A Faithful Servant 24/7

First Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Paul, called to be an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
and Sosthenes our brother,
to the Church of God that is in Corinth,
to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy,
with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I give thanks to my God always on your account
for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus,
that in him you were enriched in every way,
with all discourse and all knowledge,
as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you,
so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift
as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He will keep you firm to the end,
irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is faithful,
and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 145:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

R. (1) I will praise your name for ever, Lord.
Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.
R. I will praise your name for ever, Lord.
Generation after generation praises your works
and proclaims your might.
They speak of the splendor of your glorious majesty
and tell of your wondrous works.
R. I will praise your name for ever, Lord.
They discourse of the power of your terrible deeds
and declare your greatness.
They publish the fame of your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your justice.
R. I will praise your name for ever, Lord.

Gospel: Matthew 24:42-51

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Stay awake!
For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
Be sure of this:
if the master of the house
had known the hour of night when the thief was coming,
he would have stayed awake
and not let his house be broken into.
So too, you also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.

“Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant,
whom the master has put in charge of his household
to distribute to them their food at the proper time?
Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so.
Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property.
But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is long delayed,’
and begins to beat his fellow servants,
and eat and drink with drunkards,
the 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 hypocrites,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”

NAB

When I sat down to read today’s devotion, I wondered if I should put it off because I wasn’t in the mood for prayer and spiritual reading. It had been a rough day and I was out of sorts. Turning my mind to God was difficult at that moment. As I thought about it, though, that moment was the perfect time to stop and rest in God’s word. We all know too well that there are many things that keep us from spending quiet time with God—full schedules, looming deadlines, children to care for, household duties. There is always something to preoccupy our thoughts.

This was precisely what came to mind as I read today’s Gospel. I may not be as extreme as the wicked servant beating people and partying with drunkards but there are plenty of occasions when I’m being a less than faithful servant. I am reminded of times when I lost my temper with my kids, made an unkind remark to my husband, gossiped about a neighbor or when I hurried through my night prayers so I could read or watch a favorite show. I could have easily rationalized it all and thought that it wasn’t a big deal but all these things do matter.

In the First Reading, Saint Paul names the first Christians as you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy. Called to be holy!

God entrusted each of us with a calling and purpose in life. We are God’s servants and we have our work to do. It doesn’t mean that we can never take a break or enjoy recreational time, but we don’t get to take a break from living a life of virtue. Whether we are attending church or the local brewery with friends, we are still called to be faithful. Sometimes that means having to decline a certain movie or skipping that extra beer or enduring one more comment about “all those kids" or "why don't you have any kids yet?"

There are going to be times when we fail (even fail miserably) but God understands that. His mercy is ready and waiting to pick us back up. Our job is to not let out guard down or become complacent and think we’re "not so bad." We should always be diligent and trying to live out our vocation as faithful servants 24/7.

His mercy is ready and waiting to pick us back up.Click to tweet

Take a look at your life and ask the Holy Spirit if there is an area where you have become lazy or complacent (i.e., your prayer life, your attitude, your patience, your charity, etc.) Resolve to do one thing today that will help you improve that area.

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Bobbi Rol is a wife, a mama of four and a blogger learning to love God in the midst of dishes, laundry and swinging light sabers. You can find out more about her here.

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