St. Paul of the Cross. priest 

*** 1st Reading ***     

Romans 6:12-18

 Do not allow sin

Any control over your mortal bodies; do not submit yourselves to its evil inclinations, and do not give your members over to sin, as instruments to do evil. On the contrary, offer yourselves as persons returned from death to life, and let the members of your body be as holy instruments at the service of God. 

Sin will not lord it over you again, for you are not under the law, but under grace.

 I ask again: are we to sin because we are not under the Law, but under grace? Certainly not. If you have given yourselves up to someone as his slave, you are to obey the one who commands you, aren’t you? Now with sin you go to death, and by accepting faith you go the right way.

Let us give thanks to God for, after having sin as your master, you have been given to another, that is, to the doctrine of faith, to which you listen willingly. And being free from sin, you began to serve true righteousness.

 

Ps 124 1b-3, 4-6, 7-8

Our help is in the name of the Lord.

 

**** Gospel **** 

Luke 12:39-48

Pay attention to this: If the master of the house had known at what time the thief would come, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.”

 Peter said, “Lord, did you tell this parable only for us, or for everyone?” And the Lord replied, “Imagine, then, the wise and faithful steward whom the master sets over his other servants to give them food rations at the proper time. 

Fortunate is this servant if his master on coming home finds him doing his work. Truly, I say to you, the master will put him in charge of all his property.

But it may be that the steward thinks: ‘My Lord delays in coming,’ and he begins to abuse the menservants and the servant girls, eating and drinking and getting drunk. Then the master will come on a day he does not expect him and at an hour he doesn’t know. He will cut him off and send him to the same fate as the unfaithful.

 The servant who knew his mas­ter’s will, but did not prepare to do what his master wanted, will be punished with sound blows; but the one who did what deserved a punishment without know­ing it shall receive fewer blows. Much will be required of the one who has been given much, and more will be asked of the one entrusted with more.

 

Gospel Reflection

The gospel passage today speaks about waiting. This is something difficult for us today. Our present culture with all its instant things, from food to information and the likes, makes the experience of waiting as something negative.

The new generation is an impatient generation. Even their attention span is getting shorter. For the gospel today however, this is good common sense. Waiting is a creative moment especially if we enter freely into it. When we wait for others we give them the space to be themselves.

We pay them the respect of letting them exercise their creativity without our interference. And we do it not with indifference or grudgingly but with love. In this way, we can walk together in solidarity and mutual enrichment.

May we use wisely the space given to us so that we will be worthy of the trust given us when we are left alone to manage our time usefully.