Faith Is Your Passport To Heaven

𝐀𝐔𝐆. 𝟏𝟎, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐇 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄

𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐖𝐢𝐬 𝟏𝟖:𝟔-𝟗

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟑𝟑:𝟏, 𝟏𝟐, 𝟏𝟖-𝟐𝟐 “𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐰𝐧.”

𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐇𝐞𝐛 𝟏𝟏:𝟏-𝟐, 𝟖-𝟏𝟐 𝐨𝐫 𝟏𝟏:𝟏-𝟐, 𝟖-𝟏𝟗

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐋𝐤 𝟏𝟐:𝟑𝟐-𝟒𝟖

𝑲𝒆𝒚 𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆: “..𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑴𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎.” (𝒗.40) 

           For a better understanding of today’s Gospel in 𝐋𝐤 𝟏𝟐:𝟑𝟐-𝟒𝟖 which started with Jesus saying: “𝑫𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒅, 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒌, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒅𝒐𝒎.” (𝒗.32)  I would suggest that you go back one verse before this. In it you will find Jesus telling his disciples and the people: “𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒌 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒅𝒐𝒎, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍.” (𝒗.31)

         This is important so we can get an idea of the substance of the entirety of today’s Gospel. In verse 31, we see Jesus laying down the parameters of a worry-free life and this is to have a heart that is fixed wholly on God. This is what we may term as the undivided outlook on our Creator.

           This simply means that if we place ourselves in the palm of God’s hands, then it is His obligation to take care of us so we need not worry what we are to eat or drink or about your body, what you are to wear. (𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝟔:𝟐𝟓)

          Aspiring for material possessions can blind us and make us unprepared for the Lord’s return. Because of our attachment to material possession and the world, we tend to neglect that which is far more important – the eternal life that God promised to those who will surrender to His Will.

         As in the other teachings of Jesus, one of the primary means through which Our Lord conveys his message of salvation was using parables and stories that were not only relevant to the times but also narratives to which his audience or listeners were quite familiar with.

         And through these stories, Jesus made sure that there was an element of surprise such as in the parable of the workers in the vineyard who were paid the same amount of wages or in this story of the master who went home after the marriage feast which was rather unusual because wedding feasts in those days normally lasted for several days.

         Perhaps there was a reason for it. The master probably wanted to catch his servant off-guard and see if he was sleeping and not keeping watch over his estate. In these times of economic and political uncertainty we can see not only a sudden rise in crime incidents ranging from petty thievery like snatching to the more daring instances of robbery holdups and online scams.

         But what about those who burn the so-called midnight oil to stash up on cash or to some extent the busybodies in the church or community who believe that they are earning points in heaven by supplanting the more important mission objective of the church which is to proclaim the Good News with programs and projects..

         What do these instances tell us about the Kingdom of Heaven? What we must carve in our minds and hearts is that the treasure that God offers is of far greater value that any earthly treasure. We are not saying that programs and projects are not good. They are also good, but these projects must not supplant the more important goal of the church/ community which is to bring Christ to the lapsed Catholics and the unchurched especially in this era marked by relativism, hedonism, individualism and minimalism.

         This is the 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐 𝒂𝒅 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒔 of the church/ community and many times we lose sight of this mission and focus on fishing in our own aquarium. This was what Archbishop Soc Villegas said in of the conferences I attended – that there must be a paradigm shift in the way we pursue our calling as he stressed that we should not focus so much in fishing in our aquarium because they are already ours. Instead, he said that we must fish outside of the aquarium.

         In retrospect, I believe that we can only do this if we are anchored on what the real treasure is or that which we value in life. Are we attached to the material things that we have acquired and continue to accumulate or are we striving to gain the eternal treasure that God has promised which is the Kingdom of Heaven and not lose it.

         The world may have probably clouded our view of this treasure because of the comforts the world offers but we must not forget that the real and only treasure that could provide us joy is the Lord himself whom we should see as the gold and silver who can provide us with delight and restore us to our original nature (𝐉𝐨𝐛 𝟐𝟐:𝟐𝟐-𝟐𝟑).

         The Lord is actually offering us a relationship with Him as sons and daughters and the promise of eternal life as well and if we will only make the Lord our treasure, He will make us his honored friends at his banquet table in heaven.

         The parable in this Sunday’s Gospel passage also contains a lesson in faithfulness and a warning against laziness. Faithfulness is important to God because it is the foundation for any lasting and meaningful relationship. Fidelity is what provides us with the resolve to persevere in our commitment to know him, love him and serve him.

         While there is no doubt that our Lord is totally committed to us in a bond of unbreakable love and fidelity which is the covenant that he made to us, our being faithful to him is the one thing that he expects us to commit.

         This is what covenant means – and as his disciples we are mandated to keep our word, promise, and commitment that we made when we entered into a covenant with God no matter how tough or difficult our lives become.

         To be called sons and daughters of God carry with it tremendous responsibility primary of which is to allow the gifts that God has poured out on us to grow and bear fruit and the more he gives in terms of blessings we have received as reward for our faithfulness, more will be required from us.

         Many times, we have this wrong notion that getting involved in so many programs and projects in the church/ community is what God requires from us to reciprocate the blessings we have received. What we may not be aware of is that when we are faithful even in the little tasks and promises we make, our faith increases such that God will entrust to us bigger and more important responsibilities and tasks. But these are conditioned on our not losing sight of the premise that these tasks should lead us to a genuine worship of God.

         This, however, is easier said than done because in the post-modern world that we live in today faith has been replaced by science and reason such that many of the people today follow their own dictates based on their own emotions and convictions rather than on faith in the unseen God. What we think and believe is good for us has also supplanted prayerful discernment as the platform in life’s pursuits.

         And in this era when everything has become relative, it is sad that even baptized Catholics have lost sight of the presence of God. Furthermore, we have lost our view of our eternal destiny and have forgotten that “𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑴𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎.” (𝒗.40)   

         We must be like the servants in the gospel who are faithfully waiting and watching for the bridegroom (𝒗𝒗.35-40) and waiting for the Master (𝒗𝒗.41-48) who will come at an hour when we do not expect him.      

         As our political and civil society we live in today plunges deeper into the corruption of the body and soul it has become imperative that we come to grips with the fact depicted in today’s Gospel passage that when the day of reckoning comes it is the faithful servant who will receive his eternal inheritance while the unfaithful servant who wallowed in corruption will be condemned and sent to the company of unbelievers.

         Today’s Gospel passage in 𝐋𝐤 𝟏𝟐:𝟑𝟐-𝟒𝟖 should serve as a warning and as an advisory especially for baptized Catholics who take God and their faith for granted. In a world where materialism has become the new culture, we must be aware that there is a time when we will be judged when the Lord returns.

         The phrases “𝒄𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒘𝒐” (𝒗.46) 𝒂𝒏𝒅 “𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒏” (𝒗𝒗.47-48) doesn’t mean that there will be physical discipline at the Judgment Seat of Christ because we will all have glorified bodies when we die. But these phrases are a reminder that Jesus will deal with unfaithful servants (𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵) and not give them their reward (𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦).       

         The question we need ask ourselves now is would we risk our eternal inheritance in the Kingdom of Heaven to wallow in worldly comfort and luxury driven by our corrupt ways and keep God out of our lives? The choice is yours and yours alone to make. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 – 𝘈𝘶𝘨. 10, 2025)