“Where there is love, there is the eye.” This axiom of the ancient world nicely sums up for us the intention of Jesus’ words in this weekend’s Gospel. It might not seem at first like this is the case. When we hear the warnings given today, that we be vigilant, watching for our master’s return, this might immediately lead us toward considering the end our lives, or the end of the world. Surely, the Lord is telling us to keep our behavior in order at all times, so that if we suddenly meet eternity, we will be prepared. The stern nature of the warning seems clear: Be ready, keep the commandments without fail.
While this is certainly part of the Gospel message contained for us in the passage, it is hardly the entirety. We know that the rewards of heaven do not follow mere moral excellence, and that the obedience the Lord commands is not possible without his indwelling help. So, what else might unravel the passage’s further meaning? We learn more what it means to watch carefully for the Lord when we consider the full context of this week’s Gospel.
Immediately before speaking of the master’s return and the servants’ rewards, Christ gives another teaching, with a rather different tenor. He tells his disciples: “Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.” This encouragement completes the picture of the master mentioned later. He is not merely a hard and exacting man, watching for the mistakes of his servants. Rather, he desires to give them his own kingdom from the beginning. The task he gives, of caring for the other servants and remaining watchful, is a necessary preparation for handing on the kingdom. The servants cannot possibly care what is their master’s, joyfully sharing lordship with him, if they do not do their very best even in his seeming absence.
Further on, Christ gives another command that deepens our understanding. “Provide for yourselves an inexhaustible treasure in heaven … for where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” The Lord, then, does not simply command the disciples to remain on their best behavior as servants, nor does he merely offer them the reward of the heavenly kingdom if they can become capable of receiving it. Rather, he commands them to make heaven, and the one who lives there, the very treasure of their hearts. He commands them to love the Father and his kingdom.
This brings us back to the ancient axiom: “Where there is love, there is the eye.” We will watch for whatever it is we love. We will look for whatever we desire, and we come to desire whatever we look at long enough. If the servants of the master do not remain watchful and miss his return, it is because they do not love him or his kingdom. They cannot receive the kingdom he wishes to give them because they do not want to. The question we must answer is, where do I set my eyes in my own life? What do I spend my time looking at? What do I desire? Is it God and his kingdom? Is it something less than God? Is it even something worthy of my human dignity? If we wish to inherit the kingdom, the Lord shows us the way. With his grace and presence within us to guide us, we can learn to love and desire him, even belatedly, and receive the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world.
Fr. Rampino is parochial vicar of St. Ambrose Church in Annandale.
What do you desire?
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Chalice, Bible and altar cross.
“Where there is love, there is the eye.” This axiom of the ancient world nicely sums up for us the intention of Jesus’ words in this weekend’s Gospel. It might not seem at first like this is the case. When we hear the warnings given today, that we be vigilant, watching for our master’s return, this might immediately lead us toward considering the end our lives, or the end of the world. Surely, the Lord is telling us to keep our behavior in order at all times, so that if we suddenly meet eternity, we will be prepared. The stern nature of the warning seems clear: Be ready, keep the commandments without fail.
While this is certainly part of the Gospel message contained for us in the passage, it is hardly the entirety. We know that the rewards of heaven do not follow mere moral excellence, and that the obedience the Lord commands is not possible without his indwelling help. So, what else might unravel the passage’s further meaning? We learn more what it means to watch carefully for the Lord when we consider the full context of this week’s Gospel.
Immediately before speaking of the master’s return and the servants’ rewards, Christ gives another teaching, with a rather different tenor. He tells his disciples: “Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.” This encouragement completes the picture of the master mentioned later. He is not merely a hard and exacting man, watching for the mistakes of his servants. Rather, he desires to give them his own kingdom from the beginning. The task he gives, of caring for the other servants and remaining watchful, is a necessary preparation for handing on the kingdom. The servants cannot possibly care what is their master’s, joyfully sharing lordship with him, if they do not do their very best even in his seeming absence.
Further on, Christ gives another command that deepens our understanding. “Provide for yourselves an inexhaustible treasure in heaven … for where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” The Lord, then, does not simply command the disciples to remain on their best behavior as servants, nor does he merely offer them the reward of the heavenly kingdom if they can become capable of receiving it. Rather, he commands them to make heaven, and the one who lives there, the very treasure of their hearts. He commands them to love the Father and his kingdom.
This brings us back to the ancient axiom: “Where there is love, there is the eye.” We will watch for whatever it is we love. We will look for whatever we desire, and we come to desire whatever we look at long enough. If the servants of the master do not remain watchful and miss his return, it is because they do not love him or his kingdom. They cannot receive the kingdom he wishes to give them because they do not want to. The question we must answer is, where do I set my eyes in my own life? What do I spend my time looking at? What do I desire? Is it God and his kingdom? Is it something less than God? Is it even something worthy of my human dignity? If we wish to inherit the kingdom, the Lord shows us the way. With his grace and presence within us to guide us, we can learn to love and desire him, even belatedly, and receive the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world.
Fr. Rampino is parochial vicar of St. Ambrose Church in Annandale.
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