8th Sunday after Pentecost 14.7.13 Stewardship
Small children will take hold of an object and then proclaim that object to be ‘Mine’.
Other people will try to tell the child, No, it is not yours, it is someone else’s or for such and such a use.
Due to original sin we start out life thinking everything is Mine, and everything revolves around Me.
Then we get a little older and we learn that we are not the centre of the universe. We become less selfish and more able to see where other people come in.
But this is a lifelong struggle, and goes deeper than it first appears.
As adults we understand clearly about ownership. This is my car and that is your house etc.
But today’s parable of the Unjust Steward reminds us that even what is ours in a legal or commonly accepted sense is really God’s more than it is ours.
We are stewards of God’s creation. Certain things are entrusted to us, for our use; but everything about our lives must be seen in the context of our belonging to God.
If I have money, for example, that money is mine but God intends me to use it according to His will, for His purposes.
The same for all our possessions; we are merely stewards. We must give an account of our use of all these things.
Including our talents. They are for God’s work, to advance His kingdom.
Even our lives are not our own. We might die at any time, thus parting from all we have in one moment. We have to be free of undue attachment, even to life itself.
We are pilgrims, just passing through. We must never forget that, though we do forget it very easily!
The moment we start to think of these things as Mine we are ensnared by them and led into sin.
What we give goes into a heavenly account. The good deeds we do, the things we share - these all come back with interest.
And there is an earthly reward as well; we are transformed into better people, more in tune with the will of God.
The more we give, the more willing we become to give more. It is the opposite of becoming greedy and grasping.
It is not a problem having things, just how we use them.
The important thing is to do exactly what God wants. It is often asked, Why does the Church have art treasures, or why have such elaborate churches? Should we not sell everything and give it to the poor?
In the Old Testament God Himself commanded the building of the Temple and it was to be a grand building, not just an economic little room (cf 1 Chronicles 28,11-12). God was teaching us that to give glory to Him is itself a noble objective.
And we have Our Lord Himself telling us that the woman who poured expensive ointment over Him was doing a good thing, not a wasteful thing (Jn 12,8).
True wisdom and purity of heart will enable us to do exactly the right thing in each case. God will help us use the gifts He has given us.
Even the poor need to be generous. If He allows me to be poor then I seek refuge in Him, not in the grasping ways of the world.
He will find us our daily bread.
However, there should be nobody poor anywhere in the world, especially not in the Church.
There is enough to go round, but we don't make it go round.
Justice and charity require us to do whatever we can to make the world better than it is; to relieve poverty and the things that cause poverty.
It begins with a proper understanding of our own individual position. None of it is Mine; all of it is His!
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