Householders of God's House

WEDNESDAY, TWENTY NINTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Eph 3:2-12; Isa 12; Lk 12:39-48

The Unexpected Coming of Jesus Christ

In the Gospel, Jesus used the terms householder and servant to refer to us, his disciples. Both words emphasise different roles we are called to play as Christians. Both point to the role we have been called to play in the economy of human salvation. As we noted in yesterday’s reflection, the Son of Man is the builder of the House of God, as Nathan the prophet prophesied to David. He builds both the Church and each member of the Church, for we are God’s House, as individuals and as a community of believers in Jesus Christ. As long as the Son of Man is physically absent, each of us is the householder of the house of God within us. We are also householders in the communal sense to the extent we share in the ministries of Jesus Christ. All the baptised share in the ministries of the Son of Man as priest, prophet, and king. The Holy Spirit, who dwells in each of us, is the key to carrying out these ministries. All of us play the general role as members of Jesus Christ, but the Sacrament of Holy Orders confers on some the ministerial role of the Son of Man as priest, prophet, and king in the Church. So, our Lord’s words to the householder to be alert and vigilant apply to each of us.

It is the duty of the householder to hold the house and keep it in good order for his master. “You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known at what hour the burglar would come, he would not have let anyone break through the wall of his house. You too must stand ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Our Lord addressed these words to his disciples, and not just to the apostles, confirming our explanation above. The house of God within us will stand in good order if we keep our focus on our head, the Son of Man, and refuse to let the passing amusements and sinful pleasures of this world distract us and take us off our guard. The alluring carnal pleasures and amusement of this world are formidable weapons of the devil to keep us away from the presence of God, and our minds and hearts off the prayerful attention to Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mother. Our Lord refers to the demonic spirits as burglars; they come to burgle our graces and the rich inheritance we have received from Jesus Christ through our faith in him. Paul’s words confirm this. “You have probably heard how I have been entrusted by God with the grace he meant for you, and that it was by a revelation that I was given the knowledge of the mystery, as I have just described it very shortly. If you read my word, you will have some idea of the depths that I see in the mystery of Christ.” We will have some idea, because we can never fathom the depth of the mystery of Christ.

Also, we are called to be servants, not just to hold this mystery of Jesus Christ, but to serve it by cultivating it in our minds and hearts, making it bear fruit for the good of our brothers and sisters. We do the latter to transmit the mystery to others. It entails feeding the household of God with good words and deeds. Peter wanted to know whether the words were meant for only the ordained or for everyone. Our Lord’s reply confirms our understanding above. “What sort of steward, then, is faithful and wise enough for the master to place him over his household to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? Happy that servant if his master’s arrival finds him at his employment. I tell you truly, he will place him over everything he owns.” We are already entrusted with the mystery of Jesus Christ. We enter it only gradually as we celebrate, pray, meditate, and contemplate the mystery each day. The Church puts the mystery before us every day in the Eucharistic celebration. In the Eucharist, we are called to share in the same inheritance. “This that has now been revealed through the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets was unknown to any men in past generations; it means that pagans now share the same inheritance, that they are parts of the same body, and that the same promise has been made to them, in Jesus Christ, through the gospel.” Therefore, let us draw the spiritual water of our salvation from this deep mystery of Jesus Christ with joy.

Let us pray: Almighty ever-living God, grant that we may always conform our will to yours and serve your majesty in sincerity of heart. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.