We know neither the day nor the hour during which we will encounter Jesus, either at our own death or at His Second Coming. Jesus would not have us live in constant fear of that moment, but today He does exhort us to live in vigilance and attentiveness, just as we would if we knew the hour when a thief was going to break into our home. We would be ready and waiting, armed if need be, prepared for any possibility. Come what may we would not be taken by surprise.
Yet when it comes to our life in Christ we so often neglect the future and our inevitable mortal end. We assume a long life, a peaceful end, but we cannot assume anything of the sort; none of us knows when or how we will die, just as we do not know when Jesus will return. Yesterday our Gospel spoke of the need to be vigilant and faithful, even when it seems our Master is away, and today we are taught that our Master will hold us accountable for our negligence, not out of cruelty but because we have all been entrusted with the care of tremendous gifts and graces: we are all stewards of God’s treasures. To the apostles especially He says this; deacons, priests, and bishops of the Church must take particular care of what has been entrusted to them! But all of us have been entrusted with something of great worth; the grace of our Baptism, for example, has come at the cost of His Son’s life! Have we been good stewards of this tremendous gift? When our Master returns at an unknown hour will He find us following His will, or will He find us failing to love others, eating and drinking and pursuing the treasures of this world, rather than cherishing Him and the treasures of the next?
For “much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.” Therefore take stock of all God has done for you, all He has given, and imagine standing before Him at the end of your life: what will you say? What do you have to show Him, to offer Him? If this thought is not a pleasant one, what must you do now to be a better steward, a more faithful and vigilant servant, such that when your Master comes you run to Him joyfully?