Reflections on Sunday's Mass: August 8, 2010
This Sunday is the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Today’s Gospel asks a lot of us. Not only are we asked to be always prepared, but to be willing to remain so for an unknown amount of time.
Most of us have waited expectantly for a much wanted birth. The excitement of baby showers, decorating the nursery, and baby shopping carry us through the months. It’s different when waiting for the doctor’s verdict after a difficult surgery of a loved one. Yet, prayer and the companionship of others carry us through the anxious hours. Another kind of waiting happens at the market, especially when the person in front of us needs price checks. No joy. Rarely companionship, even less rarely perhaps is prayer.
Yet in all three examples we are aware of an end. The baby will come after 9 months, or perhaps 2 years if it’s an adoption. Doctors give some kind of time limit, be that hours or even a few days. The person in line in front of us has a finite amount of items to purchase.
Sure, today’s Gospel is a challenge. But the last two sentences offer the means to respond. “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.” Luke 12:48b
We who are one with Christ already have all we need to wait with faith, and hope, and love. After all, we are brothers and sisters to Jesus who is the Christ, the Son of God. What more do we need to live than accepting, each and every day of our lives the reality that we are beloved children of God? With that most amazing gift ever before us, we will be ready – no matter when “the master returns.”
Our Sunday Readings:
- Ministry:
