Thursday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
(I Thessalonians 3:7-13; Matthew 24:42-51)
Both the first reading and the gospel today address the
Lord’s imminent coming. St. Paul prays
that his beloved Thessalonian converts may be faithful to the love they share
in Christ. He wants them to prepare for
Christ’s coming by showing self-sacrificing love toward one another as he did in
his exhausting mission from Asia to Europe.
Jesus likewise urges his disciples to be conscious of what
they do. He wants them prepared for his
return by working diligently for one another’s good and living together in
peace. His words, “Stay awake!” are not
only metaphorical. They urge a
deliberate attention to what they daily do so that their doings may not be
compromised by self-love.
Our tendencies to self-concern seem to grow as we become
older. Love of self is not bad, but it
does require conscious attention. If
not, we will allow self-concern to override the common good. Jesus comes not only at the end of time but
everyday. We want to rejoice in his
arrival today by being a blessing to the other people we meet.
