ones, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the inscrutable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for all what is the plan of the mystery hidden from ages past in God who created all things … (Ephesians 3:7-9)

With joy you will draw water at the fountain of salvation. (Isaiah 12:3)

Jesus said to his disciples: “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." (Luke 11: 39-40)

Piety

Lord, You are Master. Help me to be ready to receive You at all times and in all forms. Help me to prepare for Your coming.

Study

Is there anything more aggravating than dinner guests who arrive late, meaning less than crispy fried chicken, soggy green beans, and growling stomachs?

Sure there is: guests who arrive early, meaning wine that isn’t thoroughly chilled, carpet that isn’t vacuumed, and flowers that don’t get properly arranged.

Or is your pet peeve friends who don’t call or e-mail you—or those who call or e-mail far too often? Or is it people who drive too fast and take unnecessary risks—or those who go 55 in the fast lane on the Beltway and refuse to move over? Just fill in the blank. We all have them.

But you have to wonder. How many times are we so busy complaining, aloud or to ourselves, about something that isn’t quite right that we fail to see God in the moment?

In today’s Gospel, Christ talks of the need to be prepared at all times for His return, because it will come “at an hour you do not expect.” He praises the steward who distributes the food allowance at the proper time, even if the master’s return is delayed. Conversely, the steward abuses the servants will himself be punished severely, Christ says. The servant unaware of what the master wanted will 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,” He says in conclusion.

Perhaps the “much” in this passage refers to more than tangible wealth and possessions. Surely, our greatest possession is the knowledge of what the Master desires: that we love God with all our hearts and souls and that we love our neighbors as ourselves. Do gifts get any better than that? Let us show our thanks for it by emulating St. Paul and preaching “the inscrutable riches of Christ, and (bringing) to light for all what is the plan of the mystery hidden from ages past in God who created all things.”

Action

Resolve to spend this afternoon living in the moment, unconcerned about guests, family members, trains, carpools, e-mails, phone calls, or other aspects of your life that don’t arrive and depart on your timetable. Welcome these interactions for what they are rather than dwelling on what they aren’t. Journal about the ways you saw Christ’s presence in them.