Tuesday of the 29th week in ordinary time
Ephesians 2: 12-22 Luke 12: 35-38
Theme: Be ready
In the gospel reading of today, St. Luke presents a very important question to all of us as children of God. “When the Lord returns, will he find you awake?”. This is a question that should always guide all our words and actions. To stay awake simply means that we are ready and prepared to meet him whenever he calls us to the banquet, and for this to be possible we must prepare for it in the way we live our daily lives. It simply means that we live our lives like true children of God that we are called to be. In view of this, works of darkness have no place any more in our lives, because we have embraced Christ who is the light of the world.
Dear friends in Christ, the admonition of St. Luke in today’s gospel reading should be taken seriously, by all those who want to be part of the banquet at the end of their Earthly pilgrimage. The choices we make right now in our life are what will determine whether we will be among those who will be qualified to be part of the banquet, our words without action will not be enough. The most important thing in this journey of faith is a sincere effort to go through the narrow gate. It is a road that many of us are not prepared to go on, because of the challenges and difficulties that are associated with passing through it, but at the end, you will be grateful that you made the journey through the narrow way. Now is the time for us to make that choice and retrace our steps and return to God.
This admonition is also seen in our 1st reading of today from St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. He points out the fact that through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, we have been reunited with God and are now his children. Jesus walked through the narrow path and won salvation for humanity. In the same way we are all encouraged to follow in the footsteps of Christ, if we truly desire to participate in the banquet and be awake whenever he comes. The grace of God is already at our disposal, it is for us to cooperate with it, by making the right choices in our daily life. As you strive to do this, may almighty God bless you, in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit, Amen. Peace be with you.