Bulletins on Sunday Bulletins (Page 7)

Advent begins, not looking back to the Birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, but to the Lord’s coming at the end of time, with the warning, “Be watchful! Be alert!” This season’s focus it threefold: The coming of the Lord at the end of our lives and the end of time; the historic coming of Jesus, born of Mary, loved and cared for by Joseph; and the daily breaking-in of the Lord into our lives and the life of the world. It is easy for us to look to the events at Bethlehem to the exclusion of the others, but to do so is to miss the lessons that Advent teaches us. Advent this year is the shortest it can possibly be, since the Fourth Sunday falls on Christmas Eve. Let us use these few weeks wisely, so that when Christmas comes, we may again recognize in Emmanuel, God who is always with us!

In the Christian tradition, any reference to “Matthew 25” evokes the images of the gospel passage for this Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe: “When I was hungry. . .thirsty. . a stranger. . .ill. . .in prison.” The good that we do is humanitari- an, but much more; it is the Lord Himself whom we meet in those most in need. It is Jesus who is crucified in the great suffering of all people. It is Jesus, the King, Who will bestow a place in the heavenly realm on those who met Him in others and cared for their needs. As wars continue to rage in the Middle East and in Ukraine, just to name two of the most volatile of ongoing conflicts, we see the Lord Jesus in the wounded and in those who have lost their lives or the lives of those they love. As these wars continue, our prayer for peace, the peace of the Reign of God, be- comes more urgent. There are no winners in war; everyone loses. On this Feast, we look to the words of the Preface of the Eucharistic Prayer today, to describe what it is that we long for. It is “an eternal and universal kingdom, a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace.” As we pray so often, may this Kingdom come into our world and into our lives.

Like last week’s gospel reading, today’s passage encourages in us faithfulness in the way we live. In the “Parable of the Talents,” each of the three servants was entrusted with something of value, “according to his ability.” The size of the gift did not matter; what the servants did with the money did. The question for each of us is whether we invest our gifts or hide them – burying them in a hole, putting them under the proverbial mattress, where they are of no use to anyone. In the second reading from Saint Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, we hear that we are children of the light and day, not of the night or darkness. As such, we do not fear the Lord’s coming, for we have been faithful servants, using the gifts entrusted to us for the good of others. As we approach the end of this liturgical year, we look forward to the Lord’s coming at the end of time and the end of our lives, even as we will continue to do so in the Season of Advent. We rejoice in the assurance that Christ who has died and is risen will also come again. As children of the light, we have nothing to fear.

We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, about those who have fallen asleep, so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so too will God, through Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14). This Sunday’s second reading from the First Letter of Saint Paul to the Thessalo- nians is suited for our November liturgy. As you know, November is a special time for us to remember and pray for those who have died, especially members of our families and other loved ones. Paul is not advising that we not grieve for those we have lost, but that we not have the kind of grief of those “who have no hope.” By nature, Christians are called to be a people of hope, people of the Resurrection. There is an old expression that “We are Easter people and “Alleluia” is our song.” While a bit trite, these words do express the reality of Christian faith. When we pray for the dead, it cannot be with the bitterness of the hopeless; our lives are charged with the faith that Saint Paul preached, and it makes all the difference. Even the Book of Wisdom teaches that “The souls of the just are in the hands of God” (Wisdom 3:1). If we believe this, or mourning can give way to rejoicing that our beloved dead live in God’s peace forever.

In describing His own ministry, Jesus stated that “The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for the many” (Matthew 20:8). It must be the same for the Lord’s followers: “The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts oneself will be humbled, and whoever humbles oneself will be exalted” (Matthew 23:11-12). For many, this is a difficult lesson. Those who know success, achievement, and greatness usually expect their lofty status to accord them great privilege. For the Christian, the privilege is to serve others as did Jesus, the Master Who washed the disciples’ feet. We do not need to look far to find these opportunities. Whether husbands or wives, children, sisters or brothers, each of us has the choice. . .to expect others to do whatever we want them to, or to be the ones who reach out to them. What Jesus did not say, but is implied in the example He gave, was that our service needs to be done in love, not grudgingly or under coercion. That is the real test of discipleship.

There are many interpretations of Jesus’ declaration, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s” (Matthew 25:21). But the heart of the matter is found in the question that Jesus asked regarding the Roman coin, “Whose image and whose inscription?” The answer was that it was definitely that of Caesar. But the question that did not need to be asked was in whose image His hearers were made. The answer to that is also as clear, for the Book of Genesis narrates that God made man and woman in the divine image.

Using another parable about the coming Reign of God, Jesus employs the image of a wedding feast, to which the invited guests do not attend. To fill the banquet hall, servants went looking for others to bring to the feast, any who could be found. The troubling part of the parable relates to the person who did not wear his “wedding garment” to the banquet. Why was he cast out “into the darkness,” with hands and feet bound? This seems problematic, since this guest was presumably one of those gathered, “good and bad alike” from the highways and byways. Jesus preached this parable against the Jewish leaders who refused to welcome Him as the Messiah, the last-called are the non-Jewish people who become believers. Some have theorized that the wedding garment is the metaphorical baptismal robe, worn by a life of faith and virtue. Jesus’ invitation is a fulfillment of the words of the prophet Isaiah: On this mountain the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines (Isaiah 25:6).

We sometimes fall into the same trap as the people of Israel at the time of the prophets. Although God had chosen them to be His own, his “precious vineyard,” they lived in such a way as to lose their status as highly favored by the Lord: “Now, I will let you know what I mean to do with my vineyard: take away its hedge, give it to grazing, break through its wall, let it be trampled!” (Isaiah 5:5) Jesus echoes these words in telling the parable of the tenants who killed the landowner’s son so that they could have the vineyard for themselves: “What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?” . . . “He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times” (Matthew 21:41). In all things, let us remember the expression that “The earth is the vineyard of the Lord, and we are laborers there.” What does God ask of us? That we be faithful coworkers, aware of our responsibilities toward God and toward one another. All of this can be summed up in the words of our second reading from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, which can be a source of hope and joy for us: Brothers and sisters: Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you (Philippians 4:6-9).