Homily for the
19th Sunday of Ordinary
Time
Aug. 7, 2022
Luke 12: 35-40
St. Pius X, Scarsdale, N.Y.
From the 1st reading: “Your people awaited the salvation of the
just” (Wis 18: 7).
Our short passage from the Book of Wisdom takes us back to the 1st Passover, when the angel of death in Egypt passed over the homes of the foes of the Hebrews and slew the 1st-born son of every family; and passed over the homes of the Hebrews, sparing them because, at Moses’ command, they’d offered sacrifice—the paschal lamb—and “put into effect with one accord the divine institution” (18:9), the observance of Passover.
Moses advised his people that the power
of God would fall upon the land—for “the salvation of the just and the
destruction of their foes” (18:7). They
had only to prepare for the Lord’s coming by eating the Passover meal and
marking their doorposts with the blood of the lambs, and they’d be saved. “The nite of the Passover was known beforehand”
(18:6), and they awaited their salvation.
Our Lord also tells his people—us—to be
ready for his coming: “be like servants
who await their master’s return. . . .
Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his
arrival” (Luke 12:36-37). It’s a
fundamental point of our faith that Christ will return: “He will come again in glory to judge the
living and the dead” (Creed).
Whereas the Hebrews were told
specifically when and how to prepare for the passing of the angel of death,
Christ hasn’t given us any specific about “when.” Instead, he advises us, “You also must be
prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come”
(12:40). The Last Day, the end of human
history, the Second Coming of the Lord, may be far in the future, or it could
be imminent, inaugurated by some cosmic catastrophe (a comet strike, for
instance), some ecological disaster, or a nuclear holocaust. If we’re as sober as Christ urges us to be,
we’ll always be vigilant and watchful for his coming at any hour, on any day. We pray during the Eucharistic Prayer that
“we look forward to his 2d coming,” and at the Communion rite that “we await
the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ.”
Far more certain is that for each of us
there will be a last day when the Son of Man will come and knock for us to open
for him (cf. 12:36). Jesus commands us,
“Gird your loins [fasten your belts] and light your lamps and be ready” for the
Master’s coming (12:35). We may hope for
some advanced notice, e.g., thru a medical diagnosis (as frightening as that
may be), but we know that death may strike unexpectedly on the highway, on a
city street, in a shopping mall, from a heart attack. Who in eastern Kentucky 2 weeks ago expected
a flash flood to take away 37 souls? What
youngster swimming in the Rockaways expects to be grabbed by an undertow? None of us has a guarantee that he or she
will see tomorrow. The older I get, the
more aware I am of that. Yet I hope
that, like the ancient Hebrews, I’m awaiting the salvation of the just.
So Jesus doesn’t tell us “when.” But he does tell us how to prepare for his
coming, either on the world’s Last Day or on our own last day. Be faithful to God, observe the commandments,
love one another, care for the less fortunate.
Always be ready, looking toward the Lord.
He
adds a wonderful note: “Blessed are
those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have
them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them” (12:37). What an image! We’ve all heard of the heavenly banquet,
God’s kingdom compared to the grandest feast we can imagine. Here’s Jesus telling us not only that he’ll
admit us to the feast, but that he’ll wait on us personally. What a reward for following him, for a life
of faithful prayer, kindness, and reverence for one another.
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