Word to the Wise
Friday, September 2, 2022 - Friday in the 22th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Cor 4:1-5 and Luke 5:33-39]Thus should one regard us: as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Now it is of course required of stewards that they be found trustworthy.....[1 Cor.]
I think often of these words from St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians. The expression "to take ownership" usually means to accept responsibility, but it can develop into an attitude that something is literally "owned" by someone, especially someone in leadership in an organization. This can happen in church life when leaders treat the particular area of responsibility as a possession and exert "control" over every aspect of it. "Stewardship" by definition means accountability to someone else for how a particular responsibility is carried out.
When this is applied to the life of faith, we all become "stewards of the mysteries of God." Pope Francis has challenged all the baptized to be "missionary disciples!" We are responsible to one another as well as to the designated leadership in the community of faith: Pope Francis, bishops, pastors, lay leaders. But we are also responsible to the message of Christ, which requires that we understand it and live it out in our daily lives. This is more than going to Mass on Sunday and frequenting the sacraments, important as these observances are. It means the way we live outside of "church events." We are all "stewards of the mysteries of Christ." Are we trustworthy? AMEN