You also must be prepared

The Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C

Collect

Almighty ever-living God, whom, taught by the Holy Spirit, we dare to call our Father, bring, we pray, to perfection in our hearts the spirit of adoption as your sons and daughters, that we may merit to enter into the inheritance which you have promised. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Reading
Wis 18:6-9

Just as you punished our adversaries, you glorified us whom you had summoned.

A reading from the Book of Wisdom

The night of the passover was known beforehand to our fathers,
   that, with sure knowledge of the oaths in which they put their faith,
   they might have courage.
Your people awaited the salvation of the just
   and the destruction of their foes.
For when you punished our adversaries,
   in this you glorified us whom you had summoned.
For in secret the holy children of the good were offering sacrifice
   and putting into effect with one accord the divine institution.

The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 33:1, 12, 18-19, 20-22

R. :

℟. (12b) Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

Exult, you just, in the LORD;
   praise from the upright is fitting.
Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD,
   the people he has chosen for his own inheritance.

℟. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
   upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
   and preserve them in spite of famine.

℟. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

Our soul waits for the LORD,
   who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
   who have put our hope in you.

℟. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

Second Reading
Heb 11:1-2, 8-19 or 11:1-2, 8-12

Abraham looked forward to the city whose architect and maker is God.

A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews

Brothers and sisters:
Faith is the realization of what is hoped for
   and evidence of things not seen.
Because of it the ancients were well attested.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place
   that he was to receive as an inheritance;
   he went out, not knowing where he was to go.
By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country,
   dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise;
   for he was looking forward to the city with foundations,
   whose architect and maker is God.
By faith he received power to generate,
   even though he was past the normal age
   —and Sarah herself was sterile—
   for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy.
So it was that there came forth from one man,
   himself as good as dead,
   descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky
   and as countless as the sands on the seashore.

All these died in faith.
They did not receive what had been promised
   but saw it and greeted it from afar
   and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and aliens on earth,
   for those who speak thus show that they are seeking a homeland.
If they had been thinking of the land from which they had come,
   they would have had opportunity to return.
But now they desire a better homeland, a heavenly one.
Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God,
   for he has prepared a city for them.

By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac,
   and he who had received the promises was ready to offer his only son,
   of whom it was said,
   “Through Isaac descendants shall bear your name.”
He reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead,
   and he received Isaac back as a symbol.

Or: [Shorter Form]

Brothers and sisters:
Faith is the realization of what is hoped for
   and evidence of things not seen.
Because of it the ancients were well attested.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place
   that he was to receive as an inheritance;
   he went out, not knowing where he was to go.
By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country,
   dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise;
   for he was looking forward to the city with foundations,
   whose architect and maker is God.
By faith he received power to generate,
   even though he was past the normal age
   —and Sarah herself was sterile—
   for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy.
So it was that there came forth from one man,
   himself as good as dead,
   descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky
   and as countless as the sands on the seashore.

The word of the Lord.

Acclamation before the Gospel
Mt 24:42, 44

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

Stay awake and be ready!
For you do not know on what day the Son of Man will come.

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.


Gospel
Lk 12:32-48 or 12:35-40

You also must be prepared.

✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not be afraid any longer, little flock,
   for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.
Sell your belongings and give alms.
Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out,
   an inexhaustible treasure in heaven
   that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.
For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

“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.
Be sure of this:
   if the master of the house had known the hour
   when the thief was coming,
   he would not have let his house be broken into.
You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect,
   the Son of Man will come.”

Then Peter said,
   “Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?”
And the Lord replied,
   “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward
   whom the master will put in charge of his servants
   to distribute the food allowance at the proper time?
Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so.
Truly, I say to you, the master will put the servant
   in charge of all his property.
But if that servant says to himself,
   ‘My master is delayed in coming,’
   and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants,
   to eat and drink and get drunk,
   then that servant’s master will come
   on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour
   and will punish the servant severely
   and assign him a place with the unfaithful.
That servant who knew his master’s will
   but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will
   shall be beaten severely;
   and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will
   but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating
   shall be beaten only lightly.
Much will be required of the person entrusted with much,
  and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”

Or: [Shorter form]

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 the servants 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.
Be sure of this:
   if the master of the house had known the hour
   when the thief was coming,
   he would not have let his house be broken into.
You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect,
   the Son of Man will come.”

At the end of the Gospel, the Deacon, or the Priest, acclaims:

The Gospel of the Lord.

All reply:

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Reflection

There are only a few parables that Jesus shares exclusively with His disciples. Most of the time, parables were shared with the public. Therefore, when we come across a parable that was shared only with His disciples, we must pay careful attention. In this two-part parable, Jesus speaks about our responsibility as His disciples to faithfully carry out the mission that He has entrusted to us. We must not allow our carelessness, or laziness keep us from promptly doing His will. Jesus does not speak ambiguously; He is clear and direct. Each disciple will be given what is rightfully theirs, whether we are obedient or disobedient, whether we are prepared or we procrastinate. A day will come when all will be judged by Jesus Himself for what we have done with what was entrusted to us—our families, material possessions, work, spare time, natural talents, supernatural gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit, and our relationships with others. Have we advanced His Kingdom? Have we built up the Church through our unity, kindness, and through our enthusiasm in our apostolates? Did we care for each other?

Prayer

Father, we ask You to forgive us for the times when we were spiritually lazy and did not allow Your Spirit to guide and strengthen us. Forgive us for the times that we resisted Your Spirit with our many excuses. We ask that you help us to allow this Word given to us by Your Son Jesus to correct us and urge us forward. May we be truly grateful for the trust You have in us, while we work with greater enthusiasm for the coming of Your Kingdom. We ask you this in Jesus’ name. Thank you, Father. Amen.

 

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