May the Lord give you peace in the Holy Spirit. It is on 31st August 2023. We reflect on 1 Thessalonians 3:7-13 and Matthew 24:42-51.
Are we ready to meet the Lord?
“Stay awake, for you cannot know the day your Lord is coming.” Neglect is the proof of abuse and unpreparedness. We are pilgrims and stewards of God’s blessings. Diligence does not tolerate negligence and duty. When we feel insecure within, we tamper with the security and safety of others.
In the first reading, St. Paul after hearing from St. Timothy about faith and love among the Thessalonians urged them to extend their love and faith to the whole human race. Love and faith must not be just shared for the people we live with and belong to. It needs a wider circulation so that it grows and deepens the rest of humanity.
“May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for the whole human race, just as we abound in love for you.” (1 Thes.3:7-13).
Our love and faith for Christ must overflow to the rest of the world. We need to demonstrate this deep love for Christ persistently and actively in our daily lives when we are struggling to know the will of God and when we are repeatedly refused or denied what we long to have in our lives.
Our love for Christ must not be overshadowed by the experiences and the treatments we receive from others. It needs to be growing and maturing day by day through all sorts of experiences whether painful or joyful. Our capacity to love needs to be filled by God time and time again. The world around us needs to experience the love of God when we express it maturely. We need to create opportunities to express the selfless love of God in our humble services to others.
Let us not be satisfied loving those few people in our lives and in our communities; let us courageously move forward and move out of the comfortable shell of loving the few to share our deep and selfless love to those who lost everything in their lives.
The responsorial Psalm prays, “Fill us with your love that we may rejoice.” (Ps.89:14).
The Gospel invites us to be always prepared to meet the Lord. God can call us at any time of our lives whether we have completed the mission of love and charity in our lives. It is just one single chance to be human and to be charitable, let us love and lead others to love the one who filled us with such deep love. Christ’s coming is sudden and there is not second chance for bargaining and repentance. Our destiny will be decided by the way we have demonstrated love in the world. Are we ready to meet our creator? Our preparation to meet the Lord must culminate not just in waiting for Him in idleness but rather in taking care of vulnerable people and doing God’s will in the church and in the world. May you have the courage to love when love is meaningless and under criticism. May the Lord strengthen your hearts in holiness.