The Old Testament Reading for today comes from Ecclus. 35:1-17.  In it, the writer talks about what it means to be acceptable to the Lord.   We have to be mindful of the nature of God, who listens to the prayers of victims, the requests of the weak, and the stories of the grieving.  We must be prepared: "Do not appear before the Lord empty-handed." And we need to be cheerful.

This sounds like an awful burden. Who can be so perfect? The Gospel reading for today comes from 
Luke 12:32-48.  Jesus tells his listeners not to be afraid, but to sell their treasures and to give alms, because their Father has given them the kingdom. He then tells them a parable about slaves awaiting the happy return of their master from a marriage feast. If he finds them attentive and waiting, he will be happy. He will sit them down at his table and serve them.  But, Jesus warns, if they servants are slothful, the penalties are severe. 

Thus, Jesus teaches us, if you treasure what God gives you, if you look on God the Father as a master whom you love, then your love will inspire your diligent wakefulness: what God requires becomes what you would joyfully give. But there is no getting around that he also emphasizes that there are severe consequences of ignoring what God requires, whether we would love to do what God commands or not.  What God requires is not optional, even if our love for him makes fulfilling those requirements into something other than satisfying a demand.  Just as doing what our love for God would inspire us to do brings rich rewards, so does indifference bring suffering. 

The New Testament reading comes from Rev. 13:11-18.  It is a strange and wonderful vision from a long story about a great cosmic battle between good and evil.  Its inclusion in the reading today reminds us that our service to God is not only about quotidien practicalities: it is about our engagement in an eternal struggle.  The rewards of remaining awake to God's service are ultimately important not only to our own day to day lives, but to creation.