Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ Saint Luke 12,35-38 and Luke 12,39-48.He said to them: ABlessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.

Jesus always used figurative speech by analogy, such as parables, and it seems to me. personally, that his teaching could not be clearer than this. And Jesus often speaks of the relationship between servants (i.e., slaves) and their masters.

The master demands an account of his actions from the servant At that time, however, those speeches might not have been understood in the proper sense even by the Master's most intimate disciples.
Who is this master, a rich and powerful person, indeed a very powerful and immensely rich person, who goes on a long journey and does not say when he will return? That he puts one of the servants in charge of his house and on his return asks him to account for his actions? Who is who entrusts a certain number of talents to his servants and wants the fruit of them when he returns?

He is merciful, and forgives the servant who owes him a lot of money, but on condition that he also forgives his neighbor.
Returning suddenly from a very long absence (perhaps due to the lack of news and the interminable wait, the servants of the house had thought him dead and had given themselves up to revelry) he punctually asks each of them to account for his behavior.
All in all, it does not seem illogical that a master of that time behaves in such ways, but all these speeches have a precise and clear meaning.

To us who have some knowledge of the scriptures, if only because our priests explained it in their homilies during the Holy Mass, the meaning is clear, so much so that it seems superfluous to explain it.
It seems obvious that the Master depicted in this passage is Jesus, God Himself, and that the servants are the men and women of this world who belong to Him.
We know that suddenly, at the end of this world, of which we cannot predict how it will happen or when, Jesus will return and ask each of us to account. But he will do it with justice and mercy..

ATTENTION! Our personal end of the world will come with our death, inevitable for every man or woman on this earth.
According to our faith what will happen to everyone of us at the end of life will be: death, judgment, eternal destination.

We must never forget this, and we must act accordingly, as I have often written in these comments. That is, we must adopt all those measures - everyone has their own methods - that always remind us that God is watching us. In other words we must 'live in the presence of God'. We can do it with a method, with a plan of spiritual actions whereby at specific times we recite prayers, read the Gospels, meditate trying to understand what Jesus wants from us in the practical life situation in which we find ourselves.

However, our actions are very important. I have to ask myself if I try to rationally and prudently put into practice what Jesus teaches; if every day I serenely accept what comes to me, good or bad. If I am merciful and fair towards others and if I take care that there is an atmosphere of peace, trust and joy in the family.

HISTORICAL NOTE: : the right (laws) on slaves (in the Gospels they are usually called servants)

To understand the 'MASTER' and the 'SERVANTS' of which the parables speak, a brief and brief summary of slavery is necessary

Slavery is customary in ancient civilizations, and was regulated by law like any other economic practice. Roman civilization represented the champion of slave societies in the West. Slave labor was an essential component of the economy; very important for the Romans was the acquisition of new slaves with the wars of conquest.
But even the ancient Greeks based most of the economy on slaves, in ATHENS for long periods there were more slaves than free men.
For the Greeks, slavery was an institution of "natural law" while for the Romans, however, man was not a slave by nature, but he could become one if the positive law had decided so. For this reason the Roman slave could be freed and obtain Roman citizenship. We find many examples of this in Latin literature.

The dinner of the freed slave : Trimalchio
Described in the 'Satyricon' of Petronius the Arbiter of Elegance

In Rome and elsewhere, slaves could own their "PECULIO", always under the responsibility of their master, who was however civilly responsible for the outcome of their affairs. A slave could also own other slaves.

Not wanting to go deeper and leaving this study on slaves to the willingly interested, we can however better understand the content of the parable of the talents, and also the behavior of the "master" represented in these passages of the Evangelist Luke, and also in others. .

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 12,35-38.

Jesus said to his disciples: “Gird your loins and light your lamps
and be like servants who await their master's return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.
Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.
And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants."

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 12,39-48.

Jesus said to his disciples: "Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come." Then Peter said, "Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?" And the Lord replied, "Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute (the) food allowance at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so. Truly, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, then that servant's master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful. That servant who knew his master's will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; and the servant who was ignorant of his master's will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more."

			Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ Luke 12,35-38 and Luke 12,39-48.

