Wednesday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Recently, I was struggling to get everything done at work. While my workload kept growing, my ability to juggle the amount of tasks was diminished because I was overwhelmed. Ministry is often an unpredictable vocation. The message that kept coming to me in prayer was be prepared. As an Eagle Scout I understand that motto well, yet my ability to handle unexpected realities suggested otherwise.
Being prepared means understanding the mystery that is our “eternal purpose” which means that all we do is done with the gift of God’s grace. For Paul, this meant being humble in his understanding of self, and bold in his understanding that all he did was through faith in Jesus. Fr. Robert Barron, a priest from the Archdiocese of Chicago, puts it a different way. “Our lives are not about us.” Even my first sentence suggests that I was the one trying to accomplish of this ministry.
Who is it that accomplishes anything; is it us or the one who sent us? Perhaps we could ponder our own internal motivations in order to answer this question. Paul states that we are slaves of the one whom we obey. Therefore our actions are not ours for our own sake, instead they are done on behave of God. This is how we can understand that all good comes from God.
If we understand who we belong too, then our actions will follow. This understanding will help us be joyful servants who are always prepared no matter when the master approaches with a need or task. The tension for many of us is that we struggle to be completely obedient to the Lord. We are obedient to a point, like when it is convenient. Lord, this sin does not have much power over me, in fact it helps me. Or I might say the master is away so it really doesn’t matter what I am accomplishing. Yet it does matter. The Master, our Lord is always present calling us to be faithful servants.
"Lord, help us to be aware of your presence so that we are always prepared to do your will. Then no matter what the circumstance we will be joyful disciples who serve you with our whole heart, mind and soul. Then we will always be prepared when You call upon us. Amen!"
- Deacon Michael Montgomery