Deacon Larry

  19th Week in Ordinary Time

Wis 18: 6-9; Heb 11: 1-2, 8-19; Luke 12: 32-48

Dc. Larry Brockman

Faith and Obedience go hand in hand!  All three of our scriptures today demonstrate this.  The Hebrews obediently followed God’s directions on the night of the Passover because they believed God’s promise that they would be spared.  And Abraham obeyed God’s call to journey to a foreign land because he believed in the one true God’s promise of the inheritance of a promised land.  Indeed, men of Faith in the Old Testament demonstrated that their Faith was real by obedience to God’s call to them.  It wasn’t enough to just say you believed, or even to show up at the temple and worship.  Rather, these men of Faith did extraordinary things to show their faith and when you look at each of the incidents described in the first two readings, you find that the hallmark of the obedience is trust.  Trust that the Lord, in whom they believed, would not let them down.  And so, these patriarchs of the Old Testament obeyed the Lord in difficult times, trusting in the Lord.   

Now there is a very important statement in today’s Gospel that reads  “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more”.  This is Jesus answer to his disciples, who ask him if the first parable applied to everyone or just to them, the leaders.  Jesus second parable talks about what is expected of the Faithful  to whom he entrusts much- like his disciples.  The answer is still Faith and obedience- but with an added wrinkle that the more we are entrusted with, the more faithful and obedient we are called to be. 

Jesus talks about a Master who chooses a servant to handle his affairs-   The master entrusts all his affairs to this servant.  So, this servant is acting as a leader of many.  Now the servant needs to be obedient to the Master’s will to maintain the Master’s trust.  The parable says some servants were obedient- they followed directions and were constantly prepared for the return of the Master.  Others were not ready out of lack of attention or ignorance; and still others were just plain disobedient- following their own designs.     

Likewise, the Lord chooses us and entrusts us with something:  For some, this is a talent, or a certain degree of wealth.  For others it is a certain amount of public responsibility; and for still others, the authority to govern.  Basically, we are the Lord’s servants- acting as stewards of the whatever he has entrusted us with; and so, each of us is called to show that we really do believe in our Faith.  We do that by being obedient to God’s law as we act as stewards and discharge our responsibilities.   

Following the parallels in the parable- those who recognize the stewardship God invested in them but defy God will be condemned- sounds like Hell; those who are ignorant of what they have been entrusted and do not act properly, but not out of defiance, will still face God and his justice, aut a lesser punishment- sounds like Purgatory; and finally, those who are ready for the Lord at judgment, will be rewarded- sounds like Heaven.   

Just like the apostles, some of us are entrusted with more.  And it is to those who entrusted with the most, those who govern, that even more is expected.  We are just weeks away from our Primary elections, and after that, the November General Election.  The people who serve us as public officials ultimately serve God and are accountable to him.  They are the folks to whom much more has been entrusted, because their decisions effect all of us.  But that does not absolve us of our duty because, fortunately for us, our society elects our officials.  They are servants of God who act as the master on behalf of the Lord, but we are responsible for choosing them.  And so all of us share in the stewardship of governing.   

I cannot recall a time in my life when so many moral issues have been at stake in our society:  reckless economic policies that have wracked up an incredible and shameful public debt-it’s the same as stealing; public funds being used for abortion; illegal drugs and associated violence; an attack on the sanctity of marriage; the Gulf oil spill caused by carelessness and greed with all of its consequences; and continuing radical terrorist factions that intend to use even nuclear weapons against us if given the chance.  

It is the duty of each and every one of us to be obedient to our God and thus, demonstrate our Faith to Him.  First, by knowing what God’s law is on these complex moral issues; second, by being obedient to God’s law with regard to these issues; and third, by electing public officials who will act as good stewards as they lead us. 

Now some say there is a distinction between living our lives as Christians, and requiring that everyone in a pluralistic society abide by our Christian values.  These folks believe that to adopt our morals as public policy puts our freedom in danger.  Some of these people are our elected officials.  But there is a greater danger.  There is the danger that we can act as poor stewards of God’s creation by not representing our God.  The German Theologian Dietrich Boenhoffer said it very well, and I quote:  “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless.   Not to speak is to speak.   Not to act is to act.”

It is time for us to act, to speak up, and to vote our convictions- to vote as good stewards of the Lord’s message, faithful and obedient stewards. 

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 8th, 2010 at 5:28 am and is filed under Holy Family Sunday Homilies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.