💖 HOMILY - AUGUST 27 💖

First Reading - 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 

Gospel - Matthew 24:42-51

We often prepare carefully for things we know are coming. When we have an important journey, an examination, a celebration, or a special visitor, we make preparations. But there are also moments when something important happens without warning. In today's Gospel, Jesus uses this reality to speak about his coming: “Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.”

The message is not meant to frighten us. It is an invitation to live our lives with awareness, responsibility, and faithfulness. The question is not simply when the Lord will come, but how he will find us when he comes.

In the first reading, St Paul begins his letter to the Corinthians by reminding them of what God has already done for them. He thanks God for the grace given to them in Christ Jesus. They have been enriched in Christ, strengthened in their faith, and given spiritual gifts. Paul also assures them that God is faithful and will sustain them until the end.

This is an important foundation for understanding the Gospel. Jesus asks us to remain faithful, but our faithfulness does not begin with our own strength. It begins with God's grace. The God who calls us is also the God who sustains us.

The Gospel then presents two servants. One is faithful and wise. The master finds him doing his duty when he returns. The other servant becomes careless because he thinks, “My master is delayed.” He begins to behave badly because he has forgotten that the master will return.

This is a danger that can easily enter our spiritual life. When we feel that God is silent or that his coming is far away, we can become careless. We may begin to postpone prayer, forgiveness, conversion, or responsibility. We tell ourselves, “There is still plenty of time.”

But Jesus reminds us that discipleship cannot be postponed.

Being ready for the Lord does not mean constantly living in fear of death or the end of the world. It means being faithful today. If the Lord were to come today, would he find us doing what he has entrusted to us?

That is why the image of the servant is so powerful. The servant does not know when the master will return, but he knows what he has been asked to do. His responsibility is not to calculate the master's arrival but to remain faithful to his task.

The same is true for us. We do not know how long we have in this life, but we know what God has entrusted to us. We know that we are called to love, to forgive, to serve, to pray, to care for others, and to live according to the Gospel.

Sometimes we imagine that holiness requires extraordinary things. But Jesus shows us that holiness often means simply doing faithfully what has been entrusted to us.

A parent caring patiently for a child, a priest faithfully serving his community, a religious person persevering in his vocation, a worker doing his work honestly, someone caring for an elderly parent, or a person quietly forgiving another—all these can be expressions of faithful readiness.

The unfaithful servant makes one serious mistake: he begins to live as though the master will never return. His behavior changes because his expectation has changed.

When we forget that our lives ultimately belong to God, our priorities can become distorted. We become more concerned with comfort, recognition, possessions, and personal advantage. But when we remember that we are accountable to God, we begin to live differently.

Paul's words give us encouragement: “God is faithful.” This is perhaps the most important message today. Our hope does not rest only on our ability to remain faithful. It rests first on God's faithfulness to us.

We may become tired. We may fail. We may sometimes lose direction. But God's grace continues to work in us. The God who called us will also strengthen us.

Therefore, staying awake does not mean being anxious. It means living consciously in God's presence. It means not postponing love. Not postponing forgiveness. Not postponing conversion. Not postponing the good we are capable of doing today.

We do not know when the Lord will come, but we know what he wants to find when he comes: people who are faithful.

So today, let us ask ourselves: If Christ came to me today, what would he find? Would he find me serving or complaining? Forgiving or holding resentment? Praying or distracted? Caring for others or thinking only of myself?

May the Lord give us the grace to remain faithful in the ordinary moments of life, trusting in the words of St Paul: “God is faithful.”

We do not need to know the hour of the Lord's coming. We only need to make sure that, whenever he comes, he finds us awake, faithful, and doing the work of love he has entrusted to us.