Introduction
The Year 8 cohort had gathered in the College Chapel for Mass. The visiting priest, young and dynamic, addressed them before proclaiming the Gospel, which was the one selected for this Gospel Enquiry.
“When you hear ‘stay awake,’ stamp your feet,” said Fr Joe. And they did, with some embarrassed laughs. No one had ever given them permission to move during the Gospel before … and probably no one, since then.
Celebrating the Eucharist with the Year 8 cohort gave Fr Joe an opportunity to participate in their Christian formation. While it is tasked to all missionary disciples of Jesus to assist in the formation of everyone they meet, the priest is placed in a unique position in this task.
Fr Joseph Cardijn was convinced of the importance of the role of the priest in the formation of the people entrusted to him. He spent his priestly life engaged in the formation of young Christian leaders. He published Laymen into Action in 1964 and he wrote in his book that it is the duty of the priest to encourage lay people to
… open themselves to the sanctifying action of God and develop a personal spirituality which will give them strength to carry out their mission in its fullest and deepest sense. It is only then that they will be capable of truly fulfilling the apostolic command.
My parish priest says from time to time that he is in our community to serve us. He models for us well the attention we all must give to the responsibility to lead others to Christ. May this Gospel Enquiry make some contribution to this task.
The Gospel
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Stay awake, because you do not know the day when your master is coming. You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known at what time of the night the burglar would come, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed anyone to break through the wall of his house. Therefore, you too must stand ready because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
‘What sort of servant, then, is faithful and wise enough for the master to place him over his household to give them their food at the proper time? Happy that servant if his master’s arrival finds him at this employment. I tell you solemnly, he will place him over everything he owns. But as for the dishonest servant who says to himself, “My master is taking his time,” and sets about beating his fellow servants and eating and drinking with drunkards, his master will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know. The master will cut him off and send him to the same fate as the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.’ (Matthew 24:42-51)
The Enquiry
See
What is happening in this scene? Is Jesus presented differently than in the rest of the Gospel here? What is common to the image of Jesus found throughout the Gospel?
What does Jesus reveal about God through the two stories he tells?
Why does Jesus warn his disciples to be vigilant? What happens later in the Gospel story that shows he knew how easy it is for people to fall?
Judge
What do you make of this event? Have you ever experienced life in the ways Jesus describes here? How was your life impacted by the need to be vigilant, or your failure to be vigilant?
What is the ideal relationship with God like? Where do you find this relationship in the stories Jesus tells his disciples?
What is there in Jesus’ stories here that makes you feel uncomfortable? What is the challenge Jesus gives to you through his stories here?
Act
So, what do you want to change in yourself and in the world because of what Jesus reveals through this event in his life?
What small action can you carry out that will contribute to the change you want to see?
Who can you involve in your action, when, where and how often?
Image Source: Fr Lawrence Lew OP (Creator), a detail from the apse mosaic of St John Lateran, Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Worth reading: Cardijn, J. (1964). Laypeople into Action. Originally published in French in 1963, this is the only book written by Cardinal Joseph Cardijn. The book was translated into English by Anne Heggie and published in 1964 as Laymen into Action. Almost 60 years later, ATF Press released an imprint of this classic. You may order a copy here. Cardijn’s words quoted in the Introduction were taken from Chapter 8: “Priests and Laypeople in the Church’s Mission.”