Jesus said to his disciples: “Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them. And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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At the time of Christ, the night was divided into three different parts – the first, second, and third watch.
Once the sun fell, soldiers would literally pace back and forth along the perch of the city walls looking for thieves or invading armies.
The third watch was always the hardest post, because it lasted from roughly 2 – 6 am, the darkest part of the night.
Anyone who’s ever had to stay awake that long knows how hard it is. As the night drags on, you must become more and more focused; otherwise, you’ll succumb to sleep.
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This is the type of vigilance the Lord asks of us spiritually in today’s Gospel. Live as if Jesus is coming by the end of the night.
Statistically speaking, that’s highly unlikely. It’s already been almost 750,000 days since Jesus first spoke of his return!
Still, he wants us to, “Be alert! Stay awake!” Act as if his judgment is on the way.
So, how should we prepare for the Lord’s return?
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Personally, I’d want to resolve any conflict; forgive wrongdoings; offer an apology wherever needed; and go to confession.
I’d tell my family and friends that I love them; thank those who’ve been good to me; hug a friend; and say a prayer.
“Blessed are those servants,” Jesus says, who do these things.
Even if the Lord is delayed in his return, seeking reconciliation, extending forgiveness, praying, and being grateful for those whom we love, is the healthiest way to live.
Whether it’s tonight, or seemingly forever away, come Lord Jesus. We will be ready.
Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” He replied to him, “Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?” Then he said to the crowd, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.”
Then he told them a parable. “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’ And he said, ‘This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!”‘ But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’ Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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The Romans had a popular saying: “Money is like saltwater. The more you drink, the thirstier you become.”
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We see this thirst for money unfolding in today’s Gospel as two brothers are arguing over a family inheritance.
The fact that there ismoney to inherit implies they already have enough. If their family were poor, then there’d be nothing to argue about!
But what these boys want is more. That thirst inspires Jesus to tell them a parable about a rich man who thought he had everything, but died that night with nothing.
The heart of the matter is not money itself; rather, one’s attitude towards it.
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The opposite of greed is contentment.
Contentment has been defined as, “a state of happiness and satisfaction.” It’s something most human beings can feel – unless, of course, they’re living in a state of danger.
Anyone, even the poor, can learn to be content with what they have. Ironically enough, it’s often the poor who often seem more content than the wealthy because they must learn how to be satisfied with less.
“Money is like saltwater. The more you drink, the thirstier you become.”
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Am I content with what I have? Or do I find myself wanting more – more money, more power, more attention, more of anything?
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Saint Paul reminds us in his Letter to Timothy:
“Faith with contentment is a great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it. If we have food and clothing, we should be content with that.”
Perhaps anything more could make us thirsty.
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Image credits: (1) The Dickinson Press (2) Owlcation (3) Bibles for America Blog
The Pharisees went off and plotted how they might entrap Jesus in speech. They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. And you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion, for you do not regard a person’s status. Tell us, then, what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?” Knowing their malice, Jesus said, “Why are you testing me, you hypocrites? Show me the coin that pays the census tax.” Then they handed him the Roman coin. He said to them, “Whose image is this and whose inscription?” They replied, “Caesar’s.” At that he said to them, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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A teenager approached me recently looking terribly sad. I asked him, “What’s wrong?”
He said, “Well, I just came back from practice and one of the kids kept calling me an NPC.”
Not being up-to-date with today’s teenage lingo, I asked him, “What’s an NPC?”
“A non-player character,” he said.
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I’ll admit, I went home to Google the term. I even watched someone explain it on YouTube!
“Non-player character” is a term frequently used in video games.
Before you start playing a game, such as Super Smash Brothers or Fortnite, you must choose a character. That’s your persona throughout the game.
Non-player characters are like shadows; they only exist in the background. They move around, but have no purpose.
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The reason why this term – NPC – was so hurtful to that kid was because his peer was telling him that his life had no real value or meaning; he was like a shadow wondering aimlessly in a video game without purpose or function, making him feel worthless.
That’s something anyone can feel.
Maybe you’re a college student searching for direction; perhaps you’re going through a mid-life crisis; or you’re an empty nester feeling alone.
That sense of existing without purpose is particularly common among my peers. We millennials are often referred to as the new, “Lost Generation.”
Some find themselves going through the motions, working the 9-5, but lacking a sense of urgency. There’s nothing keeping them up at night, no serious reason to rise in the morning.
It’s a type of existential crisis that begs questions like: Who am I? Whose am I? Where do I belong?
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In today’s Gospel, Jesus leads us to an answer.
It begins with him being thrown into a red-hot debate.
The Jews hated paying their taxes to Caesar because the Romans were an occupying force that stole their land and sovereignty. The Jews were supposed to serve one king – God – not Caesar.
If Jesus tells the Jews to pay their taxes, then he’d be seen as an enemy to the Jewish cause. But if he tells them not to pay their taxes, then he’d be reported as an enemy of the state and would’ve been crucified for insurrection.
So, Jesus throws the question back at them. “Why are you testing me, you hypocrites?” he says. “Show me the coin that pays the census tax.”
Notice, the Lord does not have the coin on himself. So, where do the Pharisees draw the coin from but their very own pockets!
Looking at the coin, he says, “Whose image is this?”
“Caesar’s.”
So, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”
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These are two separate commands.
Give to Caesar, meaning pay your taxes.
The government is responsible for building our roads and bridges, safeguarding our health and safety, forming a military, and so on. It’s fair to pay for these services.
But give to God what belongs to God. So, what bears God’s image?
We do. The Book of Genesis reveals that every human being is made in the image and likeness of God. Meaning, everything we have and are belongs to the Lord.
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How do you give yourself to God?
Part of the answer involves being here on Sunday. We worship him together. But what about the rest of the week?
How much time do we spend in prayer; in ministry; in discerning God’s will for our life?
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“He kept calling me an NPC,” that youngster said to me.
“Perhaps you are,” I said. “Not a ‘non-player character,’ but a ‘new person in Christ.’ Your life and your purpose are drawn from him, not from this world or from what other people think of you.”
It’s true for all of us. Bearing God’s image means everything we have – and are – should be given back to him.
What might that mean for me today?
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Image credits: (1) Redbubble (2) Foundation for Economic Education (3) Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo
