Contemplating today's Gospel
Today's Gospel + homily (in 300 words)
He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss. Truth shall spring out of the earth, and justice shall look down from heaven.
The Lord himself will give his benefits; our land shall yield its increase. Justice shall walk before him, and salvation, along the way of his steps.
«Light your lamps and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding»
Fr. Miquel VENQUE i To (Solsona, Lleida, Spain)Today, we must pay our individual attention to Jesus' words: “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” (Lk 12:36). What a joy to realize that, even though unworthy and sinner, it will up to me to open the door for the Lord, when He finally comes! Yes, at the hour of death, I will open the door to Heaven or I will close it; nobody will be doing it on my behalf. “We can be persuaded God will ask us to render accounts not only of our deeds and words, but also of how we have been spending our time” (St. Gregory of Nazianzus).
To be waiting wide-awake at my door for him to arrive is quite simple, and I can certainly do it. I must not be inattentive. To be inattentive is to forget the final purpose, to wish to go to Heaven, but with no operative will; it is like building castles in the air, without having worthy commitments supporting our yearning. To wear your apron means to be in the kitchen, duly prepared for whatever comes. My good father, who was a farmer, used to say that you couldn't sow if the earth was “angry”; for a good sowing you are to actually walk in the fields by caressing the seeds.
Christians are never lost castaways, for they know where they come from, where they are going and how to get there; they know their destination, the means to reach it and the difficulties to be found along the way. To bear all this in mind will help us to be watchful and open the door when our Lord will warn us. Exhortations to vigilance and responsibility are often repeated in Jesus' preaching for two clear reasons: because Jesus loves us and He “watches” over us; he, who loves, does not fall asleep. And, because the devil, our enemy, keeps on tempting us. Thinking of heaven and hell should not detract us from our duties down here, but it is a healthy and incarnated thought, and it deserves the Lord's congratulations: “And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants” (Lk 12:38). O Jesus, help me to be all my life watchful and vigilant and keep loving you.
Thoughts on Today's Gospel
“Blessed then is the person at whose door Christ stands and knocks. Our door is faith; if it is strong enough, the whole house is safe.” (Saint Ambrose of Milan)
“Jesus wants our existence to be laborious, that we never lower our guard, so as to welcome with gratitude and wonder each new day given to us by God.” (Francis)
“(...) Vigilance is ‘custody of the heart’, and Jesus prayed for us to the Father: ‘Keep them in your name’. The Holy Spirit constantly seeks to awaken us to keep watch (...)” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Nº 2849)
