Gospel Commentary for Tuesday, October 21, 2025

In Solidarity and Awake

As Paul explains with crystal clarity, we are bound together in both good and evil. It’s self-deception to say that something is only my concern and doesn’t affect anyone else. The evil we do—even in complete privacy—spreads harm, especially to those closest to us, but in one way or another, to the entire world. Evil spreads like a metastasis, forming a web that connects many individual wrongs until it reaches everyone. That “sin of one man,” through which death entered the world, isn’t just Adam’s sin—it’s also my own. Just think of the suffering caused by someone addicted to alcohol or drugs. They harm themselves, but they also bring misery to their loved ones—parents, children, spouses…

The good news is that something similar happens with goodness. Here too we are bound together, and we can increase the flow of goodness in our world and history. Yet there is one original good from which all others spring: the sacrifice and obedience of the new Adam, Christ, who extends to all humanity the grace of justification and the new life of the Resurrection.

This inescapable solidarity—one we can’t opt out of—is a strong call to responsibility. That’s what Jesus urges in today’s Gospel. To live responsibly is to live with our belts fastened, our eyes open, and our lamps lit—to live awake. This doesn’t mean adding another source of stress to our already busy lives. It doesn’t mean we can’t rest or relax. It means that, whether working or resting, in good times or bad, we must always lean toward the good, strive to keep evil at bay, and, as Jesus’ parable teaches, live with a spirit of service.

Fraternal greetings,