From Strangers to Family: The Master Who Serves at Table

Eph 2:12-22, Psalm: 84, Lk 12:35-38

My dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

The Word of God today reveals a breathtaking truth: we who were once far off have been brought near. We who were strangers have become family. And the Master before whom we stand is not a distant judge, but a loving Lord who girds Himself to serve us at His own table.

In his Letter to the Ephesians, Saint Paul reminds the Gentiles of their former condition. They were “without Christ, alienated from the community of Israel, strangers to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world.” These are devastating words: without hope, without God. But Paul immediately proclaims the Good News: “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have become near by the blood of Christ.” Christ is our peace. He has broken down the dividing wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile, creating “one new person” in Himself, reconciling both to God through the cross. The result is astonishing: “You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God.”

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells us to be ready for His return. “Gird your loins and light your lamps, and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding.” But then comes the most stunning reversal in all Scripture: “Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.” The master becomes the servant. The Lord becomes the host who serves. This is the God we worship: the One who stooped down to wash feet, who broke bread for His disciples, who gave His body and blood for our salvation.

The connection is profound. Paul tells us we are no longer strangers; we are family. Jesus shows us that the head of this family is a servant-King. We have been brought near not by our own merit, but by the blood of Christ. We have been made members of God’s household, not to sit idly, but to wait in vigilant readiness for the Master’s return.

Pope Francis has said, “The Lord never abandons us. He is always waiting for us, and when we return to Him, He runs to embrace us.” Saint John Paul II, in his encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia, wrote, “The Eucharist is the sacrament of our incorporation into Christ and into the Church.” And Saint Augustine, contemplating the Master who serves, said, “He who made us is the same who serves us. He who is our Creator is also our banquet.”

What does this mean for us? We are no longer strangers. We are no longer alienated. We are citizens of heaven, members of God’s household, brothers and sisters of Christ. And we are called to live in readiness—not in fear, but in joyful expectation. We are called to keep our lamps burning, to live lives of faith, hope, and love, so that when the Master comes, He will find us ready.

Today, let us examine our hearts. Do we live as strangers, or as children of God? Are our lamps burning, or have they grown dim? Let us ask the Lord to give us the grace to live as His family, to wait with vigilant hearts, and to trust in the One who girds Himself to serve us at His table.

For we are no longer strangers. We are home. Amen.

May God bless you all!