The gospel reading today is a forewarning by a loving Father to his children so that we will be fully ready to avoid any future danger. The reading reminds me of the story my grandmother would tell of the tale of a wise tortoise who gathered his three children and asked them: “How many times would something happen to you before you learn?” The first one answered once; the second said two times while the third said three times. The mother laughed and said, you failed it. “You must not allow anything to happen to you before you learn”, the mother tortoise said. You must be clever at all times and ready to avoid getting it wrong. The same is what Christ is telling us today. We must not allow ourselves to be taken unawares, for it is in the act of emergency, they say, that great people (warriors) are known and witnessed.
Jesus and His Disciples
As part of his teaching methodology, Jesus left no stone unturned in his pastoral mission. He utilized every opportunity in putting across his saving message of salvation. In the Gospel today, he used the terms everyone is familiar with in his exemplary short story. He said to them, ‘You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known at what hour the burglar would come, he would not have let anyone break through the wall of his house. You too must stand ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect’ (Lk 12: 39). By these very words, he had already intimated to his disciples and indeed all of us, not to be in danger of missing the opportunity whenever the Son of Man comes. He had already given us the clue and created the awareness of how it will be and so we will blame ourselves if we fail to be among the wise and faithful stewards who would be ready to meet their master at the appointed time.
The Delusion of Time
Most people live in this delusion of time. We are sometimes deceived by time and we keep procrastinating. For a lot of people, Christ is not coming soon, while in reality, we do not know the time nor the hour, and that it would be unexpected. Yet, we presume a lot. Sometimes, we live like the people Jesus mentioned in the gospel today who say: ‘My master is taking his time coming’, and sets about beating the menservants and the maids, and eating and drinking and getting drunk, his master will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know (Lk 12:45). We live as if we know nothing would happen and as we have not been warned. We keep living our life to the full in merriment, attending parties, feasting, and dining, living in affluence of wealth and women, traveling to busy cities for entertainment and cruising the world and beyond including other planets. These are good in themselves and worth doing if we can afford them, but we must not be deceived by them. They are good and wonderful, but they are not more precious than our souls and salvation. So, we must remind ourselves of the urgency of being ready as Christ advocates in the gospel today.
Reward or Punishment
We are all aware that there is a reward for good deeds and a reward for bad behaviour. Ignorance of the law, and the demand of Christ is not even an excuse. We have been forewarned about the danger of not getting ready with the huge amount of time given to us by our master. The servant who knows what his master wants but has not even started to carry out those wishes, will receive very many strokes of the lash. (Lk 12: 47). The ignorant person would not even be left out. He would receive, though limited, his own strokes of the lashes. We have received much from the Lord, including a clue of how the end would look like. He expects us to be ready and not miss any given opportunity. This is because eternal life is precious and to whom much is given, much is expected in return.
Peace be with you!
