19th Sunday of the Year Gratitude & Watchfulness Recently, I’ve taken up doing a gratefulness meditation last thing at night. Slowly I go over my day, thanking God for all the good things that have happened – beautiful sunrises, cheerful shop assistants, the good joke and the love of others. One day, I might get to the stage of thanking God for all the bad things that happen but so far the good things take some time before going to sleep. As I’ve been practicing this meditation some shifts have taken place within me. One I feel more buoyant, especially the next morning when I get out of bed wondering what God has in store for the coming day. Another is that the more I notice, the more I get to notice. This I find to be a good explanation of the very strange parable in this Sunday’s Gospel. This is one of the ‘contrary’ parables. In our experience, what happens in the world is the very opposite of what Jesus describes. When a Master returns unexpectedly and finds the steward, ready, prepared, he may give a “Thank you, Jeeves, very well done!” as he sits at table and lets the steward serve him but he certainly does not take over the role of the steward and serve him. God is the opposite of this. In this parable, Jesus tells us that if we are attentive to God in our lives, we will discover that God is attentive to us. When we truly serve God with generous hearts, we will recognise that God has been preparing our lives each moment of each day. Watching out for the good things in our lives and being grateful for them is a key to recognise the length and the breadth, the height and the depth of the love within which we live and move and have our being.
Sr Kym Harris OSB |