READINESS FOR CHRIST

TUESDAY, TWENTY NINTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIMEE

Eph 2:12-22; Ps 85:9-14; Lk 12:35-38

Faithful Servants of Jesus Christ

We try to understand Saint Paul’s words in the first reading. He paints the lot of all of us, Gentiles, who were outside the Jewish race and therefore without faith, hope, and charity. If we remove our faith in Jesus Christ, which gives us access to divine promise and a new birth, what is left of this life? We are left with only the temporality of this present life. Without the divine word to guide our minds, we would sink into the sea of dissipation, as the whole world is; we would suffer the blindness we see afflicting people around us without faith. These are people who put all their hope in the passing things of the world and give all they have got to make themselves happy in this world of illusions. Paul revealed that such people are under the domination of demonic spirits. Those without faith walk in the darkness of error and disbelief. We see people who put in all they have for these passing amusements and goods that offer no consolation to the souls of the just. It is indeed sad to see some of us who profess faith in Jesus Christ are often carried away by the semblance of joy or pleasure the proud worldlings seem to showcase. We must pray often to overcome these temptations of the devil, as he did to our Lord himself.

Our Lord overcame Satan through his constant attention to the Father in his prayerful life. He taught us by his life, giving us an example of how to overcome our corrupt nature and live in the fullness of the grace he made superabundant for us. Paul therefore admonishes us not to go back to the emptiness and hopelessness of our former life without Christ. “Do not forget that you had no Christ and were excluded from membership of Israel, aliens with no part in the covenants with their Promise; you were immersed in this world, without hope and without God.” Since we were without God before, we are not unaware of the emptiness of faithless living. The evil one, making so many his puppets, tries to lure us back to sinful and transitory pleasures. These sinful amusements and pleasures pull our fallen nature into sin. The world will draw us back into sin if we fail to grip Jesus Christ firmly through prayerful attention to the grace of his presence with us. Of this divine presence, Paul writes: “But now in Christ Jesus, you that used to be so far apart from us have been brought very close, by the blood of Christ. For he is the peace between us, and has made the two into one and broken down the barrier which used to keep them apart, actually destroying in his own person the hostility caused by the rules and decrees of the Law.” This closeness to Christ and to God is mainly spiritual rather than carnal or physical.

By forgiving and cleansing us of our sins through his death on the Cross of Calvary, Christ rescued us from the dominion and rule of Satan and all his fallen angels. By sharing his Holy Spirit with us, he has admitted us into the household of God, the Temple which he constructed of all the nations, Jews and Gentiles alike, and consecrated to the Father. The House of Christ is the House of prayer. To abide in the House, we must be a people of fervent prayer. “So you are no longer aliens or foreign visitors: you are citizens like all the saints, and part of God’s household.” Our Lord calls this prayerful attitude readiness to open the door for the master. “See that you are dressed for action and have your lamps lit. Be like men waiting for their master to return from the wedding feast, ready to open the door as soon as he comes and knocks. Happy those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes.” Saint Augustine says the same in his letter to Proba, describing our desire for heaven as the heart of our prayers. “Let us always desire the happy life from the Lord God and always pray for it. But for this very reason we turn our mind to the task of prayer at appointed hours, since that desire grows lukewarm, so to speak, from our involvement in other concerns and occupations.” If our spiritual wealth is in Jesus Christ, we must focus our attention and heart’s desire on him. As we live and walk in the world, we must never allow the evil one to entrap our hearts on passing goods.

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