Lk. 12: 32-48
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”(Benjamin Franklin) In today’s gospel, Jesus orients his disciples towards the eternal life that he came to provide. It is true that the meritorious sacrifice of Jesus at Calvary gifted us the entry into this eternal life which we lost due to our failures. However, we need to claim this eternal life through our way of life. We are called to put into practice the teachings of Jesus through our gospel spirit of sharing of all our resources and called to prepare treasure in heaven, which is our eternal life. “Where your treasure is, your heart also.” Once we realize how short and limited our time on earth is, we can better prepare ourselves for the next life.
The gospel’s second section Jesus reminds his disciples about the inevitable future encounter with the Lord. This encounter can happen at any time in their lives. Therefore, they should be prepared. We can’t give any excuses for our laxity. This encounter can happen at an unexpected time, but we should live our lives in such a way that we are always ready for this encounter as though it is going to happen soon. When we look at how our brothers live in general, we see that almost no one cared about this meeting. Everyone knows that one day they will encounter death, but they tend to live in the conviction that they are not accountable to anyone, and for them, there isn’t any reality after death. It is a dead end. Unfortunately, this category of people is increasing day by day. Just like the parable that Jesus shared about the rich man and Lazarus, like the brothers of Lazarus, it is not easy to convince them of this encounter.
In the third part, we see Peter asking Jesus whether this parable is for them or the public. Jesus makes himself clear that it is also for the disciples because they are entrusted with the duty to prepare others for this encounter by being symbols of God’s presence. If these stewards are found to be lazy or failing in their responsibilities, they will face harsh punishment because divine logic dictates that those who are entrusted with more will be demanded with more… These stewards are those who are called and chosen by the Lord as the shepherds of his people. Jesus tells Peter that they need to be more prepared and accountable than others because they enjoyed the special privilege of God’s love and grace.
As we reflect on this passage today, let us take a little time and ask ourselves if there is an immediate encounter with the Lord, are we ready? Can we be ready with our accountability? For this, we need to reorient our lives, taking into consideration that the real treasure is eternity. Each day of our lives we should live in such a way that we should have a deposit of good works that gives us the grace of meeting the Lord and being in his presence with a heart filled with memories of love and care that we celebrated in our earthly sojourn.