19th Sunday Cycle C, August 8, 2010
Called to be a Faithful and Prudent Steward
Two pastors were riding very fast on a motorcycle. They were promptly stopped by a policeman who said, “What do you think you are doing? What if you have an accident?”
The pastor driving said, “Don’t worry, Jesus is with us.
“In that case,” the policeman said, “I have to book you. Three people are not allowed to ride on a motorcycle.
Don’t worry Jesus is with us, don’t worry, God is with us. A person who believes in God and a person who is a faithful and prudent steward can say “Don’t worry, God is with us”
Today’s readings pose a challenge to us. They challenge us to live lives certain way as good stewards. They challenge us to live life with a specific perspective. They provide no room for ambiguity. A Christian life is got to be essentially Christian and living faithful and prudent life today. Let us begin with the first reading from the book of Wisdom. It is really strange that the book of wisdom should have something to say about the Exodus event. The main message of the book of Wisdom, especially, beginning with Chapter 18, is that the misfortunes of the Egyptians during Exodus should be not interpreted as God’s favoritism for people of Israel, but rather, as lessons in life. It suggests that, by the defeat of Egypt, Israel should learn virtue and its responsibilities that emerged from its election by God. The Exodus event was meant to educate Israel in the lessons of life. The Exodus event teaches the people of Israel that don’t worry, God is with them. The Exodus event was really Israel’s class room. Because of the Exodus event, Israel was meant to live with a divine perspective and foundation. It means that they should have faithfulness to God, prudence and need to become stewards of God.
Today’s three practical implications!
The second reading from the letter to the Hebrews and the gospel reading from Luke give us three perspectives of how one can say, don’t worry, God is with us. Let us call this the Christian perspectives from which a Christian must live his or her life.
First, Like Abraham, Christian life must be lived in faith. By faith, the author of the letter to the Hebrews is not referring to the diluted meaning of faith i.e., mere belief in a higher being. Faith is defined as “the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” Faith is living life from the divine perspective. Faith is living human life from God’s point of view. Chapter 11 of Hebrews contains an extensive listing of heroes and heroines of faith. These ancestors are remarkable in faith because they believed without seeing. Abraham is the best example: he left his home, lived in foreign land, and trusted that God make him and Sarah parents at their old age. The most extra-ordinary example of faith is that if Abraham sacrificed his son, God will still fulfill the promise of making Abraham a great nation. That is amazing faith. A Christian perspective specifically means that we live life with God’s vision, like Abraham.
Second, in the first half of the gospel reading, God calls us to be vigilant. There is a metaphor that G. K Chesterton has used. Chesterton writes about a group of little boys playing soccer on a small field. At the edge of this field on all four sides is a cliff. The boys play but they play rather unsafely. Now imagine that someone puts a fence on all four sides in such a way that no one can fall off the cliff. That would make the boys safer, the game more enjoyable and life a little more secure. In the same way that fences provided safety, in the Scriptures and in the teaching of the church we have safety nets. To step outside these fences is to step on a slippery slope. And once we step on the slippery slope, it is going to cause trouble. When Jesus asks us to be vigilant, he is asking us to refrain from being casual libertarians. God has made his will known and to live life within the boundary of God’s will is to live life with the assurance of salvation.
Third, through the parable of the faithful and prudent servant in the second half of the gospel, Jesus tells his followers that we must live prudent lives. In the Catholic tradition, along with fortitude, justice and temperance, prudence is one of the cardinal virtues. The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines prudence as the virtue that “disposes practical reason to discern our true good in very circumstance and to choose the right means of achieving it.” It says “the prudent person looks where he is going” (CCC 1806). According to Jesus, a prudent person is one “who the master will on arrival find doing” what the Master has willed him to do. This is the crucial difference between the prudent person and an imprudent person. The prudent person does not allow life to happen to him/her; a prudent person makes life happen. A prudent person has a vision, a goal in life that leads him/her to the Master’s table. What are we doing with our talents, our wealth, and our life? A faithful, vigilant and prudent person is the best steward and will say to the other, don’t worry God is with us. Abraham and Sarah said the same thing and prudent and Vigilant would say don’t worry God is with us. Our Eucharist every Sunday is an encounter of God and sharing his life with us. May God say to us, “Well done, my faithful and prudent steward.” Amen
