Servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God

Gospel of the Day (Luke 12:39-48)

Be 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.

You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come."

Then Peter said, "Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?"

And 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?

Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so.

Truly, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property.

But 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, then 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.

That servant who knew his master's will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; and 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.

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Reflections:

«Servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God» (1Cor 4,1)

In order to clarify the role of the servants he set at the head of his people, the Lord spoke this word related by the Gospel: «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? Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so»... If we should be wondering in what that food allowance consists, Saint Paul gives us the answer; it is «the measure of faith that God has apportioned» (Rom 12,3). What Christ called an allowance of food, Paul termed a measure of faith to teach us that there is no other spiritual food than the mystery of Christian faith. We give you this allowance of food in the Lord's name every time we speak to you according to the rule of the true faith, illumined by the spiritual gift of grace. As for that allowance, you receive it at the hands of the Lord's stewards each time you hear the word of truth from the mouth of God's servants.

May that food allowance God shares among us be our nourishment. Let us draw from it the solid food of our worthy behaviora so that we may come to the reward of eternal life. Let us believe in him who gives himself as food to us for fear we may collapse on the way (Mt 15,32) and who reserves himself to be our reward so that we may find joy when we reach our homeland. Let us believe and hope in him; let us love him above all and in all. For Christ is our food and will be our reward. Christ is the nourishment and comfort of travelers on their way; he is the contentment and rejoicing of the blessed in their repose.