Ad Jesum per Mariam

Jesus Advises Us on Preparing for Our True Citizenship in Heaven

Jesus Advises Us on Preparing for Our True Citizenship in Heaven In the first reading, St. Paul delivers a powerful statement. He says, “Our citizenship is in heaven”. This profound assertion suggests that while we live in this world, our ultimate life belongs to heaven. Our existence here is a preparation for that true and eternal citizenship. This perspective does not mean we should withdraw from the world or live as if we are not part of it. Rather, it emphasizes that our earthly life should be oriented towards preparing for our heavenly destiny. St. Paul further explains that when the time comes, God will transform our humble bodies into glorified ones. This means that our current existence will reach its ultimate fulfillment when we enter the true citizenship of heaven. The Dishonest Steward These powerful declarations are coupled with a challenging Gospel passage involving a prodigal steward who squanders his master’s wealth. In the story, the steward’s mismanagement comes to light, and the master demands an account of his stewardship, ultimately dismissing him. Realizing the gravity of his situation, the steward takes action by renegotiating debts with his master’s debtors, reducing what they owe. By doing this, he seeks to secure his future once he loses his position. Surprisingly, the master praises the steward for his shrewdness. This raises an important question: why commend such a seemingly dishonest individual? Jesus does not endorse the steward’s deceitful actions. Instead, He highlights the steward’s prudence and foresight. What is the lesson Jesus wants to impart? It is a reminder that we should exercise wisdom and spiritual discernment in our lives. Just as the steward took practical steps to prepare for his future, we should act with spiritual prudence to strengthen our relationship with God and prepare for our eternal life. Hear more within the Meditation Media. Listen to: Jesus Advises Us on Preparing for Our True Citizenship in Heaven -------------------------------- Image: The Unfaithful Steward: Unknown Painter: 1560 -------------------------------- Gospel Reading: Luke: 16: 1-8 First Reading: PHIL 3: 17 – 4:1

Duration:: 11m
Broadcast on:: 15 Nov 2024
Audio Format:: other

"The Lord be with you." - And with your spirit. - A reading from the Holy Gospel, according to Luke. - Glory be to you. - Jesus said to his disciples, "A rich man had a steward "who was reported to him for squandering his property. "He summoned him and said, "What is this I hear about you? "Prepare a full account of your stewardship "because you can no longer be my steward. "The steward said to himself, "What shall I do? "Now that my master is taking the position "of who steward away from me, "I am not strong enough to dig "and I am ashamed to beg. "I know what I shall do so that "when I am removed from the stewardship, "they may walk on me into their homes." He called in his master's depth as one by one. To the first he said, "How much do you owe my master?" He replied, "100 measures of olive oil." He said to him, "Here is your promissory note. "Sit down and quickly write 1 for 50." Then to another he said, "And you, how much do you owe?" He replied, "100 measures of wheat." He said to him, "Here is your promissory note. Write 1 for 80." And the master commented that this honest steward for acting prudentry, for the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than the children of light. The gospel of the Lord. [Inaudible] "When I was meditating on the readings of today, what struck me was the first day from St. Paul when he says our citizenship is in heaven. And our citizenship being in heaven, it would mean that all this life in the world is a preparation for that through citizenship. It doesn't mean that we run away from this world. We don't live as if we are not in this world, but that our life is itself a preparation for our true citizenship that is in heaven. And he goes on to say, that time, when time comes, God will change these glory bodies into his glorified bodies. That what we have now reaches its glory when it enters the citizen, the true citizenship of heaven. And that was coupled with the disturbing gospel we have read, whereby a prodigal steward squanders the money, the inheritance of the master. And he does it in a very crafty way or to make sure that his life is secure now. And when he can work no longer, his life is still secure. And then the master commands him for his prudence. One would ask, why would one command a deceitful person like this? Jesus is not commanding the deceit of this steward, but the prudence with which he acts. When we live here in the world, all of us take, for example, our own very lives. We make sure that we have our future secure. You save money that is in the future. When things are not, you cannot work anymore. You don't have the energies to make money. What you have saved gives you a dignified life in the future. You save for Medicare, if you have an health insurance, if you also want to be on Medicare, so that when the times come when you are sick, you are taken care of. You live a dignified life. Some of us, we end at this point in time, you end a salad, but you make a good decision so that even when you don't have a salad, you will end probably any more than what you are ending now with your salad. So that you make your future more secure and that you are not going to be disgraced or to be in trouble. We pay our mortgage so that in the future, when we don't have any more money, our house cannot be repossessed, that we go and stay to live in the streets. This is literally preparing what our life would be in the future. But a human being is both body and soul. That is what we are doing on this, what we are preparing. We are preparing that my physical life, my material life will be secured. But oftentimes we don't think of the spiritual life. If we were clever like this, to save for Medicare for our spiritual life, to save the mortgage for our spiritual life, to save for health insurance for our spiritual life, we will have worked for both body and soul. How do we save for our spiritual life? Our spiritual life is the one that connects us with God. Sure, our both human beings cannot be separated from the body and soul. But we all know that the body, when it reaches at the peak of death, it ends there. What continues with us is the spiritual life that makes us united to God. If we can prepare for our physical life in this way, how would we sit down and prepare for our spiritual life? The church gives us many ways of investing in our spiritual life, first of all the sacraments. The sacraments of the Eucharist, in which God gives us the pledge of eternal life, in which the soul receives that very life of God. The sacraments of reconciliation, when we have felt, when we have acted in a very astute way like the steward, the sacrament of reconciliation puts our spiritual life back in that relationship with God. The church gives us the works of mercy, the works of charity, as a preparation, as the feeding of our very spiritual life. It is with this that we would understand the parable of the astute, astute steward. Because why Jesus recommends him, why the master recommends him, is that he knows to prepare for the future. Much more, much more, will be important if we and Jesus says the children of this world know how to act with their own. But the children of the Spirit do not know how to deal with their own. We will only know how to deal with our own spiritual by investing in what gives security to our soul. And Paul, clearly in the first reading, has said to us that our citizenship is in heaven. Where our physical life, our material life, our body will be transformed into his glorious body, into a glorious body like his own. Beloved, our life here on the earth, we cannot run away from it, but let our life in this world be a preparation for that true citizenship. Let us take care of our soul. Let us take care of our spiritual life.