DEVOTION TO GOD'S HOUSE


FRIDAY, THIRTY FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Phil 3:17-4:1; Ps 122:1-5; Lk 16:1-8

The Joy of going to God’s House

The Church’s opening prayer for this week is a plea to God to aid us with his grace to hasten without stumbling on the way to the possession of what he has promised us. In the same spirit, St. Paul urges us to imitate him and all those eagerly hastening to the heavenly inheritance by their manner of life and devotion to the gospel. We need this advice as we walk the narrow path. Living in a world of so many distractions and many people living easy lives on the spacious path leading to perdition, having models to inspire us is a necessary help on our way. As we noted earlier in the week, our vocation to the priesthood of Jesus Christ is received individually. The perfection of the ministry can only be in the communion of the faithful, the Church of Jesus Christ. We ginger and inspire each other to happily and eagerly walk the path of holiness to answer God’s invitation to the heavenly banquet within the Church and in our daily Eucharistic communion. Thus, the Psalmist echoes this sentiment: “I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’ And now our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.” This quotation is a simple description of devotion; it is the joy and eagerness we have in God’s service. Paul urged us to model our lives on the life of those who are devoted to the Lord.

He puts himself forward as a model for his converts and the Christian communities he founded during his missionary journeys. As priests of our Lord Jesus Christ, we must always present our life as a model for those we minister the word and love of God. This modelling of Christ helps to keep us faithful and focussed on our Lord Jesus Christ. We are not to follow so many in the Church, though they hold positions of responsibility in our communities. They bear the name of Christ but do not live up to their responsibility as Christians. Paul complained about such people. “I have told you often, and I repeat it today with tears, there are many who are behaving as the enemies of the cross of Christ. They are destined to be lost. They make foods into their god and they are proudest of something they ought to think shameful; the things they think important are earthly things.” The joy of these people is not in spiritual things but material and worldly things.

We are to live like wise stewards as our Lord encourages us in the gospel. The virtue of wisdom is always judged or characterised according to the end we seek. We need worldly wisdom to attain a temporal end and heavenly wisdom to attain a spiritual end. The steward in the parable of our Lord in the gospel is judged wise by his intention to ‘make it’ or be successful in the world. The wisdom we are encouraged to acquire is to help us make our heavenly goal. “Now that my master is taking the stewardship from me, what am I to do? Dig? I am not strong enough. Go begging? I should be too ashamed. Ah, I know what I will do to make sure that when I am dismissed from office there will be some to welcome me into their home.” The steward planned to forestall his becoming homeless when dismissed by his master. We must live to ensure that our heavenly tent is ready when we lose our earthly tent. If we live to please the world, then the world will be our reward, but if we intend to please the Lord and to be found with him when our mortal life ends, then we must model our life on his own and imitate those who lived according to the divine will. The narrow path we walk is more difficult when we focus on the riches and pleasures of this world; these make it necessary for us to encourage one another on the way, to minister the joy of the Lord to others, and ease one another’s journey. Let us sing and remind ourselves of the joys of heaven that we will inherit when we reach the house of the Lord.

Let us pray: Grant us, Lord, the grace to remain focussed on the heavenly inheritance you have promised us in your Son Jesus Christ, so that avoiding all that endangers our salvation, we may develop devotion to the humanity of Jesus Christ, who is our way to the Father.       

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