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Wednesday – Twenty-ninth Week – OT2
Readings: Eph 3:2-12; Lk 12:39-48.
Reading 1 (Eph 3:2-12):
Brothers and sisters:
You have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace
that was given to me for your benefit,
namely, that the mystery was made known to me by revelation,
as I have written briefly earlier.
When you read this
you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,
which was not made known to human beings in other generations
as it has now been revealed
to his holy Apostles and prophets by the Spirit,
that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same Body,
and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.
Of this I became a minister by the gift of God’s grace
that was granted me in accord with the exercise of his power.
To me, the very least of all the holy ones, this grace was given,
to preach to the Gentiles the inscrutable riches of Christ,
and to bring to light for all what is the plan of the mystery
hidden from ages past in God who created all things,
so that the manifold wisdom of God
might now be made known through the Church
to the principalities and authorities in the heavens.
This was according to the eternal purpose
that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,
in whom we have boldness of speech
and confidence of access through faith in him.
Gospel (Lk 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.”
Written by: Fr. Anthony Tien M. Dinh, OP.
I. THEME: Preaching the Gospel is both a privilege and a duty.
To understand God’s mystery of salvation is a privilege because it isn’t for everybody to know and to understand it. When people understand the mystery of salvation, they have the key to the kingdom of heaven. The duty of those who understood the mystery is to preach it to those who don’t so that they can also have the key to the kingdom. Understanding so, preaching of the Gospel is both a privilege and a duty.
Today readings concentrate on this privilege and duty. In the first reading, St. Paul considered preaching of the Gospel is a privilege and a duty. In the Gospel, Jesus praised those who are loyal in distributing of the mystery of salvation to others by preaching the Good News; at the same time, he also warned those who are lazy, and not loyal to their duty in distributing their understanding for others so that people miss the opportunity to enter the kingdom of heaven.
II. ANALYSIS:
1/ Reading I: God’s mystery of salvation is achieved and revealed through Christ.
1.1/ Christ revealed God’s mystery of salvation for his apostles and Paul: In the four Gospels, we see Christ himself called the Twelve to follow him wherever he went and he gradually revealed God’s mystery of salvation for them. St. Paul isn’t one of the Twelve and was called after Christ’s resurrection. Although Paul didn’t learn God’s mystery of salvation from Christ when he was still in his flesh, but Paul was also taught by the resurrected Christ about God’s mystery when Paul spent his time in the Arabian deserts. There are some mysteries which are still not clear to the apostles; but is clear to Paul; for example, the two stages of God’s mystery of salvation. In the first stage, God chose the Israelites to prepare for Christ’s coming. In the second stage, because of Christ and his Gospel, the Gentiles can also inherit the salvation as the Israelites; both become one body in Christ and share all of God’s promises.
To understand God’s mystery of salvation is a privilege because not everyone can fathom this mystery, as Paul said, “When you read this you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to human beings in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit, that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”
1.2/ Christ gave Paul the duty of distributing his grace through his preaching of the Gospel: The resurrected Christ not only revealed God’s mystery of salvation to him but also commanded him to preach this mystery for the Gentiles as he said, “I became a minister by the gift of God’s grace that was granted me in accord with the exercise of his power.”
St. Paul knew very well that the reason why he was revealed and sent out to preach the mystery of salvation isn’t about his merit, but completely on God’s merciful love. He confessed: “To me, the very least of all the holy ones, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the inscrutable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for all what is the plan of the mystery hidden from ages past in God who created all things, so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the principalities and authorities in the heavens.”
A story can be used to illustrate Paul’s feeling when he was chosen and sent out to preach God’s mystery of salvation. The famous concert director, Toscanini, once talked to an instrumentalist who was preparing his instrument for a Beethoven’s song: “I am nothing, you are nothing; but we try to let Beethoven’s exceptional talent spring up for people to enjoy it.”
2/ Gospel: “The servant who knew his master’s will but did not make ready or act according to his will, shall receive a severe beating.”
2.1/ A steward must be ready at all times: A steward is the one who handles his master’s wealth, and his duties are to distribute it according to needs and to bring benefit for his master. He must be constantly ready to do his job because he must report his book-keeping at any time when his master demands. Jesus warned his disciples that they must also have the steward’s attitude because he can come back at any time and they have to show him their records of stewardship. He said to them, “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.”
2.2/ Who is God’s steward? A steward is chosen by his owner, though he has power over all other servants; but to his owner, he is still a servant. His duty is to manage all of business and servants in the household when his owner absents; one of his duties is to provide food for servants on time. Who is the servant whom Jesus wanted to imply here?
Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all?” Jesus answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise steward, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time?” Jesus’ answer implied his apostles. They are the ones who were chosen, trusted, trained, and sent out by Jesus to preach the Good News. They must be responsible before Christ about those whom he sent his disciples to preach. The answer can also be extended to all Christians for they are also leaders in their families and communities when Christ is absent.
2.3/ A steward’s attitude: He can fall into one of these two attitudes:
(1) Faithful and have the reward: A faithful steward is the one who fulfills his duties when his owner presents or absents. If a steward had that kind of attitude, it is no surprise to his owner when he suddenly shows up and finds him doing as such. Jesus praised this steward: “Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions; because whoever was loyal to small things, also loyal to great things.”
(2) Unfaithful and suffer the punishment: But if that servant thinks: “My master is delayed in coming, and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will punish him, and put him with the unfaithful.”
And Jesus declared: “The servant who knew his master’s will but did not make ready or act according to his will, shall receive a severe beating. But he who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, shall receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much is given, of him will much be required; and of him to whom men commit much they will demand the more.”
III. APPLICATION IN LIFE:
– Preaching the Gospel is not only a privilege, but also a duty. God helped us to understand the mystery of salvation and sent us to distribute His grace by the preaching of the Gospel.
– To understand the mystery of salvation isn’t because of our merit, but of God’s immense love for us.
– God hands to us the inheritance of the Gospel, our duty first of all is to understand it before we can preach it to others. If we are loyal with this duty, God shall reward us; but if we neglect this duty and cause others to be lost, we must be responsible for them before him.