Thursday, August 30th 2018

Thursday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

LECTIONARY
428

FIRST READING
1 COR 1:1-9

Paul, called to be an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
and Sosthenes our brother,
to the Church of God that is in Corinth,
to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy,
with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I give thanks to my God always on your account
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.
He will keep you firm to the end,
irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is faithful,
and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

PSALM
PS 145:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

Response: I will praise your name for ever, Lord.

Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.

Generation after generation praises your works
and proclaims your might.
They speak of the splendor of your glorious majesty
and tell of your wondrous works.

They discourse of the power of your terrible deeds
and declare your greatness.
They publish the fame of your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your justice.

GOSPEL
MT 24:42-51

Jesus said to his disciples:
"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 Son of Man will come.

"Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant,
whom the master has put in charge of his household
to distribute to them their food at the proper time?
Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so.
Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property.
But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is long delayed,'
and begins to beat his fellow servants,
and eat and drink with drunkards,
the servant's master will come on an unexpected day
and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely
and assign him a place with the hypocrites,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth."

Daily Reflection

30th August 2018

The Gospel today invites us to reflect on the way we go about our lives by reminding us of the temporality of this earthly existence. That we shall die to our earthly life is a certainty, but the ‘when’ is uncertain! We could procrastinate change, always hoping that we have tomorrow; or we could spend our time in passive anticipation. Today’s parable – of the householder never knowing of the time of arrival of the burglar – stresses watchfulness; being alert and attentive to the opportunities God sends our way.

The Corinthian Christians had grown lax in their lifestyle waiting for the coming of Christ. In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul urges them to remain steady and blameless in their faith as they waited to be finally united with Christ.

In the texts today, God is not inviting us to reflect on death, but on the resurrection and life with Him ever after. All that He asks is that we be ready and able to accept the invitation when it comes!