This weeks gospel calls us to action. Jesus tells his disciples to be dressed for action and to have their lanterns lit. Happy those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. If the homeowner knew what hour the burglar would break into the house, wouldn’t the homeowner be awake and ready for action?
But what does this all mean? Be ready for action and defending our house against homeowners?
My father told me many years ago that this reading was about working hard all the time. Bosses would tell this to their employees to let them know that they should always be working hard whether the boss is in the room or not. But like always, Jesus is asking more of us at this time.
Jesus was a man of his time. Servants were seen as the scum of society, so a lazy servant was the scum of scums. Servants were expected to always be hardworking, but of course, often they were not. The everyday person would work hard when a boss was around and slack off when they left, much like today with many people one would assume.
Jesus poses that all of us are servants in the workforce of God and that we should always be working hard and be ready for the lord. Often times this gospel reading has been viewed evidence of the second coming of Christ, but small old me sees a different message coming through to me.
Often times after Sunday mass, I come out and go “yep, that’s prayer and Jesus time over for now. I can do what I want and forget about it for a bit”. I think this reading is calling me to remember that our faith is simply not about going to mass but more about what we do after mass.
Going to church prepares us to live our lives in the way that Jesus wants. I see this reading reminding me that yes, Church is important but just as important as the majority of time spent outside mass.
God is always in the room, not just when I am at mass. God calls us to greatness constantly, and often the obstacles posed to us appear outside mass and these are the moments that Jesus says “Be ready for action”!
All Saints Youth Ministry 