1 Thess 3:7-13 / Matthew 24:42-51
Riddle: What is it that you cannot touch or see and yet it can be broken? Two possible answers to it. One is silence. The other is a promise.
In our baptismal promises, we pledged to renounce evil in all its forms and professed our faith in God.
So our faith is also about our promise to God that we will be faithful to Him and that we cannot keep silent or hide our faith.
Others should be able to see our faith in the good works that we do and they should also be touched by our faith.
In the 1st reading, St. Paul wrote this to the Thessalonians: Brothers, your faith has been a great comfort to us in the middle of our own troubles and sorrows.
He continued by saying, "Now we can breathe again, as you are still holding firm in the Lord." So the faith of the Thessalonians was a faith that was like a bright light that touched others and brought comfort and relief to St. Paul.
Faith can also be said to be like an active and alert servant who is ready for the coming of his master. That is how Jesus put it in the gospel parable.
So as much as faith is a great gift from God, yet it also has its duties and responsibilities. Today's readings tell us that faith should be alive and active, it should bring comfort and relief to others.
In other words, our faith should point others to Jesus. We cannot be silent or hide our faith. By our faith, Jesus will be made present.