Word to the Wise
Friday, June 1, 2018 - Friday in the 8th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Pet 4:7-13 and Mark 11:11-26]As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace. Whoever preaches, let it be with the words of God; whoever serves, let it be with the strength that God supplies, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. [1 Peter]
JUNE 1 ST. JUSTIN, martyr
With the beginning of June (where did May go?), most of the graduations are done and many a young(er) person has turned a big page in his or her life. After many years in campus ministry, I can say that much of that ministry has been spent helping these students figure out what their "gift" is. The Letter of Peter (and St. Paul in Romans 12:3-8 and 1 Corinthians 12:4-11) assures us that we have all received a gift(s) to be used for the benefit of the community. The difficulty for many students is that what their "heart" is telling them to do is not what the current "market" is telling them. Parents will say, "It's nice that you would really like to do ............, but how are you going to make a living at it?" This can range across the board from sports to arts. Even those who finish a degree in a traditional profession like law and medicine may find themselves confronted with a hard decision about how they can share their "gift."
What happens to God's grace when success is defined in consumerist terms? The gifted person and the community both suffer as a result, and the grace of God is frustrated. Many are able to follow their heart, and it is one of the privileges of being in campus ministry many years that I have been able to "follow" the lives of former student parishioners. God's grace abounds, but so much more could be done if our society could define success differently. AMEN