“Fear not, little flock…” Jesus begins with intimacy, not instruction. He calls us His little flock, small, vulnerable, but precious. Before He speaks of duty, of masters and servants, of rewards and beatings, He speaks like a shepherd to sheep: tenderly, lovingly, reassuringly. He has chosen to entrust us with the Kingdom. And trust always carries responsibility. He tells us, “Make money bags that do not grow old.” That is, live a life whose worth doesn’t fade with time, a life rooted in love, integrity, and eternal value. Then He adds: “Be dressed for action. Keep your lamps burning.”
There’s a space in each of us the world doesn’t see. Psychologists speak about the Johari Window. In that one quadrant holds what no one knows, not friends, not family, not even those who walk with us daily. Only we know. And God. It is there, in that secret space, that today’s Gospel knocks. Because Jesus isn’t just asking: Are you doing good things? He’s asking: Are you being faithful in the unseen? Are you awake, even in the room no one else enters?
Here is a story, In the Middle Ages, a group of stonemasons worked for decades on a towering cathedral. One man spent his life carving intricate angels into the highest pillars—details no one on the ground would ever see. When someone asked why he gave such care to what no human eye would notice, the craftsman replied, “Because God sees. And I want Him to find beauty even in the hidden places. “That’s the heart of this Gospel. This is the hard truth: we can appear faithful and still be asleep.
We can know the Master’s will and still delay it. And when we do, Jesus says, the consequences are real, to know the Master’s will and not live it brings a deeper wound. Not because God punishes, but because we were loved enough to be entrusted, and chose to ignore that gift. But the punishment is not the same for all. The one who knows and refuses will be held more accountable than the one who didn’t know. Knowledge is responsibility. Today, the Gospel invites us to reflect on:
What do we do with what we know—about God, about justice, about our own hearts? And even more: What kind of people are we becoming when no one is watching? When applause is gone? When the room is silent? When it’s just us—and the Master? Let us live like those stonemasons. Carving faithfulness even into the hidden corners of our lives.
- Lilly Pushpam PBVM
No comments:
Post a Comment