`How to be or become a follower of Jesus Christ in the world and in your situation`
« [..] Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival [..]» Jesus always used figurative speech by analogy, such as parables, and it seems to me. personally, that his teaching could not be clearer than this. And Jesus often speaks of the relationship between servants (i.e., slaves) and their masters. The master demands an account of his actions from the servant At that time, however, those speeches might not have been understood in the proper sense even by the Master's most intimate disciples. Who is this master, a rich and powerful person, indeed a very powerful and immensely rich person, who goes on a long journey and does not say when he will return? That he puts one of the servants in charge of his house and on his return asks him to account for his actions? Who is who entrusts a certain number of talents to his servants and wants the fruit of them when he returns? He is merciful, and forgives the servant who owes him a lot of money, but on condition that he also forgives his neighbor. Returning suddenly from a very long absence (perhaps due to the lack of news and the interminable wait, the servants of the house had thought him dead and had given themselves up to revelry) he punctually asks each of them to account for his behavior. All in all, it does not seem illogical that a master of that time behaves in such ways, but all these speeches have a precise and clear meaning. To us who have some knowledge of the scriptures, if only because our priests explained it in their homilies during the Holy Mass, the meaning is clear, so much so that it seems superfluous to explain it. It seems obvious that the Master depicted in this passage is Jesus, God Himself, and that the servants are the men and women of this world who belong to Him. We know that suddenly, at the end of this world, of which we cannot predict how it will happen or when, Jesus will return and ask each of us to account. But he will do it with justice and mercy.. «That servant who knew his master's will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; and the servant who was ignorant of his master's will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly.». HOW TO BE FOUND "AWAKE" ATTENTION! Our personal end of the world will come with our death, inevitable for every man or woman on this earth. According to our faith what will happen to everyone of us at the end of life will be: death, judgment, eternal destination. We must never forget this, and we must act accordingly, as I have often written in these comments. That is, we must adopt all those measures - everyone has their own methods - that always remind us that God is watching us. In other words we must 'live in the presence of God'. We can do it with a method, with a plan of spiritual actions whereby at specific times we recite prayers, read the Gospels, meditate trying to understand what Jesus wants from us in the practical life situation in which we find ourselves. However, our actions are very important. I have to ask myself if I try to rationally and prudently put into practice what Jesus teaches; if every day I serenely accept what comes to me, good or bad. If I am merciful and fair towards others and if I take care that there is an atmosphere of peace, trust and joy in the family. HISTORICAL NOTE: : the right (laws) on slaves (in the Gospels they are usually called servants) To understand the 'MASTER' and the 'SERVANTS' of which the parables speak, a brief and brief summary of slavery is necessary Slavery is customary in ancient civilizations, and was regulated by law like any other economic practice. Roman civilization represented the champion of slave societies in the West. Slave labor was an essential component of the economy; very important for the Romans was the acquisition of new slaves with the wars of conquest. But even the ancient Greeks based most of the economy on slaves, in ATHENS for long periods there were more slaves than free men. For the Greeks, slavery was an institution of "natural law" while for the Romans, however, man was not a slave by nature, but he could become one if the positive law had decided so. For this reason the Roman slave could be freed and obtain Roman citizenship. We find many examples of this in Latin literature. The dinner of the freed slave : Trimalchio Described in the 'Satyricon' of Petronius the Arbiter of Elegance In Rome and elsewhere, slaves could own their "PECULIO", always under the responsibility of their master, who was however civilly responsible for the outcome of their affairs. A slave could also own other slaves. Not wanting to go deeper and leaving this study on slaves to the willingly interested, we can however better understand the content of the parable of the talents, and also the behavior of the "master" represented in these passages of the Evangelist Luke, and also in others. . `Don't worry ! the mercy of Jesus is INFINITE` Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 12,35-38. Jesus said to his disciples: “Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master's return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them. And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants." Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 12,39-48. Jesus said to his disciples: "Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come." Then Peter said, "Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?" And the Lord replied, "Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute (the) food allowance at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so. Truly, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, then that servant's master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful. That servant who knew his master's will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; and the servant who was ignorant of his master's will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more." Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB