Nineteenth Sunday in ordinary time

Liturgy of the Word:

Wis. 18:6-9;

Ps. 33:1, 12, 18-19, 20-22;

Heb. 11:1-2, 8-19 or 11:1-2, 8-12;

Lk. 12:32-48 or 12:35-40

1. 1st Reading, Wis. 18:6-9 —Wisdom continues the story of God’s providence over his chosen people, especially during the dark days of their captivity in Egypt. It interprets Ex. 11 and 12 with mystical and metaphorical imagery. While the angel of the Lord was striking down the first born of the Egyptians, the vigilant Hebrew slaves were being steadfast in their hope and trust in the Lord and also obediently offering grateful sacrifice to the Lord (vv. 8-9). This was the night of the first Passover.

2. Resp. Ps. 33:1, 12, 18-19, 20-22 — Our Responsorial Psalm speaks of God’s providence for the righteous, the upright, and the God-fearing. These are blessed by God. So we, too, should put our trust and hope in God.

3. “Rejoice, you righteous, in the Lord; praise from the upright is fitting” (v. 1).

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people chosen as His inheritance” (v. 12). “Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon those who fear him, upon those who count on his mercy, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive through famine” (vv. 18-19). “My soul waits for the Lord, he is our help and shield. In him our hearts rejoice; in his Holy Name we trust. May your mercy, Lord, be upon us; as we put our hope in you” (vv. 20-22).

4. 2nd Reading, Heb. 11:1-2, 8-19 or 11:1-2, 8-12 — Hebrews 11:1 is the only explicit definition of religious faith in the Bible: “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.”

Like our 1st Reading, Hebrews 18 is trying to bolster the faith of the Jewish Christians, by appealing to the example of their ancestors who had believed in promises yet to be fulfilled.

5. The first example is Abraham. “By faith Abraham obeyed.” He went to a foreign land, “not knowing where he was to go” (vv. 8-9). He was looking for a “city with foundations, whose architect and maker is God. By faith he received power to generate,” even though he was old and Sarah was sterile. He believed that God who made the promise “was trustworthy” (vv. 10-11). “So it was that there came forth from one man, himself as good as dead, descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sands on the seashore” (v. 12).

6. Gospel, Lk. 12:32-48 or 12:35-40 — Prepare for the Coming of the Lord. In today’s Gospel, Jesus exhorts his disciples to have faith in God and to provide for themselves, not any treasure that wears out, but “an inexhaustible treasure in heaven.... For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be” (vv. 32-34).

7. Be faithful and prudent servants. Be vigilant for the coming of the Master. Blessed are you when you are ready to meet him anytime he comes, “for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come” (vv. 35-40).

8. When a servant believes that the Master’s arrival will be long delayed and begins to get drunk and be merry, and abuses other servants, the Master will arrive unexpectedly and will severely punish the unfaithful servant. “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more” (vv. 41-48).

9. The overall theme of today’s Liturgy of the Word is Faith and Trust in God. God has promised eternal life for those who believe in him. Our belief is proven through our deeds. We need then to be faithful and obedient disciples of the Lord and work with loving service for others, so as to amass inexhaustible treasures of virtue that last.

10. Prayer — Almighty ever living God, we dare to call you Father, as taught by the Holy Spirit. Bring, we pray, to perfection in our hearts the spirit of adoption as your sons and daughters, that we may merit to enter into the inheritance which you have promised. This we pray, through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Prayers, best wishes, God bless!