Homily for Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C, 7th August, 2022

 Homily for Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time  Year C, 7th August, 2022

Reading: Wis. 18:6-9; Ps.33; Heb. 11:1-2.8-19; Luke 12:32-48

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

WILL YOU BE READY WHEN THE LORD SHALL COME?

It is often said that adequate preparation is the secret and foundation of every successful event. This is obvious when we observe how footballers, boxers, athletes, also engineers, doctors and farmers, business men and women devote time and energy in rigorous preparation towards achieving their goals. Then I said to myself, if we can go to this length of rigorous periods of preparation just for things of this passing world, it will be even more demanding when it has to do with preparing for eternal life. 

Therefore, if we can devote such time and energy towards our spiritual life which we often neglected, we will be more awake and prepared for the day of the Lord. This is what Jesus is telling us in our Gospel passage today, when he said to his disciples: “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. It may be in the second watch he comes, or in the third, wait for him, for happy are those servants if he finds them ready when he comes. 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.” 

Then he used the parable of faithful and wise steward to make this point clearer. And he concluded by saying: when a man has had a great deal given him, a great deal will be demanded of him; when a man has had a great deal given him on trust, even more will be expected of him. Here we have a scenario which illustrate the unexpected approach of the coming of Christ which will be a great surprise to those who are asleep as they will be missing out the heavenly joy and also be deprived of their earthly treasures. But for those that shall be found awake and ready, the Lord’s coming will be a happy day, while for those that are not prepared, it will be very dreadful. Thus our ignorance of the day and time of his coming is the reason for our watchfulness, so we must be awake and ready at all times.

  

Hence, in this passage we have two commands at the beginning and at the end which are not quite the same. The first command is based on God’s coming at an “hour” you do not know and the second have to do with managing the responsibility entrusted to us. For, just like the householder’s ignorance of the time when the thief would come is the reason why he does not watch. Thus, our ignorance of the day and time should be the reason for our watchfulness in order to prevent being robbed. So the image of the thief is chosen to illustrate the unexpected approach of the second coming of Christ which will be a great surprise to those who are not ready as they will be robbed of Heaven and even their earthly treasures.

Therefore, Jesus commanded us to stay awake, because we do not know either the day or the hour when the Lord will come. And this is obvious in our first reading today where we heard that this was the expectation of the people: The saving of the virtuous and the ruin of their enemies; For by the same act with which the Lord took vengeance on our foes, he made us glorious by calling us to himself. And St. Paul in our second reading today made us to know that only faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for, or prove the existence of the realities that at present remain unseen. 

Dear friends, we are called today to be ready. We are called to repentance. We are called to embrace the new life the Lord is offering us. We are called to a life of constant struggle towards perfection in order to embrace the Lord whenever he comes. We should be prepared at all times and be ready to make sacrifices like the faithful and wise stewards. We should be watchful for we know neither the day nor the hour when the Lord will call us Therefore, preparation is the key word. Let us not be deceived when the world suggest to us that the day of death is not coming soon and so forget who we are, and then, the day and time will take us by surprise.

Rather, let us be like those wise servants who are prepared at all times for the coming of the master knowing that this world is passing away. So we need to stay awake and be ready. We need to look into our inner being, our interior life in order to embrace the life of holiness and self-control that will help us to be more prepared for the coming of the Lord. Thus, we must change our disposition especially as regards our attitude towards the things of this passing world in order to embrace more of the things that will lead us to our heavenly kingdom for we are nothing but travelers in this world.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, we have often failed to listen to your warnings concerning the things of this passing world and the need for us to stay awake and be ready for your coming, give us the grace and wisdom to be well prepared to stand before you whenever you call us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy Sunday celebration.