Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Be faithful and prudent steward


October 21, 2015

Wednesday of the Twenty-ninth week in Ordinary Time


Readings    


12Therefore, sin must not reign over your mortal bodies so that you obey their desires.[1] 13And do not present the parts of your bodies to sin as weapons for wickedness, but present yourselves to God as raised from the dead to life and the parts of your bodies to God as weapons for righteousness.

14 For sin is not to have any power over you, since you are not under the law but under grace. 15What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? Of course not!

16Do you not know that if you present yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?

17But thanks be to God that, although you were once slaves of sin, you have become obedient from the heart to the pattern of teaching to which you were entrusted. [2] 18Freed from sin, you have become slaves of righteousness.


1Had not the LORD been with us, let Israel say, 2Had not the LORD been with us, when people rose against us, 3Then they would have swallowed us alive, for their fury blazed against us.

4Then the waters would have engulfed us, the torrent overwhelmed us; 6Blessed is the LORD, who did not leave us to be torn by their teeth.

7We escaped with our lives like a bird from the fowler’s snare; the snare was broken, and we escaped. 8Our help is in the name of the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth.


39Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.[3] 40You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come."

41Then Peter said, "Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?" 42And the Lord replied, "Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute (the) food allowance at the proper time?
43Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so.

44Truly, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. 45But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk,[4] 46then that 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 unfaithful.

47That servant who knew his master's will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; 48and the servant who was ignorant of his master's will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more. 





Notes on Readings

[1] Romans 6:12-19 - Christians have been released from the grip of sin, but sin endeavors to reclaim its victims. The antidote is constant remembrance that divine grace has claimed them and identifies them as people who are alive only for God's interests.

[2] Romans 6:17-  In contrast to humanity, which was handed over to self-indulgence (Romans 1:24-32), believers are entrusted ("handed over") to God's pattern of teaching, that is, the new life God aims to develop in Christians through the productivity of the holy Spirit. Throughout this passage Paul uses the slave-master model in order to emphasize the fact that one cannot give allegiance to both God and sin.

[3] Luke 12:35-48 - This collection of sayings relates to Luke's understanding of the end time and the return of Jesus. Luke emphasizes for his readers the importance of being faithful to the instructions of Jesus in the period before the parousia.

[4] Luke 12:45 - My master is delayed in coming: this statement indicates that early Christian expectations for the imminent return of Jesus had undergone some modification. Luke cautions his readers against counting on such a delay and acting irresponsibly. Compare the similar warning in Matthew 24:4. 

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Dear Humanity,

I personally encourage everyone to emulate JESUS' values on LOVE, FAITH, HOPE
and CHARITY, as the humanity has been a failure; which resulted to the more than two (2) years of pandemic and its after-effects on economy, not only here in the Philippines but worldwide.

And the saddest part of it, is that, it affected the POOREST of the POOR to even extremely be more poorer, in exchange of the affluent to be more richer.

Thank you and may GOD bless you and the whole family to have an enjoyed life's journey at home, Church, schools/universities, corporate commitments, public and places of interest.