Matthew 24:42
Keep watch
Watch, Jesus says, because you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.
Easy to miss
This comes at the end of Jesus’ last long teaching before his Passion. He is preparing them for his absence.
In one minute: If you only read this much
What happens
Jesus tells his disciples to keep watch, because they do not know when he will come. He describes two servants: one feeds the household faithfully and is rewarded, the other abuses his position and is caught out.
Why this Sunday
On the two Sundays before Great Lent the Church remembers the departed, first its priests and then all the faithful. This Sunday is for the priests.
Take with you
The faithful servant is not doing anything dramatic. He is giving people their food at the right time, day after day.
Readings for the Sunday of All Departed Priests: Eight passages across four services
ഈ ഞായറാഴ്ചയുടെ വായനകൾ
Evening prayer സന്ധ്യാപ്രാർത്ഥന1 readings
- GospelസുവിശേഷംMatthew 25:13–30മത്തായി 25:13–30
The parable of the talents: well done, good and faithful servant.
Morning prayer പ്രഭാതപ്രാർത്ഥന1 readings
- GospelസുവിശേഷംLuke 19:11–28ലൂക്കൊസ് 19:11–28
A nobleman leaves money with his servants and returns to see what they did with it.
Before Qurbana കുർബാനയ്ക്കു മുമ്പ്3 readings
- Old TestamentപഴയനിയമംNumbers 20:23–29സംഖ്യാപുസ്തകം 20:23–29
Aaron dies on Mount Hor, and his priestly robes pass to his son Eleazar.
- Old TestamentപഴയനിയമംDeuteronomy 34:1–8ആവർത്തനം 34:1–8
Moses sees the promised land from Mount Nebo and dies there.
- Old TestamentപഴയനിയമംIsaiah 65:13–20യെശയ്യാവ് 65:13–20
I create new heavens and a new earth; no more weeping will be heard.
Holy Qurbana വിശുദ്ധ കുർബാന3 readings
- Acts of the Apostlesഅപ്പൊസ്തലപ്രവൃത്തികൾActs 20:26–38അപ്പൊസ്തലപ്രവൃത്തികൾ 20:26–38
Paul’s farewell to the elders of Ephesus: keep watch over the flock.
- Pauline Epistleപൗലോസിന്റെ ലേഖനം1 Thessalonians 4:13–5:111 തെസ്സലൊനീക്യർ 4:13–5:11
Do not grieve as those without hope; the day of the Lord comes like a thief.
- Gospel of the dayസുവിശേഷംMatthew 24:42–51മത്തായി 24:42–51
Keep watch: the faithful servant gives the household food at the proper time. This is the Gospel of the day.
Open in five scenes
The thread through all eight
Aaron dies on Mount Hor and his son takes his robes, and Moses sees the promised land before he dies. Paul says goodbye to the elders of Ephesus and tells them to guard the flock. Thessalonians tells us not to grieve without hope.
Source
References follow the official lectionary of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. Your parish may read them in a different order.
Matthew 24:42–51 explained: Matthew 24:42–51 in five scenes
Pick a scene to see what happens in it and what is easy to miss.
Keep watchMatthew 24:42Like a thiefMatthew 24:43–44Food at the right timeMatthew 24:45Found doing his workMatthew 24:46–47The master is delayedMatthew 24:48–51
Matthew 24:43–44
Like a thief
If a householder knew when a thief was coming, he would stay awake. So be ready, because the Son of Man comes when you do not expect him.
Easy to miss
Paul uses the same picture in 1 Thessalonians 5:2, read before this Gospel.
Matthew 24:45
Food at the right time
Who is the faithful and wise servant the master puts in charge of his household, to give them food at the proper time?
Easy to miss
The servant is in charge of the others, but his task is to serve them. Authority here means feeding people.
Matthew 24:46–47
Found doing his work
Blessed is the servant the master finds doing this when he comes. He will put him in charge of all he has.
Easy to miss
The reward for faithful service is more service.
Matthew 24:48–51
The master is delayed
But if the servant says “my master is taking his time” and begins beating the others and drinking, the master will come on a day he does not expect and punish him.
Easy to miss
The wicked servant’s mistake starts in his heart: “my master is delayed”. Forgetting that the master will return is what lets him abuse the household.
The verse to keep
“യജമാനൻ വരുമ്പോൾ അങ്ങനെ ചെയ്തു കാണുന്ന ദാസൻ ഭാഗ്യവാൻ.”“Blessed is that servant whom his lord finds doing so when he comes.”
Who is in the story, and what their names mean
The faithful servantവിശ്വസ്തനായ ദാസൻ
Left in charge of the household, he keeps feeding everyone on time.
“—”
Aaronഅഹരോൻ
The first high priest, whose death is read before Qurbana.
Uncertain; often given as “mountain of strength”
Three phrases worth knowing
- Household
- A large household included family, servants and workers. A trusted steward ran it for the master.
- Food in due season
- Daily rations handed out at the right time. The Church has long read it as the Word and the sacraments.
- Departed priests
- The Church prays for its priests who have died, by name in the Thubden of the Qurbana and on this Sunday.
Reflection: The priests who fed us
നമ്മെ പോഷിപ്പിച്ച പട്ടക്കാർ
Most of us can name the priests who baptised us, married us, or buried someone we loved. Many of them have now died. On this Sunday the Church remembers them and prays for them, and the Gospel it chooses tells us what they were for: feeding the household at the right time.
That is not glamorous work. It means celebrating the Qurbana in rain and heat, visiting the sick, sitting with the dying and teaching children who would rather be elsewhere. It means doing it for years, often for little thanks. Jesus calls a servant like that blessed, and promises he will be found doing it when the master comes.
This Sunday is a good time to give thanks for the priests who fed us, and to pray for them by name. It is also a good time to pray for those who serve us now. They are not perfect, and the Gospel is honest about servants who fail. But the faithful ones deserve our gratitude while they are still with us.