But you, my brothers and sisters, are not in darkness for the Day of the Lord to overtake you like a thief. On the contrary, you are children of the light. So, stay alert and sober. The Day of the Lord is a phrase that must have sounded familiar to the ears of the early Christians, especially those of Jewish background. For the Day of the Lord is a phrase whose origin can be traced to the later prophetic literature when it was used to refer to the coming of God’s absolute judgment in the future. The coming judgment of the Lord would be characterized by the triumph of good over evil, otherwise also known as the revelation of God’s justice. The Day of the Lord was good news to the righteous, especially those who perhaps were encountering persecution because of their refusal to break their relationship with God. In most cases, the righteous were a minority (cf. Matthew 7:13) and it was their hope in the revelation of God’s justice that gave them hope as they endured all kinds of persecutions. On the other hand, the Day of the Lord was bad news for the wicked – those who were living outside God’s relationship and who participated in the persecution of the righteous. The revelation of God’s justice would be bad news for them because their reign of terror would be vanquished by the forces of good. The triumph of good over evil would be their ultimate defeat and destruction. 
St. Paul writes to the Thessalonian Christian community seemingly in response to their inquiry about this highly anticipated and dreaded day. The Thessalonian community must have been interested in knowing the timeline of the Day of the Lord. The Thessalonians too must have been aware of the ‘rumors’ that were making rounds within Christian communities that the Day of the Lord was imminent (Jesus was misunderstood to have said that the apostle John would not die before his second coming – cf. John 21:20-23). Paul did not confirm or deny the rumors in his response. However, he reminded them of what he thought was most important: the Day of the Lord was sure to come, but no one knew the day or the hour. The only thing that could not be mistaken was the surprise element of that day. And it is about this (the surprise nature of the day) that he proceeds to share with the Thessalonians even as he urges them to be on their guard lest they be caught unprepared by the events of that day. 
In the Gospel Reading, we get to learn that staying alert and sober is not a passive stance of simply waiting patiently for the Lord’s coming. Preparedness involves staying true to one’s duties and responsibilities as a faithful disciple. Preparedness is all about staying true to one’s identity and calling as a disciple. According to Jesus, when it comes to fidelity on our identity as his followers, we will be judged not on the evil things that we have done but rather on our failure to do anything. The servant who refused to trade his master’s talent committed no criminal offense. Had the master taken him to court, he would have been found innocent of any criminal mischief. However, he was guilty of not doing what his job description demanded of him. To his master, he was more than a servant: he had been entrusted with stewardship of his master’s estate. As such, his responsibility was not only making sure his master’s estate is secure (which he did), but also ensuring that the estate was yielding profit. By deciding to bury his master’s talent in the ground, the servant failed in one of his responsibilities, perhaps his most important responsibility.
By virtue of our baptismal promises, we are made the “trustees” of the treasures of the kingdom (the good news of the Jesus Christ) as we get commissioned to go to the ends of the earth and proclaim the good news. Most of the time when we hear of preaching the good news, we only think of those who have dedicated their lives to spreading the message of Jesus both within and across the borders of their countries. Unless we are priests or nuns or religious or directors of religious education, we never imagine ourselves as preachers of the good news. We often imagine that our role in preaching the good news is limited to the material aid we give to missionaries. Inasmuch as giving material aid to missionaries is indispensable, we are still called to do the preaching. This we do, not necessarily by joining missionary groups in their evangelization expeditions, but rather by proclaiming the good news in the places where the Lord has planted us. We can still preach the good news without opening our bibles or even mentioning the name Jesus. We can preach the good news by the way we treat our family members, our neighbors, our colleagues at work, those that we meet in the subway and in the malls. We preach the good news by utilizing the talents that the Lord has given us, for when we offer services in love, those who receive them will end up thanking God even as they show their appreciation to us. Such will be our way of remaining faithful in the small things the Lord has entrusted to our care.