The WORD in other words (2013) by Fr Vicente Uy SVD – Holy Name University, Tagbilaran City
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time – C
How trustworthy are we with the things of this world? This is the question posed to us by the Gospel. As an initial response, it’s tempting to say, ‘Yes, I am’. But when we go down to specifics, we might have second thoughts. For example, how trustworthy or responsible are we with our life, with our family, with our possessions, or with our work and profession? One simple test to gauge how far somebody is being trustworthy or responsible is the way he drives. Does he follow traffic rules? Is he courteous to the other drivers? Does he give way to pedestrians?
A woman once asked Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong what she had to do to prepare for heaven. He advised her to begin in her bedroom! What did he mean by it? Did he mean that she should work on her prayers, especially at night before going to bed or early morning before going to work? Did he mean that she should keep the room neat and clean? Or that she should improve her relationship with her husband? Maybe he meant all three. And why not?
The message of the Gospel today is simple and straightforward: Any preparation for the Kingdom of God is done by working on the little things of life, such as working on one’s prayers, keeping one’s room neat and clean or improving one’s relationship with one’s spouse, etc.
Matthew’s scene of the Last Judgment illustrates this very clearly:
“The Lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord.” (Mt.25:21)
On the other hand, the servant who misused his position was refused entry because the Lord found him not trustworthy. So, the kind of decisions we make in our everyday life matters. For any decision we make qualifies us as trustworthy or not. Basically , it’s a question of saying “Yes” or “No” to God’s commandments. Take for example the case of Adam and Eve. It was just a simple test of obedience involving one of the most basic areas of life—food! You can eat this but not that. Still, they failed!
Here are some questions to ask to find out whether one is trustworthy or not: How do we treat our spouse, children, or friends? Do we keep our word? Are we short-tempered, hard to get along with, stubborn and uncooperative unless things are done our way? Are we quick to judge, impatient, malicious, foul-mouthed or rebellious?
