20171110
EMPLOYING ALL OUR RESOURCES FOR THE GLORY OF
GOD
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
|
First reading
|
Romans 15:14-21 ©
|
My brothers, I am quite certain that you are full of good
intentions, perfectly well instructed and able to advise each other. The reason
why I have written to you, and put some things rather strongly, is to refresh
your memories, since God has given me this special position. He has appointed
me as a priest of Jesus Christ, and I am to carry out my priestly duty by
bringing the Good News from God to the pagans, and so make them acceptable as
an offering, made holy by the Holy Spirit.
I think I
have some reason to be proud of what I, in union with Christ Jesus, have been
able to do for God. What I am presuming to speak of, of course, is only what
Christ himself has done to win the allegiance of the pagans, using what I have
said and done by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Holy
Spirit. Thus all the way along, from Jerusalem to Illyricum, I have preached
Christ’s Good News to the utmost of my capacity. I have always, however, made
it an unbroken rule never to preach where Christ’s name has already been heard.
The reason for that was that I had no wish to build on other men’s foundations;
on the contrary, my chief concern has been to fulfil the text: Those
who have never been told about him will see him, and those who have never heard
about him will understand.
|
Responsorial Psalm
|
|
Psalm 97(98):1-4 ©
|
The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.
Sing a new song to the Lord
for he has worked wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm
have brought salvation.
The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.
The Lord has made known his salvation;
has shown his justice to the nations.
He has remembered his truth and love
for the house of Israel.
The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
ring out your joy.
The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.
|
Gospel Acclamation
|
2Co5:19
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself,
and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled.
Alleluia!
|
Or
|
1Jn2:5
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
Whenever anyone obeys what Christ has said,
God’s love comes to perfection in him.
Alleluia!
|
Gospel
|
Luke 16:1-8 ©
|
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘There was a
rich man and he had a steward denounced to him for being wasteful with his
property. He called for the man and said, “What is this I hear about you? Draw
me up an account of your stewardship because you are not to be my steward any
longer.” Then the steward said to himself, “Now that my master is taking the
stewardship from me, what am I to do? Dig? I am not strong enough. Go begging?
I should be too ashamed. Ah, I know what I will do to make sure that when I am
dismissed from office there will be some to welcome me into their homes.”
Then he
called his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, “How much do you
owe my master?” “One hundred measures of oil” was the reply. The steward said,
“Here, take your bond; sit down straight away and write fifty.” To another he
said, “And you, sir, how much do you owe?” “One hundred measures of wheat” was
the reply. The steward said, “Here, take your bond and write eighty.”
‘The master
praised the dishonest steward for his astuteness. For the children of this
world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children of
light.’
EMPLOYING ALL OUR RESOURCES FOR THE GLORY OF GOD
In the gospel,
Jesus told the parable of the dishonest steward. In those
days, there were landowners with many properties. So what the landowners
did was to employ someone to look after the land for them. The land was
leased out to farmers; in return they paid rental in the form of some portion
of their crops. Of course, the steward in the parable was a
scoundrel. When he realized that he was being dismissed, he was ingenious
enough to make friends with the tenants by lessening their debt at the owner’s
expense. By so doing, he gained favour with them, and even if he did not,
he had made them accomplice to his crime. This would silence them from
complaining against him. This is what unscrupulous people do today, by
giving a small percentage of their ill-gotten gains to their supporters to keep
them quiet.
Ironically, Jesus
praised the dishonest steward; not for his unethical doing but for his
ingenuity. The master remarked, “For the children of this world
are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children of
light.” The truth of what Jesus said must have been felt by the early
Church, when many Christians were irresponsible with the resources and
blessings that they had received from the Lord. This is still prevalent
in our time.
Indeed, many
Christians in their secular, corporate or professional life are doing very
well, but how is it that not many are using their God-given talents and
resources to serve the Church, for the service of the proclamation of
the gospel and the growth of our community? Many unfortunately are
nominal Catholics. Their only participation in the Church is attending
mass, if at all. Whether they are praying with faith, conviction, fervor,
is another story. The truth remains that when it comes to faith and the
gospel, many are not interested and indifferent.
What is worse
is that many use their talents and resources for themselves, their selfish
needs, luxury and pleasure. It is about themselves, their convenience, their success and
a good life. They are not bothered about whether they are giving back,
pro bono and with love, their services to the Church and society. They
are just absorbed by their self-interests. Some even use their
talents and assets to harm and destroy others’ reputation, wealth,
family or business. They will employ their resources to manipulate and control
the lives of people or the community.
In contrast we
have St Paul who is the exemplar of what Christian stewardship is like.
