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Thinking Outside the Box
Sep
23
Written by:
Sunday, September 23, 2007
25th Sunday Ordinary Time
September 23, 2007
There is little doubt that many of the unreligious people of this world are more clever and adept at getting ahead in their pursuit of money, power and influence than the followers of Christ are about pursuing spiritual gain. Well, that's exactly the way that Jesus sees things in today's gospel (Luke 16:1-13). Here Jesus tells the story of a servant who has been accused of a poor job performance, but by using his wits the servant ends up ahead of the game in the end!
Once again we see Jesus using the profit motive to encourage us to think outside the box. Christ has appointed each of us as stewards over the possessions he has loaned us (our gifts and treasures). One day Jesus will call us to account for what we did with them. Understanding this is crucial because everything we will have and possess in the next life depends on how well we used the possessions he has loaned us in this one . The question is, will you be smart enough to recognize true gold when you see it? God has hidden along our path all kinds of seemingly small investment opportunities that will pay incredibly big dividends both in this life and the eternal one to come: but we need to know where to look.
Around us are many attractive gold coins. The obvious and shiny ones are eagerly pursued by worldly people who never listen to the Lord or read the bible! These trinkets look valuable at the present time, and they command a lot of respect now, but are worthless in the life to come: power, wealth, prestige, comfort and self-centeredness. In the end, if this is all we have in our backpack we are liable to find we have a bag of fools' gold!
Christ invites us to wise up and notice the real gold nuggets that are liberally strewn across our daily path. A wise steward (one who has listened to God) will know where to find these gems. They are as close as my neighbor that I was kind to, the charity I gave to, the kind word I spoke, or the gossip I avoided saying. In fact the smallest actions we have done have almost infinite value if they are done for Christ. Before the Lord gives us our own possessions (which will last forever!), he waits to see how we will use the ones he has loaned us now.
Father Gary
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