BIBLE STUDY #6
NINETEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
AUGUST 8, 2010
Gospel – 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.
Reflection
There is a little book called the “ordo”, short for “The Order of Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours and Celebration of the Eucharist.” This book is published each year and tells us everything we need to know about these 2 forms of prayer. In the Eucharist, for example, we are told what mass parts we are to use, if there is a Creed and/or Gloria to be recited/sung, and it references all the readings. Every once in a while, a shorter form of a reading is acceptable, such as in today’s Gospel, where we are allowed to knock off the first and last paragraph listed above, and just read the middle paragraph. I never understood why this is an option, and I tell the lectors that we will always read the longer version, since I don’t think there is such a thing as too much scripture. If we are pressed for time, maybe we should shorten the homily (I don’t envision any problems with that!). Anyway, I believe in the three rules of public speaking: 1) stand up to be seen; 2) speak up to be heard, and 3) shut up to be appreciated.
In the first paragraph, Jesus tells his disciples, “Do not be afraid any longer” Why not? What is so different that fear would evaporate? Since this Gospel is written after the resurrection, Luke is writing to a Christian community. We need not be afraid because Jesus has died and is risen from the dead. He has paid the penalty for our sins, a price we couldn’t pay, and makes it possible for us to live in the kingdom, both now and in the next life. These facts should override every thing else. We need not be afraid because no one can take salvation away from us. We worry about so much, but I’d bet you can’t even remember half of what you were worried about one year ago today. Jesus tells us that the “Father is pleased to give you the Kingdom.” Salvation is a free gift of God. There is nothing we can do to merit it, to earn it, nor do we even deserve it. God loves us so much that he freely gives us something more valuable than anything else: eternal life.
We work so very hard at our job to make money to buy things; do we work as hard for spiritual things? Do we give as much consideration to God and eternal life as we do to our bosses and making money? Many people tell me that they skip church on Sundays because it is the only day they can sleep in. Tell this to your boss: “Sorry, boss, I didn’t come in yesterday because it was the only day I had to sleep late.” What do you think would happen? You’d have everyday to sleep in, because you’d be out of a job. Shouldn’t God get at least as much consideration as we give to our bosses?
Why are we always told to sell what we have and give to the poor? I guess if you have to ask that question, you’ve never tried it. There is something very heart warming about giving things away. It makes us realize that we have too much stuff, anyway. How many of you have clothes that you never wear? I think we could all give away about half of our closets and still have plenty to wear. Giving away things also lessens our dependence on material things so that those things don’t control us. We should be able to control the use of things. It also makes us realize how lucky we are, and our need to give thanks to God for his blessings. We can also give thanks by giving things away. It also reinforces our need to put the kingdom first, and that God will take care of us. I’ve always said that whatever comes first in our lives is our God. Another way to say that comes from the gospel: “For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.”
When we depend on God, we are storing up treasure in heaven. As good stewards, we respond to God’s many blessing by asking ourselves what we can do to repay God. The answer is sharing God’s love and bounty with each other. The ‘money bags that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven’ is a strong relationship with God. As we grow in our relationship with God, our bond with God becomes so strong that no one or no thing can break that relationship. In fact, when we get to that point, it is hard to even be deflected from our mission as disciples. By that point, we have felt the power of God’s grace and love in our lives and know that this is more important than anything else. We become willing to do whatever is necessary to serve God.
The second paragraph begins “Gird your loins and light your lamps”, and would remind the people of the first Passover celebration just prior to being freed from Egypt (Exodus 12:11). The exodus from Egypt was a Passover from the death of slavery to the freedom and life of the Promised Land. Jesus sacrifice on the cross and his subsequent resurrection allows us to Passover from the death of sin to new and eternal life in the kingdom.
Luke refers to the master being at a wedding and the servants awaiting his return. Jesus is the resurrected master who is at the heavenly banquet table, often referred to as a wedding feast. We are the servants who await his return, commonly called the Second Coming, also called the Apocalypse or the Parousia. This paragraph deals with our readiness for this second coming. If we are vigilant and prepared when Jesus returns, we will have nothing to fear or to worry about. At that time, the Lord will bring us to the heavenly feast, the eternal banquet. If not, well, dress lightly, if you know what I mean. We don’t know when he is coming; so all the speculation about this return is just that, speculation, or a guess. It could be today, 10 years, or 10 centuries, who knows? It doesn’t really matter: if we are prepared, we will be ready to receive the Kingdom.
I think that there are also two other events we need to be prepared for, the first one being our death. I have a habit of looking at headstones when I am in a cemetery. Some live very long lives, some live short lives, and I think to myself, where are they now? I usually read the obituaries every day, and, without fail, there is either an obituary or an ‘In Memoriam’ for someone who died under the age of 40.We just don’t know when that is going to happen. Will we be ready? Will a priest be able to get there in time to anoint us? Today we feel fine – who knows about tomorrow or next week? Now is the time to turn our lives around through confessing our sins, praying, helping those in need, and attending mass every week. God can’t ask us to be perfect, because then every one will fail. All God can ask us to do is to make an honest attempt to be the best disciple we can every day, given our limitations and our circumstances. When we fail, which we will, we seek forgiveness and keep trying our best. If we live like this, then we should not fear about what happens after we die, and we will be prepared.
The third paragraph is a little more specific and deals with the disciples’ responsibility in the missionary journey. It is a little more specific than to tell us to be ready. First of all, it tells us that we are all stewards. Everything belongs to God, and we are the caretakers of God’s creation. The good steward is the one who knows the master’s will and does things accordingly, not the least of which is distributing the food allowance at the proper time. The master’s will is explained in scripture (God’s owner’s manual) and in our Catholic Teaching. The good stewards are the ones who will inherit eternal life; the others will be punished severely. When the master returns, will he find us being good stewards, or will we be slacking off? Will we think that we have plenty of time and be caught off guard?
Being a good steward in itself is rewarding. There is an old saying that says ‘virtue is it’s own reward.’ If you don’t know what that means, try being virtuous and see what happens! As the TV ad once said, “Try it, you’ll like it.”
This weekend is the Mission Appeal weekend when a representative from a missionary group approved by the Diocese will be here to speak about the needs of his group. This year we are very happy to have Fr. Marc Real from the Archdiocese of Caceres in the Phillipines. It’s vitally important to share our good fortune with those in need and I hope you can be generous in the second collection. I hope from today’s gospel that you understand why these types of things are necessary.
I hope this helps you be prepared for mass this weekend. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Fr. Phil
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