Did anyone else notice that all of the Sunday readings throughout
November focused on a call to action? God
doesn't want us to be passive in our relationship with Him. He wants us to live active lives doing all
things for Him. He has given us the
talents and he wants us to do something with them for Him.
And doing for Him
also means doing for others.
In Matthew 22:36-40 Jesus gave us a very simple formula for
the Law of Love in the Greatest Commandment.
"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"
He said to him,
"You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."
From Matthew 25:1-13 Jesus tells a parable that cautions us
to be prepared and stay awake as we wait for him. A week later we heard another parable from
Matthew 25:14-30 about using talents to increase their return. Like the servants, our talents are gifts on
loan from God and we have a responsibility to use these gifts, to develop them
and see what they yield. Like the master
in the parable, God will come without notice to claim the return and give you a
new talent.
The Sunday before Advent started, we celebrated Christ the King, the end of our Liturgical
Year, with the Gospel reading from Matthew that defines Corporal Works of Mercy,
outlining the very action God asks from us out of our Love for Him and one
another.
Advent opened this week with another call to action when, in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus said to his disciples: “Be
watchful! Be alert!
Jesus isn't asking us to wait quietly, passively, but with
action. Be alert. Be aware. Be prepared!