Thursday of 21st Week in Ordinary Time
THE SERVANT STANDS READY
For three-and-a-half weeks, we will hear in the first reading excerpts from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. In this letter, Paul has to face practical problems in a young Christian community in pagan territory, particularly its internal division into factions, lapses of morality, relations with pagans, the role of charisms, and faith in the resurrection, so difficult to Greeks. In today’s greeting, he reminds the Christians of Corinth how they have become rich in Christ.
Especially to the leaders of the community, the Lord says that at his coming, he should find them doing what they are supposed to do, that is, serving the community in love.
First Reading:1 Corinthians 1:1-9
I, Paul, have been called and sent by Jesus, the Messiah, according to God’s plan, along with my friend Sosthenes. I send this letter to you in God’s church at Corinth, believers cleaned up by Jesus and set apart for a God-filled life. I include in my greeting all who call out to Jesus, wherever they live. He’s their Master as well as ours!
May all the gifts and benefits that come from God our Father, and the Master, Jesus Christ, be yours.
Every time I think of you—and I think of you often!—I thank God for your lives of free and open access to God, given by Jesus. There’s no end to what has happened in you—it’s beyond speech, beyond knowledge. The evidence of Christ has been clearly verified in your lives.
Just think—you don’t need a thing, you’ve got it all! All God’s gifts are right in front of you as you wait expectantly for our Master Jesus to arrive on the scene for the Finale. And not only that, but God himself is right alongside to keep you steady and on track until things are all wrapped up by Jesus. God, who got you started in this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of his Son and our Master Jesus. He will never give up on you. Never forget that.
Gospel: Matthew 24:42-51
“The Son of Man’s Arrival will be like that: Two men will be working in the field—one will be taken, one left behind; two women will be grinding at the mill—one will be taken, one left behind. So stay awake, alert. You have no idea what day your Master will show up. But you do know this: You know that if the homeowner had known what time of night the burglar would arrive, he would have been there with his dogs to prevent the break-in. Be vigilant just like that. You have no idea when the Son of Man is going to show up.
“Who here qualifies for the job of overseeing the kitchen? A person the Master can depend on to feed the workers on time each day. Someone the Master can drop in on unannounced and always find him doing his job. A God-blessed man or woman, I tell you. It won’t be long before the Master will put this person in charge of the whole operation.
“But if that person only looks out for himself, and the minute the Master is away does what he pleases—abusing the help and throwing drunken parties for his friends—the Master is going to show up when he least expects it and make hash of him. He’ll end up in the dump with the hypocrites, out in the cold shivering, teeth chattering.”
Prayer
Lord our God,
we affirm that we believe in you,
but we are in danger of forgetting
that deeds have to prove
the sincerity of our faith.
Help us to be wise and faithful servants
of steadfast faith and fervent love,
who follow the example of Jesus Christ,
your Son and our Lord for ever. Amen.
Reflection:
25 August 2022
Matthew 24:42-51
Be alert; the Lord is coming!
The Gospel today speaks about the coming of the Lord at the end of time and exhorts us to be watchful, faithful and prudent. In the early Church, many believed that the end of this world was close at hand and that Jesus would return soon.
Many people continue to believe that the end of the world is soon to happen. As the year 2000 approached, many were worried and anguished because they predicted the end was near. These eschatological readings are often used to awaken people and oblige them to return to life in faith!
The problems of the early Christian communities were very much similar. They waited for the second coming of Jesus. There were people who no longer did any work because they thought the end was so close at hand, within a few days or a few weeks, and so, “Why to work, if Jesus will return soon?” (cf. 2 Th 3, 11). That is why St. Paul intervened and said: “Anyone who does not want to work has no right to eat!”
Others remained looking up at the sky, waiting for the return of Jesus in the clouds. In general, Christians lived with the expectation of the imminent coming of Jesus. Slowly, as the waiting period prolonged, they began to lose patience, became tired of waiting, and would say: “He will never come back!”
Up until now, the coming of Jesus has not happened! How could this delay be understood? It is because people are unaware that Jesus has already returned and he lives in our midst: “I am with you always, till the end of time.” (Mt 28, 20). He is already at our side in our struggle for justice, peace, and life.
Jesus says this very clearly. Nobody knows anything regarding the hour of his coming: “Concerning this day and this hour, nobody knows, neither the angels, nor the Son, but only the Father.
A careless reading of this passage could lead us to misunderstand the text. There are chances that we understand God as a punishing God who would condemn those evil people to the fires of hell. “Will flog him severely and sentence him to the same fate as the hypocrites, where there will be lamenting and grinding of teeth,” reads the end of today’s Gospel.
Is it not true that God is also presented as a merciful and forgiving God? Will such a forgiving God permit anyone to be condemned? Here, Matthew uses the scenes of punishments common in the courts of kings and emperors, of which his readers were well aware. Using threats to encourage compliance is a literary technique applied well by the Evangelist. We believe in a forgiving God and not a punishing God.