Thursday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time
August 25, 2022
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/082522.cfm
Alleluia, alleluia.
Stay awake!
For you do not know when the Lord will come.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, our readings offer us beautiful blessings and vigorous encouragement for our spiritual lives.
Paul begins his letter of instruction to the Corinthians with a stirring reminder of the spiritual gifts they have received:
… to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy,
1 Corinthians 1:1
with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…
As we read these words, we open our hearts to allow Paul to speak to us who have received the same call and blessings as the Corinthians:
I give thanks to my God always on your account
1 Corinthians 1: 2-4
for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus,
that in him you were enriched in every way,
with all discourse and all knowledge,
as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you,
so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift
as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Wow! What if we really believed that blessing? What if we lived our lives like the fortified, invigorated Christians Paul describes!
What if we really woke up to the graces we have received and lived a life that witnessed to them!
That kind of awakened living is what Jesus calls us to in the Gospel.
Jesus said
Matthew 24: 42-44
“Stay awake!
For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
Be sure of this:
if the master of the house
had known the hour of night when the thief was coming,
he would have stayed awake
and not let his house be broken into.
So too, you also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Lord will come.
We often relate this Gospel to the final coming of Christ at the end of time when we don’t want to be caught off guard. But there is a much more extensive call in this powerful parable.
The Spirit of God comes to us in every moment of our lives. It reaches out to us with every breath through which we share in God’s eternal cosmic Inspiration. Jesus invites us not to miss God’s Presence in each moment – not simply the last one in our earthly lives.
As our day passes – as our lives pass – there are no vacuums where God is absent. God is there even in darkness and suffering. God is there even in the mindless bliss that can render us unconscious of our blessings.
Poetry: Psalm 145 – Opening Heart by Christine Robinson
Let us pray to be fully awake to God’s Presence as we pray today’s Responsorial Psalm as rendered by Pastor Robinson.
I exalt you, Holy One, and open my heart to you by remembering your great love. Your expansiveness made this beautiful world in a universe too marvelous to understand. Your desire created life, and you nurtured that life with your spirit. You cherish us all—and your prayer in us is for our own flourishing. You are gracious to us slow to anger and full of kindness You touch us with your love—speak to us with your still, small voice, hold us when we fall. You lift up those who are oppressed by systems and circumstances. You open your hand and satisfy us. You ask us to call on you— and even when you seem far away, our longings call us back to you. Hear my cry, O God, for some days, it is all I have.
Music: Psalm 145: I Will Praise Your Name
Lavish Mercy 