Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant

The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat

and will bring me safe to his heavenly Kingdom.

To him be glory forever and ever. Amen. -2 Timothy 4:18

I have not offered a reflection on the readings for the Holy Mass in about 14 weeks.  It has been quite a time on this deployment to step away from what I thought was formulaic reflections.  The past few weeks have been quite a struggle and yet at the same time, I have come to know God’s grace on a deeper and more personal level.  Just last night as we were celebrating Mass on the FOB, I could not help but form a reflection and homily in my mind as I the Mass went on.  

Captive... Imprisoned... Despised... Alone...  These were words that passed through my mind as I reflected upon the readings for this Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul.  In the first reading, we see that suffering for the enjoyment of the masses leads Herod to have James, the brother of John, put to death.  Seeing that the Jews also liked this, he had Peter arrested.  But the Angel of the Lord appears to Peter and leads him out of his captivity.  The scriptures tell us that that there were 16 soldiers watching him and they just walked out in front of them.  

St Paul was imprisoned many times and was familiar with being captive for the sake of the Gospel.  In the second reading, Paul uses a sports analogy.  He states that he had competed well, he finished the race, he had kept the faith.  He also tells us what victory looks like for the faithful.  He speaks of the crown of righteousness for all who long for his coming.  Paul is also quick to point out that his strength came from the Lord and that he had been rescued by the Lord many times.  This points not so much to the faith of Paul but the faithfulness of God.  God remembers his people, his promises, and, luckily for us, his love and mercy for us.

The Gospel recounts for us the Church’s traditional belief that Jesus institutes the Papacy in this reading.  Peter clearly has authority which the scriptures attest to but this is more about the choice Peter makes and the truth he speaks.  Jesus asks the disciples, ‘who do you say that I am?’ and Peter replies that he is the Christ.  Peter is given divine inspiration but it is his choice to take the risk and speak the words the Holy Spirit gave him just as our Blessed Mother had a choice whether or not to bear the Son of God and the Son of Man.  

Jesus asks me and all the people the same question as he asked the disciples.  Who do we say that he is?  I think that Jesus is not just looking for us to speak up.  I think that he asks us that question every time we presented with the opportunity to testify to his love and mercy.  And the mercy of Jesus is made manifest every time we have the opportunity to feed the hungry, the give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to shelter the homeless, to visit the sick, the free the captive and to bury the dead.  These corporal works of mercy are what Jesus, himself, tells us what we do for him to gain the kingdom of heaven.  Jesus also tells us from the Sermon on the Mount, ‘blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy.’  

Perhaps, Jesus is foreshadowing these instructions for later teachings.  We are told often that Jesus is the just judge and Jesus tells us in the Gospels how he will judge.  The challenge for us is living the universal vocation to holiness which fulfills his instruction for righteousness.  This challenge is very difficult indeed which is why the Jesus gave us the Church and her sacraments.  Confession helps us to take in the mercy and love of God so that we can share it so that we can love others and be merciful.  The Eucharist is the food for our bodies and souls.  It is the sacrifice, the only sacrifice, pleasing to the Father.  And we are given the priesthood to guide us to the Kingdom.  Every sacrament is essential because they are instituted by Christ to give grace and we should make sure that we live the graces given to us.  

The spiritual works of mercy (to instruct the ignorant, to counsel the doubtful, to admonish sinners, to bear wrongs patiently, to forgive offenses willingly, to comfort the afflicted, to pray for the living and the dead) also help us to live the universal call to holiness.  These works invite the faithful to welcome the Lord into their personal lives.  These require us to pray and involve the Lord in our lives.  Combining the corporal works and the spiritual works into our daily lives will draw us closer to the heart of Jesus.  Our hope is in the grace of God for our salvation not our works.  May we genuinely and authentically welcome the grace of God into our lives so that our love and friendship for Jesus will compel us to do good things for our God and our neighbor.

And the Lord will free us from our captivity.  He liberates us from our prisons.  He ends our slavery to sin.  He loves us when we feel despised.  He is forever with us.

And perhaps in the last days, Jesus will say to us ‘well done, good and faithful servant.’