The Gospel According to Luke 12:39-48
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.” 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, he will put him 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.”
Reflection: Think about the last verse that we just heard for a minute…
If you have heard that line of wisdom before, you know it means we are held responsible for what we have. If we have been blessed with talents, wealth, knowledge, time, and the like, it is expected that we use this to benefit others.
God is the source of our lives and everything that we have. He is therefore the ultimate end and destiny. By his grace, we are custodians of his creations, even of our own lives. As a matter of fact, nothing belongs to us at all. Everything ultimately belongs to God. This means that we cannot administer the temporal goods of the earth, including our lives, according to the way we want. Stewardship should be exercised according to God’s plan. Which means that everything that we do with what he gave us brings glory to His name.
Into this world we never brought anything, and we shall likewise not take away anything. The gospel of today reminds us that the day of reckoning is coming when we shall account for what God gave us, including our own lives. Before him, the Just Judge, we shall stand to account for our stewardship. We can use these teachings to be faithful custodians, to clean our society of anything that does not bring glory to God’s name, and to make our lives the sign of God’s presence.
We believe in a mysterious God. The mystery surrounding Him is what prompts our faith. If we understood who God is in totality, our faith wouldn’t be necessary. We have faith in God because there is something we still don’t know about Him. Our desire to know this mysterious God is what moves us closer to Him.
Action of the Day: Today reflect on this; Let us live our lives knowing that one day we will have to stand before God and account for how we lived. It is important to remember to store up our treasures in heaven, and not here on earth by not putting our confidence, strength and mind in things that do not last. Investing in earthly goods can make us happy, but not as much as God will.
Audio Reflection:
