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Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Mass Readings
First Reading: Wisdom 18:6-9
Psalm: Psalm 33:1, 12, 18-19, 20-22
Second Reading: Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19
Gospel: Luke 12:32-48
Are you ready? The servants Jesus tells us about in today’s parable are. The lamps are lit, their loins girt and they are waiting for their master to knock on the door. They don’t know when he is coming, but they know he will come at some point. What a great example of faith, right?
What is faith? I’d like to share an example from one of our family’s favorite movies – the 1994 movie Santa Claus with Tim Allen. I know this is a secular example, but hang with me a minute, okay?
Let me set the scene a little. Neil, played by Judge Reinhold, is Charlie’s stepfather. Charlie, played by Eric Lloyd, is Scott Calvin’s son. Scott Calvin is played by Tim Allen who of course becomes Santa Claus, only, shhh because it’s a secret!
In the movie, there’s a scene where Neil challenges Charlie’s belief that his dad is Santa Claus. He says, “What about Santa’s reindeer? Have you ever seen a reindeer fly?” Charlie answers, “Yes,” to which Neil responds, “Well, I haven’t.” And here’s Charlie’s faith-filled response. He asks Neil, “Have you ever seen a million dollars?” Neil says, “No.” Then Charlie says, “Just because you can’t see something, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.” Absolutely brilliant!
Okay, let’s come back to our readings today. We know Jesus exits, and we know he will return as he promised, but we don’t know when. To believe, to accept this belief and more importantly to live out this belief in our everyday lives requires faith.
The Israelites in today’s first reading listened to God and prepared the Passover as they waited for deliverance. In the second reading, Abraham left his homeland for the Promised Land even though he didn’t know where it was. They believed that God would be true to his promises. We can do that too!
But faith isn’t just believing. Faith is about acting on what you believe. It’s about taking the steps necessary that flow from your belief. The servants in today’s parable didn’t just believe their master would return. They prepared for his return by lighting the lamps, etc. How can we take steps that flow from our belief in Jesus Christ?
Well, there’s a number of things we can do to be ready. We can go to confession. Now, I know you might say, “Whoa there, deacon! Slow your roll! I don’t need to confess my sins to a man.” Okay, I get it. I live in the shadow of Zwingli and Luther, so I am familiar with the concern. But confession isn’t for the Church and it isn’t about the man – the priest. No, confession, or the Sacrament of Reconciliation, is about you and I consciously, mindfully setting aside time to be honest – brutally honest with ourselves about the sin in our lives – the sins that cause us to turn our backs on God and on other people. These are big sins that rupture our relationships. We call these mortal sins. During confession, we take responsibility for those sins. During confession we verbalize our sins – we say it! We own it! And we ask God to forgive us. Why? So that we can get back on a level playing field – so that we can be healed. In the language of the Church, it’s so that we can be in right relation with God and his creation. That’s why we call it reconciliation. Through the grace of confession, we are reconciled with God and one another.
What else can I do? Go to mass! We are social beings created for one another. So, we need to step out of the comfort of our individual lives and join the community in worship of the God who saves. Through our participation in the mass, we ask God to forgive us for little sins in our lives. We call these venial sins, things like I bit my sister and kicked the cat, or maybe I bit the cat and kicked my sister. Isn’t that awesome? Not the biting or the kicking, but just coming to mass can help me clean the slate.
But God is so generous that the mass – our praise and worship – is not all about him. He sends us home with gifts. In the mass, he feeds us through his Word, through the Scriptures, and then he feeds again, this time with the Word made flesh, that is, Jesus Christ who is made present to us through the Eucharist. The Eucharist is not a symbol.
Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 11:27-29, “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.” We believe the Eucharist is the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus.
Jesus says to us in John’s Gospel 6:54, “…whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” Now that’s just awesome! And these are just a few examples of the myriad of ways we can come to experience God.
But that’s not all! No, through the Sacraments, Jesus offers to heal our wounds and nourish us while we wait for his return. We are not called to be pew potatoes! No! God has blessed us all with gifts – gifts that must be shared. Just like eating bon bons while binge-watching a show, if we don’t use the gifts God gives us, then our spiritual gluttony can leave us feeling like sloths. We need to be active. In today’s parable, the servants didn’t just sit around. They actively prepared for their master’s return so that they would be ready for when ever he might come. The same is true for us.
We are showered with gifts, like talents and abilities, and we are nourished with Scripture and the Eucharist, and our wounds are mended through the grace offered to us in the sacramental life of the Church, like Reconciliation and Anointing, so that we can go out into the world and bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to those who can’t come to church, don’t come to church, or won’t come to church. That’s what discipleship is all about.
Jesus offers us salvation. He offers us eternal life. He offers us a chance to be healed, to learn our true purpose and to live our purpose in this world. So, our task as disciples is to reach out to those who don’t know him, and to invite them to meet Jesus. Sometimes that means talking with our family and our friends and indeed strangers and ask them if they’d like to meet Jesus. Are ready to come to the waters of baptism to be cleansed – to be healed – to be united with God through Christ by the grace of the Holy Spirit, now and forever. All it takes is faith.
Homework!
- I suggest we ask ourselves, “Am I practicing active waiting? For example, when was the last time I went to Reconciliation or when was the last time I went to mass?”
- We can ask ourselves, “How do I practice active waiting? Do I reach out to share my love for Jesus with others? Or am I a pew potato?”
I think by doing our homework, we can practice our faith as the disciples we are all called to be. Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! +Amen!
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