{"id":8741,"date":"2019-08-10T14:47:36","date_gmt":"2019-08-10T21:47:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lubukhati.org\/?p=8741"},"modified":"2019-08-10T14:47:36","modified_gmt":"2019-08-10T21:47:36","slug":"faithful-and-wise-servants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lubukhati.org\/?p=8741","title":{"rendered":"Faithful and Wise Servants"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

19th<\/sup> Sunday in Ordinary\nTime [C]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

August 11, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luke 12:32-48<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In ancient Israel, the masters of the\nhouse were often leaving their houses for business trips or attending social\ngatherings like weddings. They would entrust their houses and their possessions\nto chief servants. And this was the world without cellular phone, internet and\nGPS. Thus, the servants have no idea of the ETA (estimated time of arrival) of\ntheir masters. It could be 8 PM, midnight or even early in the morning. The\nbest attitude of a servant in this scenario is to be always vigilant and\nprepared for the arrival of his master.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being prepared is not\nunderstood as being idle or passivity, like someone who does nothing but wait\nnear the door, and just open the door when the master knocks. Jesus says, \u201cGird your loins and light your lamps\u2026 (Lk. 12:35)\u201d In ancient Israel,\npeople were wearing robe or tunic. It is a long dress that covers the entire\nbody, from the neck down to leg. When people are working, they gird their loins\nwith a robe or belt, to make sure that their tunic will not get in the way. In\nshort, the servants are doing their jobs, making sure that the house are in\norder, and ready to receive any order just in case their masters arrive. This\nis a kind of readiness and preparedness that Jesus asks of His disciples. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This kind of\npreparedness naturally comes the humble recognition of who we are. If the\nservant accepts that he is a servant and he is aware that the house belongs to\nhis master, he will not act as if he is the owner of the house and neglect his\njobs, but perform his jobs well despite the absence of his master. So, we need\nalso to recognize who we are and do the works that follow from our identity\nwell. If our pride gets in the way and we fail to recognize who we are. We\nstart playing God and we begin doing whatever we please, even to confidently\npredict the end of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on the\nScriptures, the Church always believes that Jesus will come for the second time\nin glory and bring the final judgment to the world. We do not know when Jesus\nwill come as the King, and those who prophesy that they know when, turn to be\ndangerous hoax. In 1997, Marshall Applewhite predicted that the earth would be\ndestroyed by the alien spaceships and the only way to survive was to \u201ctransfer\u201d\ntheir souls to other planet by committing suicide. Marshall and 36 followers\nkilled themselves, yet the earth\u2019s destruction never happened. Marshall was\nplaying God and he brought calamity to himself and his followers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be ready for the\ncoming of Jesus means that we realize who we are before God. If we are God\u2019s\nchildren, we love and obey our Father, and care for the other creations because\nGod care for them as well. If we are God\u2019s disciples, we faithfully follow Him\nand constantly learn from Him. If we are fathers, we love, protect and provide\nfor their family. If we are mothers, we love, care and educate our children.\nAnd when the Lord truly comes, we may be one of those “Blessed servant\nwho are faithful and prudent [see Lk. 12:42]\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time [C] August 11, 2019 Luke 12:32-48 In ancient Israel, the masters of the house were often leaving their houses for business trips or attending social gatherings like weddings. They would entrust their houses and their possessions to chief servants. And this was the world without cellular phone, internet and GPS. Thus, the servants have no idea of the ETA (estimated time of arrival) of their masters. It could be 8 PM, midnight or even early…<\/p>\n

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