This Sunday’s Gospel reminds us of the reason why Jesus, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, left His heavenly dwelling and became one of us…“to set the earth on fire!” Just like the Holy Spirit came down as tongues of fire to inflame the followers of Jesus in the early Church, to live and preach the Gospel, Jesus came down with the same holy fire of His love, to make us bearers of His light of truth, faith, and hope.
The United States Coast Guard summarizes today’s gospel in one forceful and brief Latin phrase: Semper Paratus: Always Ready. The message and parables of today’s Gospel are stitched together with themes of vigilance, preparedness, generosity and fidelity. Christians are to be “girded” ready for action. Readiness is an amazing disposition of a Christian’s character and identity. It is the realization that the most important aspect in life is to live in communion with God. The only way we will experience the fulfillment of His promises in this life and the next, we need to make our friendship with God the number one priority of our lives. Only then, will we be able to experience true meaning and carry out our tasks to fulfill our mission as His disciples in our lives that calls us to know, love, and serve God and our neighbor in a unique way. The extent of our trust, readiness, integrity and our “treasure” (what we most value and desire) of our mission will be the expression of discovering and fulfilling that supernatural task and purpose in our lives. Jesus wants us to live in such a close relationship with Him, to be vigilant, and to trust His direction of where to place and invest our treasure not because it is the right thing to do, but because He loves us, He wants us, and He encourages our own happiness. Semper Paratus.