[The homilist was away on August 3.]

2025 Aug 10 SUN: NINETEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Wis 18: 6-9/ Ps 33: 1. 12. 18-19. 20-22 (12b)/ Heb 11: 1-2. 8-19/ Lk 12: 32-48

About 60 years ago, there was a popular song that began "Don't Know Much About History." Well, as we think about that opening line, we must understand that you and I, in fact, must know much about history.

There are people who say that history repeats itself. We've heard people say that it doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme -- an interesting thought. And we also heard it said that those who do not know the mistakes of the past will be condemned to repeat them. So we have all these ideas about history, and in the case of believers in Jesus Christ, we understand that God intervenes in our history in surprising ways.

We start today considering Old Testament times. In Hebrews, we do have an account of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who came to know God. And in the case of Abraham and Sarah, it came about in a most remarkable way by their having a son, Isaac, in their old age. 

The Book of Wisdom describes the Exodus from the slavery of the children of Israel in Egypt. Again, God is intervening in human history in a surprising way. And then we come to the Gospel, and we understand that these words of Jesus have to do with His bringing all things to completion.

You know, we talk about that quite a bit during the season of Advent. People talk about the end of the world, and the idea that seems to be behind that is, well, everything's over, but that's not what it means. When we come to what we call the last day, it is the last day because time is over, and we enter into timelessness. And we forever will be able to praise our God. We will be able to behold Him. 

Now, again, we tend to think of this as somewhat forbidding, rather scary. We think of a judgment, and we imagine that we will just squeeze in by a hair. But we have to consider what is going on in this Gospel passage, in this parable. Jesus is setting up a situation in which we imagine ourselves as servants at some great estate. And we are hoping that it appears to the Master that we are at our jobs, and we hope that He will look favorably upon us and not fire us and allow us to keep our jobs.

Jesus is describing something utterly different. He is saying that when the Master meets the servants, He will surprise them. He will say, "I am so happy to see you that I want you to recline at the table, and I will wait on you." That's something we do not expect.

But if we are truly to appreciate the love that our God has for us, we need to reflect on that idea. So as we think about the course of history and our brief moments within it, we remember that time is followed by timelessness. And that timelessness as we gaze upon the loving face of our God forever will be filled with great joy.