Daily Reflection for Thursday, August 26, 2021
Peace and Blessings, Friends and Parishioners,
We encourage you to reflect on Thursday’s readings at this link: CLICK HERE
If you prefer to use your own Bible, the readings are:
First Reading: 1 Thessalonians 3:7-13
Responsorial: Psalm 90:3-5a, 12-13, 14 and 17
Gospel: Matthew 24:42-51
Our reflection on Thursday’s readings:
Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Matthew 24:42
I don’t traditionally think of myself as a procrastinator. That’s something that my kids do when I ask them to pick up their toys or clean their rooms. That’s something that students do when they don’t want to finish their homework. Not me, though. I hate having tasks hang over my head. It keeps me from being able to enjoy the moment. Of course, my wife loves to point out that I am completely delusional. I put off all sorts of home projects that seem too daunting or aren’t priorities (read it’s not falling apart yet). Often, I only get to them when I get tired of her reminding me that they need to be done or, worse, when she asks her father to come help me.
Jesus is describing this human tendency to put off things that need to get done, but may not seem to be time sensitive. Some of the servants fall asleep and get distracted by worldly desires. They don’t put their focus on serving God and are condemned for their failures. He clearly wants us to relate to the faithful servants who listened to their masters wishes and were ready for his return.
The problem is it’s so easy to fall asleep and get lulled into a sense of complacency in our faith life. I think Jesus’ comparison to falling asleep is the perfect analogy and is part of a pattern that Jesus repeats in numerous parts of the Gospels—stay awake, be prepared. He repeats it here, again in the parable of the ten virgins, during his night of agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the angel of the Lord says something similar at the Ascension. This is clearly important if it is repeated this frequently. Jesus knows us and our human frailties. He doesn’t want us to get distracted by the things of this world and have our souls unprepared for the return of the Lord.
I often find myself contemplating what would Jesus say to me if He came back right now. More often than not, I am like the unfaithful servant or the disciples in the Garden. I have fallen asleep. It’s in these moments that I know I need to recommit myself to carrying out God’s mission in my home and larger community.
Today, ask yourself if you’ve fallen asleep, allowed yourself to pick up any bad or sinful habit, or put off renewing your relationship with God. If so, today is the time. The Master may be back at any time and you want to be ready for him. My prayers go out to all who are struggling to break out of their rut and take the first steps back to our Master.
Peace,
Pete Kuester