Our Holy Fathers and Hieromartyrs Clement, Pope of Rome, and Peter, Bishop of Alexandria.
Leave-taking of the Feast of the Entrance of the Mother of God. Nativity Fast.
2 Thessalonians 1:10-2:2; Luke 12:42-48.
Read Luke 12:42-48
If you knew you had one day left to live, how might you spend your time? Likely your priorities would change. You might decide to stay home from work or school. Maybe you would finally be brave enough to have that uncomfortable conversation with someone to ask them for forgiveness. Maybe you would go to church, ask for the Mystery of Reconciliation, and attend the Divine Liturgy. If would keep mindful that our time here on earth is limited and can end suddenly and unexpectedly, then we would strive to focus on the most important things.
Jesus told us: “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” (Mt. 24:36). We do not know when Christ will come again to judge the living and the dead, and we do not know the day our lives will end. The servant who acted wickedly, beating the menservants and the maidservants, eating and drinking gluttonously, was a wicked servant. We have a call to holiness. Even without knowing when Christ will come or when our lives will end, we should always seek to perform our Father’s will and to do what is good. This call to be ready at all times is not a call to live our lives in fear but rather a call to earnestly strive to always love God and neighbor.
Seeking God’s will for us is not about the prideful, grandiose idea that there is something we need to discover as individuals to make our mark on humanity. Rather, we fulfill God’s will by being attentive to those people and situations that God brings into our lives. St. Theophan the Recluse gives the example of a beggar who comes up to you. Understand that it is God who has brought this particular beggar to approach you, and God watches us to see if we will treat the beggar in a way that is pleasing to Him. If we view every encounter we have with others in our lives through this perspective, then we will see how many opportunities there are to fulfill God’s will and the commandment to love.