Jesus Christ will come at an hour that we do not expect.  That is why we must be ready and be among the bright, not among the dull.

Four Sundays ago, we heard that among God’s guests were bad and good folks.  Today we hear that the bright and the dull make up those who watch for the coming of Jesus.

So then, we are fish of every kind that the net gathers (Mt 13, 47-52).  But in the end, they save the good and throw away the bad.  And it is those who are bright that enter the kingdom of God, while the dull stay outside the gate.

And the bright people are those who are always ready even for a long wait.  That is why they foresee their needs.  It is just the same for them if Jesus comes early or late.  For they have enough so that their lamps will not go out.

Those who are bright, yes, do all that is necessary to keep their lamps lit and their faith and hope alive.  That is to say, they do good deeds.  And as people see these, they praise their Father in heaven (Mt 5, 16).  So then, their light shines bright in pitch darkness.

Wanted:  Bright Disciples

In these dark and uncertain times, we need, indeed, bright men and women to shine before us.  We need disciples to show us how to put into practice the words of the Teacher (Mt 7, 24; CRCM II:1).  In that way, we build on the rock.

These people will open our eyes so that it becomes plain to us what the pandemic tells us.  Namely, that all the securities that we set up about health, quality of life and other things do not give us certainty, after all.  To rely on them is to build on the sand.

And, of course, the hope that bright disciples harbor does not cheat them of the happiness of the present.  For their hope for a new earth does not weaken but enlivens rather their concern for this earth now (GS 39).  Their hope spurs them on even more “to work with all men in the building of a more human world” (GS 57).

That is why bright people foster the culture of encounter and brotherhood, or sisterhood, that are the traits of the poor.  For there lies the true religion, the living faith, the unbreakable hope (SV.EN XI:190; SV.EN XII:142) of salvation.

Lord Jesus, ask the Father to give us the Spirit of wisdom.  We will thus be bright servants who watch for your coming.  Make us who hold your Supper on this earth sit at table one day in heaven.  And thus, too, shall we always be with you.

8 November 2020
32nd Sunday in O.T. (A)
Wis 6, 12-16; 1 Thes 4, 13-18; Mt 25, 1-13