Homily: Twenty-first Thursday of Ordinary Time
Twenty-first Thursday of Ordinary Time (Mt. 24:42-51) “Stay Awake”
Jesus preached a lot about masters and servants in the Gospels. The audience he was talking to was very familiar with slavery. It is estimated that up to 40% of the population of the Roman Empire were slaves. Slavery was not determined by race but came about for other reasons.
The predominant way that someone became a slave was that a person was captured in a war. Slaves were part of the spoils of war. Whole families might be captured. Slaves were from a variety of backgrounds. They might be very well educated or simple peasants.
The other way that someone became a slave was that they sold themselves into slavery. If a person was destitute, this might be a way of gaining some sense of financial security. The way to meet your day-to-day needs might be to attach yourself to a powerful individual who would feed you and house you.
If a servant performed well in their duties, they would be rewarded by their master. They might be given authority over other slaves. Perhaps they would be able to own some property. Ultimately, they might be freed at the end of the master’s life. The way to find safety and security was to attach yourself to a powerful family.
The people who heard Jesus speak knew this whole system well. Jesus alluded to the fact that we are all servants of God. We have been given responsibility for our lives and possessions. What do we do with what we have? Do we see all that we have as belonging to God? We are entrusted with anything we have, like our family, possessions and responsibilities.
One day Jesus will ask us to give an accounting. Will we be ready?
Reflection Questions:
- Is everything I have a gift from God? Am I ready to give an accounting?
- Am I servant to someone? Who is it that I serve? Does anyone serve me?
Dear Parishioners,
An important ministry at Sacred Heart is the Welcome Ministry. We have had this ministry in place at our parish for the last five years or so. We try to make a home visit to those who have just moved into our parish and take a welcome bag to them. First impressions are always important, so we like to be hospitable.
The last two years, our Welcome Ministers have not been able to get out in homes because of the pandemic. We have just been sending letters to people and we will continue to do this. Could you help us when we are able to make home visits again? If so, please contact Melissa Hoffman at our office and let her know.
Someday soon we hope to be able to warmly greet people again.
May Our Lady and all the Angels and Saints watch over you today.
Fr. Mark