Click here to read the daily readings from the USCCB website.
Our readings today tell us a lot about our identity. Paul says at the end of the first reading, "so then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God." And Jesus reminds us that we are at the same time servants of a master.
This led me to reflect on the idea of citizenship of heaven. Fr. Andy preached on this for his radio mass and Facebook homily this weekend. I swear I'm not getting into politics, but because of this election I've heard a lot of talk about what it means to be a responsbile citizen of the United States. By and large what you hear more than anything else is our responsibility to vote. But what this whole conversation is saying is that our citizenship comes with responsibilities. We must obey the law. We must pay taxes. That's the exchange for all the services the government does for us.
What about our heavenly citizenship? If God were such a loving God, how could He have expectations of us? Isn't our relationship supposed to be about unconditional love and not governance? You're right to a degree, but parents have rules and expectations for their children as well. Jesus tells us through parable that our citizenship asks of us to be servants. In serving our master, we will receive our reward. This isn't to say that we can earn salvation by doing enough service.
Because of our identity as citizens of heaven and members of the household of God, God asks that we behave towards Him as any good child would toward a good father. We serve not out of some sort of indentured servitude, but because we love.
So be awake and vigilant even during the second and third watch, for the Lord is coming and blessed are those servants whom He finds prepared.
-Amanda Benner, Director of Evangelization