Word to the Wise
Sunday, November 16, 2008 - Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
[Proverbs 3:10-13, 19-20, 30-31; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6; Matthew 25:14-30]'Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, my god and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master's joy.'
This past week I was in Detroit, Michigan, to preach a retreat to diocesan priests of the Archdiocese of Detroit. The theme of the retreat was "On being a good and faithful servant!" Many of the priests making the retreat are retired, some quite elderly but almost all are still helping out on weekends at local parishes. Their lives and examples are worthy of the Master's praise, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" Most of the Dominican sisters here at St. Catharine are retired. The sisters in the Motherhouse are able to be active in events outside the motherhouse and have relative freedom to come and go. The sisters in the infirmary (the Sansbury Care Center) are more confined in their movements as much by age and health as by the necessary institutional limitations of a nursing care facility. However, over the nearly three and a half years that I have been here, I have heard many of their "stories" and know that they too more than merit the Master's praise! In my ministry as a pastor on campuses and in a parish, I met people young and old whose dedication and faith merited those important words: Well done, good and faithful servant. To live a "productive" life is the goal of many an American. We often define ourselves by what we DO rather than who we are! This sometimes adds up to the cult of "success" as measured by secular standards. However, the Master in the gospel scripture today praises the two servants for their FIDELITY and TRUSTWORTHINESS. He speaks of the monetary gain as a "small matter." It is their character that matters! The fearful character of the third servant is what draws condemnation. I am put in mind of the statement attributed to Mother Teresa of Calcutta, "God has not called us to be successful, God has called us to be faithful." God will not judge us by how much money we made but by our faithful service, which will be given according to our various gifts and skills. AMEN
config
view
logs
3840.0 KB
61 ms
4
