So many people today see the purpose of life in terms of getting… getting the most out of life. Someone’s worth is gauged by wealth or possessions. We tend to compare ourselves primarily to those who have more; so, we are jealous. we are envious. Jesus saw this as a dead-end street spiritually.
As has been said: “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”
When God finished creating all things, God gave man (meaning humanity) the responsibility for what God had created. God made humans in charge of all His creation… that is Stewardship… Stewardship is the proper use of all that God has given us…
Nothing is more characteristic of the life of faith than responsible stewardship. God does not bless us with abundance so that we can be comfortable and grow still more prosperous, but that we are blessed so we can share with those in need.
Stewardship relates to everything, not only money. Knowledge, for example. People know much more now than previous generations because of technology giving us information instantly but the question is: What do we do with what we know? Living here in America – the richest country in the world - land of great opportunities. The question is: What have we made of the opportunities we have been given?
Stewardship also relates to talents, to emotional strengths, to spheres of influence, to everything…including spiritual gifts.
…Even our faith… is also a gift from God.
If we are doing well in life, in terms of wealth or health, knowledge, physical attributes, or even in terms of deeper spirituality – meaning - being more “religious” or more “spiritual” than others – before we look down on others – before we feel so proud – compared to others - we have to keep in mind what Jesus said: “To whom much is given, much is required.” (Luke 12:48)… “Much more has been given to you, much more is expected of you…” - proportionate responsibility.
Yes - admittedly, realistically - basic inequalities exist among people: inequality in circumstances, inequality in opportunities, inequality in abilities. Yes –- it seems Life is so unfair but the Good News is: God is good. In His infinite wisdom – God will make all things fair and just – in His perfect time - and God has all eternity to fix all things.
All of us will be judged in terms of what we have done with what we have been given… It is a matter of what we do with what we have… be it much or be it little….
When we give or share with others – in terms of our time, talents, treasures, knowledge of truth - Let us not compare how much we give or do to how much others give or do – but rather, let us compare how much we give - to how much we have - that we can give - given our situations or circumstances in life….
From our first reading - God sent the prophet Elijah to a widow living in the midst of a severe drought and so the widow had only a small amount of food left. Yet, when Elijah asked for something to eat, she gave him what he asked for, believing that God will provide for her and her son. .. trusting in the providence and generosity of God…and so as we heard in the reading: “her jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry…’
- Until we truly really trust in God’s providence and generosity, we cannot truly be generous because we will always be afraid of running out of blessings to share.
From our Gospel reading, Jesus blessed the poor widow who gave only two copper coins because Jesus knew how much it actually was. It was all she had… compared to those who gave much more but they gave out of their surplus.
The value of a gift is not necessarily based on its quantity. Those who give more does not mean they love God more… it is a matter of the heart… which God looks at. There are people who give but with selfish motives, with their own agenda or with strings attached.
In our Gospel reading - at the heart of Jesus’ criticism of the scribes and Pharisees is their hypocrisy. The message for us is this - We should be careful not to appear good only on the outside. What really matters is what we really are… not about recognitions, not having places of honor. It is a matter of what we are inside…
God knows who and what we really are. As we continue with our Eucharistic celebration – let us ask for God’s grace to be good stewards, to help us live honestly before God, to live honestly and truthfully with ourselves and with other people.
St. Therese of Lisieux said: “The greatest honor God can do to a soul is not to give it much, but to ask much of it.” – from that person.
In that sense, St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta said:
"I know God will not ask of me more than I can handle. I just wish that He did not trust me so much."
St. Francis of Assisi said: “Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take with you nothing that you have received, but only what you have given – which is - a full heart, enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice, and courage.
In other words, when you die, when I die, we can take not what we have in our hands, but only what is in our hearts.
We all have our own unique personal vocation or mission in life. We are not all called to be another Saint Mother Teresa in her works of charity but we have a lot to learn from her and from the saints. Just to share a few quotations attributed to St. Teresa
“At the end of our lives, we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made or how many great things we have done. We will be judged by: “I was hungry and you gave me to eat. I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless and you took me in.”
And she also said: “It's not how much we give, it is not about how many good things we have done – but it is a matter of how much love we put in the giving, how much love we put in what we did.”
St. Teresa also said: "We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, being forgotten by everybody - is the greatest poverty. With all due respect, America is one of the poorest country in that sense.
We must start in our own homes, our families to remedy this kind of poverty."
My brothers and sisters in Christ - 100 years from now, we will all be gone from this earthly existence. People will not even know that we even existed – but what is most important is that we all go to heaven… our true home.
Pope Francis said: “We are all called to be saints. To be saints is not a privilege for the few but a vocation for everyone.” We are all called to be saints.
- Truthfully, you see - only saints go to heaven. Most of us – if not all of us will probably die not deserving of going straight to heaven – but - Thank God – in His mercy – there is Purgatory to cleanse us and prepare us for heaven but still – let us live our lives aiming for heaven instead of just aiming for purgatory. You still do not want to go to purgatory. It hurts.
Let that be our desire… that we be “numbered among the saints”, so to speak, in heaven… known and unknown - whom we honored and celebrated last week.
The Saints were sinners and they were as human as we are. As has been said: “All saints have a past and all sinners have a future.” We are all sinners and the Good News is - we have a future - our future is that we will all be saints, we will all be to heaven, right?
On that note – so to speak - In closing, I now invite everyone to join us in singing “When the Saints Go Marching In” – you all know this song.
When we get to that part – “O Lord I want to be in that number” –Please sing it from the heart – let it be a prayer – of your heart’s desire. The most important first big step to becoming a saint is that you “desire it” – that you really want to become a saint… that you really want to go to heaven.
So - Who wants to go to heaven?
That is not just a rhetorical question. Many of you did not raise your hands.
This is a serious question.
So – who wants to go to heaven?
Remember – God will respect your choice.
Let us sing:
O when the saints go marching in
When the saints go marching in
O Lord I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in.
(Repeat)
Something to look forward to.
AMEN.
God bless…
