Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dear Friends,
In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus gives us a parable of a steward who has been accused of wasting his master’s goods. At risk of being fired he acts quickly, lowering people’s debts in order to win their favor. Strangely, the master praises him, not for his dishonesty, but for his resourcefulness and creativity.
At first glance, this story is a tad bit confusing. Why would Jesus hold up a character like this as an example? Jesus is not suggesting that being deceptive is good, but rather that His disciples should show the same kind of urgency and creativity in living their faith. If the steward acted so cleverly in securing his earthly future amidst a coming struggle, how much more should we be intentional about securing what lasts forever?
At the heart of this passage is the virtue of stewardship. The steward was not the owner; he was only entrusted with the master’s goods. The same is true for us. Nothing we have, including our time, our resources, our influence, even our talents, regardless of how much we cultivate them, truly belongs to us. Everything is a gift and is meant to be used in service of God, and in turn, others. Jesus instructs his disciples in this passage to use this worldly wealth for the glory of God before it fades away into nothingness. This reminds us of the parable of the talents where Christ commands us to go and make more with the gifts we are given rather than hoard them away all for ourselves.
Jesus goes further, reminding us that faithfulness in small things leads to greater responsibility: “The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones.” In other words, the way we handle little daily choices shapes whether we can be trusted with the greater responsibilities of the Kingdom.
When praying about this, a quote came to mind, one made famous by Spider-Man’s Uncle Ben: “With great power comes great responsibility.” Every gift we hold, whether great or small, carries responsibility. To have wealth, even a little, is the power to give. To have time is the power to serve. To have faith is the power to witness. The question is whether we will use these gifts selfishly or invest them in what endures.
This week, we might ask: Do I use my gifts in the service of love, of God? Or do I use them to serve myself? Jesus leaves us with a clear choice at the end of this gospel: “You cannot serve both God and mammon.” May we use our gifts to serve the Lord, so when our time on earth has ended, we may be completely detached from earthly things and wholeheartedly in love and oriented toward our God
-Annaliese Tamke, Penn FOCUS Missionary