In the first reading, he considered it as a sacred duty to proclaim the
gospel. “He has appointed me as a priest of Jesus Christ, and I am to
carry out my priestly duty by bringing the Good News from God to the pagans,
and so make them acceptable as an offering, made holy by the Holy
Spirit.” The word he used was “priestly” that means, a public and
sacred duty as in the celebration of the liturgy. He considered this task of
proclaiming Christ as something sacred and also a public responsibility given
to Him by Christ for the sake of the salvation of humanity. As a
consequence, he employed all his talents for this purpose.
Notably, we know
that St Paul used his background, knowledge and formation for the work
of the gospel. He was an educated rabbi. He was knowledgeable
and trained in the Laws. We can see how St Paul used tact,
diplomacy and gentleness to win over his audience when he said, “My brothers, I
am quite certain that you are full of good intentions, perfectly well instructed
and able to advise each other.” Not only did he praise and affirm
them in what they were doing already but with humility, he presented his
thoughts, not as something new or different but as he said, “the reason why I
have written to you, and put some things rather strongly, is to refresh your
memories, since God has given me this special position.” By so
doing, he made his audience his friends. He knew that by scolding,
reprimanding or putting the Christians down would only incur their wrath,
resentment and resistance.
Again, the sad
part of it is that often, instead of being compassionate, gentle and
affirming with those under their care, many Christian leaders, parents and
teachers tend to be authoritative, commanding and often discouraging and
negative towards them. We need to use human skills to get the message
across, especially in difficult situations. The medium is as important as
the content. The truth must always be presented in love and with love if
it were to be heard. So the real problem is often not with the content
but that it is not properly and effectively presented. Today, diplomacy
and interpersonal skills are important for success. Shouting,
ranting, scolding and blaming will not get us very far. We only instill fear
in our subordinates. Fear kills all creativity and resourcefulness.
It makes us mediocre, just seeking to please but not thinking of better ways to
improve the company or the project.
Secondly, St
Paul made it clear that he had no intention to set up a kingdom for himself.
He wrote, “I have always, however, made it an unbroken rule never to preach
where Christ’s name has already been heard. The reason for that was that
I had no wish to build on other men’s foundations; on the contrary, my chief
concern has been to fulfil the text: Those who have never been told about him
will see him, and those who have never heard about him will understand.”
He was not looking for an easy and comfortable life. He was not seeking
to find a niche where he could be secure and cozy. On the contrary, he
was ever ready, like Jesus, to move on to those places that have not yet heard
of Christ. In and out of season, he would find new ways and new places to
proclaim the gospel.
Again such an
attitude is so unlike some our religious leaders, lay or clergy. We only
seek to maintain the status quo. We seek to keep our positions in the church or
office. We are not willing to step down from our office. We
are afraid to let go and move on. We are protective of our
interests and we cover this fact by saying that we are serving God. In
truth, if we serve God, we must be ready to move on, not to cling to our posts,
our positions, our offices, our privileges and our friends. We must
face the truth that our so called desire to serve is but a masked desire to
remain where we are so that we can feel secure and comfortable in our
positions. We are building our kingdom so long as we seek security for
ourselves.
Thirdly, St
Paul lived his life with a clear conscience. He wrote, “Thus, all the way
along, from Jerusalem to Illyricum, I have preached Christ’s Good News to the
utmost of my capacity.” He knew that he did not live his life in
vain. All that he had, whether money, talents, time, etc, they were all
used for the proclamation of the gospel. He was at peace with
himself. He was focused. He was ready to make sacrifices. So
St Paul was always on the move. He did sit in an office to direct the
church, but he went to new places to share Christ with the pagans. What
about us, can we say that our conscience is clear? Have we used all our
means for the service of the gospel and our fellowmen? Have we given
ourselves selflessly for others so that God is glorified? Or have we
simply served ourselves and a few loved ones whom we are so attached to?
When we only care for them, we care for ourselves because our happiness is
dependent on theirs.
However, even
if we have been faithful to the Lord in our stewardship, St Paul reminds us
that there is nothing to boast about because it is God who worked in and
through us. He said, “I think I have some reason to be proud of what
I, in union with Christ Jesus, have been able to do for God. What I am
presuming to speak of, of course, is only what Christ himself has done to win
the allegiance of the pagans, using what I have said and done by the power of
signs and wonders, by the power of the Holy Spirit.” The basis for our
pride is not what we have done but what God has done in and through us.
It is a pride or a boasting of God’s kindness and love.
Anyone who
gives himself wholeheartedly to Christ without reservation, like Jesus who gave
Himself to His Father, God will use mightily for the proclamation of the
gospel.
This is the final key to success. He will give us His Holy Spirit and He
will work wonders in and through us. This is what the psalmist proclaims,
“Sing a new song to the Lord for he has worked wonders. His right hand
and his holy arm have brought salvation. The Lord has made known his salvation;
has shown his justice to the nations. He has remembered his truth and love for
the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our
God. Shout to the Lord, all the earth, ring out your joy.” Indeed,
again and again, the psalmist reminds us to give glory to God. It is God
who works wonders not us.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment