English Podcast |
Luke 12:32-48
Fire alarms, burglar alarms, car alarms: we want to be prepared in case someone tries to steal our possessions. There are now more bells and whistles in our homes than ever before. Alarms give us some sense of security that we are protected.
Wish we had the same kind of desire to protect what is really of value—our soul. We tend to pay more attention to how much is in the bank than to our relationship with Christ. When we die God is not going to ask us how much money we saved; how many stocks we own, what our net worth is. The Lord will ask us if we used all that He provided to take care of those most in need. That will be the bottom line question: Did you see My face in the least of your bothers and sisters? Did you take care of those rejected by society? Because certainly more will be demanded of the persons entrusted with more. That’s what the money is for—to extend a helping hand. Sure we are tempted to party—to use what we have for our pleasure—to think that somehow we deserve what we have—anyway there’s plenty of time left. That’s exactly what Jesus describes in the Gospel—folks who take life for granted. “I’ll repent, I’ll change my life, I’ll get closer to God tomorrow.” Tomorrow might not come. We don’t know when the Son of Man will return. For each of us the hour of accountability will be when we die. An examination of conscience once in awhile helps. Some folks like to recall their day at night before bed. Others when they come to confession. Can also happen during spiritual direction. Never to reflect is a big mistake. In order to see where we are going we need to evaluate where we have been—to learn from our mistakes and build on our strong points. The typical day starts in the morning and goes without stopping until we drop from sleep.
If we knew when the Lord was coming we would behave ourselves. We would get ready. But that’s the point. We don’t know when He is coming, so we have to be ready all the time. Not that we are supposed to be afraid. We do not want to live our in fear, but in love. We need to be convinced that God loves us without conditions. That He made us to be happy forever. Therefore, God is not waiting to catch us doing something wrong in order to punish us. God does not have interest in such nonsense.
We do not want to betray someone who loves us. We do—we fall down in our relationship throughout our life—but we want to try not to fall. Consider that we are some of the few who bother to come to Church—that’s a big plus. Starting with the gift of Faith—we have much for which to be grateful. Naturally there are distractions. Think about how much energy we spend on gadgets that draw us into ourselves rather than helping us to get along with others. Wish someone would invent a game like Pokémon Go to get us to heaven. Instead of Pokémon creatures there would be real people—real situations—people whom we need or who need us. Wonder what the interest level would be. Well, we don’t need a game like that because the situations are already present—all over the place. And we don’t have to look very far. The people who really need us the most, live with us. Most families see very little of each other. Parents are responsible for the welfare of their children—which means they have to make time to talk to each other. Indeed, much has been entrusted to us.
God has placed the world in our hands—we are the stewards in charge until He returns. We want to be ready for His coming.
Fire alarms, burglar alarms, car alarms: we want to be prepared in case someone tries to steal our possessions. There are now more bells and whistles in our homes than ever before. Alarms give us some sense of security that we are protected.
Wish we had the same kind of desire to protect what is really of value—our soul. We tend to pay more attention to how much is in the bank than to our relationship with Christ. When we die God is not going to ask us how much money we saved; how many stocks we own, what our net worth is. The Lord will ask us if we used all that He provided to take care of those most in need. That will be the bottom line question: Did you see My face in the least of your bothers and sisters? Did you take care of those rejected by society? Because certainly more will be demanded of the persons entrusted with more. That’s what the money is for—to extend a helping hand. Sure we are tempted to party—to use what we have for our pleasure—to think that somehow we deserve what we have—anyway there’s plenty of time left. That’s exactly what Jesus describes in the Gospel—folks who take life for granted. “I’ll repent, I’ll change my life, I’ll get closer to God tomorrow.” Tomorrow might not come. We don’t know when the Son of Man will return. For each of us the hour of accountability will be when we die. An examination of conscience once in awhile helps. Some folks like to recall their day at night before bed. Others when they come to confession. Can also happen during spiritual direction. Never to reflect is a big mistake. In order to see where we are going we need to evaluate where we have been—to learn from our mistakes and build on our strong points. The typical day starts in the morning and goes without stopping until we drop from sleep.
If we knew when the Lord was coming we would behave ourselves. We would get ready. But that’s the point. We don’t know when He is coming, so we have to be ready all the time. Not that we are supposed to be afraid. We do not want to live our in fear, but in love. We need to be convinced that God loves us without conditions. That He made us to be happy forever. Therefore, God is not waiting to catch us doing something wrong in order to punish us. God does not have interest in such nonsense.
We do not want to betray someone who loves us. We do—we fall down in our relationship throughout our life—but we want to try not to fall. Consider that we are some of the few who bother to come to Church—that’s a big plus. Starting with the gift of Faith—we have much for which to be grateful. Naturally there are distractions. Think about how much energy we spend on gadgets that draw us into ourselves rather than helping us to get along with others. Wish someone would invent a game like Pokémon Go to get us to heaven. Instead of Pokémon creatures there would be real people—real situations—people whom we need or who need us. Wonder what the interest level would be. Well, we don’t need a game like that because the situations are already present—all over the place. And we don’t have to look very far. The people who really need us the most, live with us. Most families see very little of each other. Parents are responsible for the welfare of their children—which means they have to make time to talk to each other. Indeed, much has been entrusted to us.
God has placed the world in our hands—we are the stewards in charge until He returns. We want to be ready for His coming.
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