“Of what should befall that night, our fathers had good warning; confidence in Thy sworn protection should keep them unafraid. A welcome gift it was to Thy people, rescue for the just, and doom for their persecutors; at one stroke Thou didst punish our enemies, and make us proud men by singling us out for Thyself. In secret they offered their sacrifice, children of a nobler race, all set apart; with one accord they ratified the divine covenant, which bound them to share the same blessings and the same perils; singing for prelude their ancestral hymns of praise.”
Book of the Wisdom of Solomon, 18: 6-9 [link]
“See then, brethren, how carefully you have to tread, not as fools, but as wise men do, hoarding the opportunity that is given you, in evil times like these. No, you cannot afford to be reckless; you must grasp what the Lord’s will is for you. Do not besot yourselves with wine; that leads to ruin. Let your contentment be in the Holy Spirit; your tongues unloosed in psalms and hymns and spiritual music, as you sing and give praise to the Lord in your hearts.“
Letter of S. Paul to the Ephesians, 5: 15-19 [link]
That’s more or less the first reading this weekend, at the top. And below it a word from S. Paul about singing hymns of praise and thanksgiving (liturgically, as at Mass) in the midst of suffering and torment from enemies of Christ.
But let’s do something unusual and focus upon the second reading this reading, for this time it is actually far longer. Many years ago, when the Holy Father Paul VI gave us the new Mass, he ordered the novelty of the second reading because he thought that we need to hear more during the Mass from the letters of S. Paul and the other Apostles and bishops who gave the New Testament. The letter to the Hebrews is a crucial remainder of the theology of the second Temple, which was so very important to the religious awareness of both Jews and Jewish Christians in the first century, and here it demonstrates an essential element of the relationship of the human soul to God: the union with Him, and the faithful trust in Him that gives us the certainty, no matter how difficult life may become, that God has the bigger picture and will bring all things ultimately to a good end. So, we wait patiently for God and sing psalms and hymns of praise.
So then, the second reading talks of the faith of Abraham when he was asked by God to give up all his securities in life to take the long road towards an unknown future in the land of Canaan. So also, the second reading speaks of the faith of Sarah his wife, who was called to give her husband an heir in her nineties, an idea she laughed at at first but nevertheless trusted that God would carry out. These great patriarchs (and matriarchs) of the Hebrew nation died looking forward to a hope that they would never see themselves, but that would come to their descendants centuries later.
“Here is one man, a man for whom life is already over; and from him springs a race whose numbers rival the stars of heaven, or the uncounted grains of sand on the sea-shore. It was faith they lived by, all of them, and in faith they died; for them, the promises were not fulfilled, but they looked forward to them and welcomed them at a distance, owning themselves no better than strangers and exiles on earth.”
Letter of S. Paul to the Hebrews, 11: 12-13 [link]
As our Lord once said to His disciples, ‘…blessed are your eyes, for they have sight; blessed are your ears, for they have hearing; and, believe me, there have been many prophets and just men who have longed to see what you see, and never saw it, to hear what you hear, and never heard it…,’ [Gospel of S. Matthew, 13: 16-17, link] for generations of faithful Hebrews and Jews had pushed in faith towards what they themselves would never witness. So we today will not see the second coming of Christ with the eyes of our flesh, but we push forward towards it and towards the greater glory of the Church when that moment arrives and the divine Bridegroom claims Her as His spotless Bride. In the words of the first reading (above) about the Hebrew nation, God made them glorious by calling them to Himself. So also, as S. John says in the book of Revelation, Christ made the Church glorious by calling her to Himself.
Again, in words prophetic about the Christian Church that would be born centuries later, the book of Wisdom here speaks of the devout offering up their lives in this world in secret, sharing blessing and dangers at the same time while singing the hymns and songs of their ancestors. It is with this faithfulness in the midst of evil and moral dissolution of the world all around us that we sing together the psalm that we have at Mass this weekend, for like the Hebrews of old waiting for their Messiah to come the first time, we yet as we wait for His second coming rejoice in our union with Him, saying Blessed the people the Lord has chosen as His inheritance, whom He has chosen for His own.
When we think of our relationship with Christ, either as individuals or as a Catholic community, we are asked to keep our lamps of vigil lit, as we wait patiently for the return of Christ, when our relationship with Him will be finally consummated, or completed. From the gospel reading this weekend, it is obvious that this vigil is a command to the entire Church and not only the priests/bishops, although the question posed by the Apostle S. Peter demonstrates that Christ did have different sets of instructions for and different expectations of the Apostles/priests and for everybody else. It is an interesting exercise to discover the designated audience in the dialogues presented in the four Gospels that we have. When Peter asks the question, the second half of the gospel is aimed at the leaders and governors of the church, that is, the bishops and the priests, those who have been entrusted with the care of the Household of the Church.
“Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, dost Thou address this parable to us, or to all men?’ And the Lord answered, ‘Who, then, is a faithful and wise steward, one whom his master will entrust with the care of the household, to give them their allowance of food at the appointed time? Blessed is that servant who is found doing this when his lord comes; I promise you, he will give him charge of all his goods. But if that servant says in his heart, My lord is long in coming, and falls to beating the men and the maids, eating and drinking himself drunk; then on some day when he expects nothing, at an hour when he is all unaware, his lord will come, and will cut him off…'”
Gospel of S. Luke, 12: 41-46 [link]
Therefore, woe betide the priest or bishop who causes injury and scandal within the Church, for Christ will find him and, then, there is further talk about beatings. And more beatings for those who betray the law of love and justice, irresponsibly, for they know what Christ requires and ignored it. We might as well talk of degrees of responsibility. The governors of the Church have more responsibility because of their sacred Orders than other Christians and a greater obligation to observe the Law of Christ, but Christians in general have more responsibility than non-Christians in the same regard because of their consecration to God in baptism and confirmation. The punishment for sin corresponds to the level of responsibility to Christ.
“‘Yet it is the servant who knew his Lord’s will, and did not make ready for him, or do his will, that will have many strokes of the lash; he who did not know of it, yet earned a beating, will have only a few. Much will be asked of the man to whom much has been given; more will be expected of him, because he was entrusted with more.'”
Gospel of S. Luke, 12: 47-48 [link]
But coming back to the point of these long readings we have had this weekend: the very Jewish idea of faith and trust in God, even (or especially when) we do not understand why life is so difficult and suffering and pain is all around and everywhere we look. When distractions are everywhere, and there are a hundred other things we should do instead of attending Mass on Sundays and attending to our daily prayers and devotions. Because this religious observance helps us keep our lamps lit (as the wise virgins in the picture at the top of this post) and ready for the day Christ returns. The Church has waited for that day for two thousand years, and we are asked by our Lord to live as if that day is tomorrow, as if every day is our last. Live in the present, He says to us, and do not look too far into the future.
“‘Do not fret, then, asking, What are we to eat? or What are we to drink? or How shall we find clothing? It is for the heathen to busy themselves over such things; you have a Father in heaven Who knows that you need them all. Make it your first care to find the kingdom of God, and His approval, and all these things shall be yours without the asking. Do not fret, then, over tomorrow; leave tomorrow to fret over its own needs; for today, today’s troubles are enough.”
Gospel of S. Matthew, 6: 31-34 [link]
Catholic Louth and Mablethorpe 