SEPTEMBER 21/22, 2019
5 PM (SAT), 9:00 AM (SUN) ORDINARY FORM MASSES
In his 2005 book titled, Winners Never Cheat, subtitled, Everyday Values We Learned as Children (But May Have Forgotten), author Jon M. Huntsman provides what he calls “Lessons From the Sandbox”. He provides nine lessons:
1. Check your moral compass2. Play by the rules3. Set the example4. Keep your word5. Pick friends wisely6. Get mad, not even7. Be gracious8. Own what you do9. Give backI will leave it to you, if you are curious, to find his book and read the explanations.
But indeed – we have all heard it – whether from parents, teachers, siblings, coaches – someone – that winners never cheat … and it’s corollary – cheaters never win.
Today is the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time. And today’s readings are hard to read, and possibly even harder to preach on.
The First Reading from the Prophet Amos is calls out the people of Israel for not following the rules … that is … for cheating.
The Law of Moses had clear rules and regulations regarding religious festivals, business relationships, and criminal punishments … among others. Yet these were all being ignored.
And God has taken notice of this.
But He doesn’t strike them down or smite them with lightning.
Instead He sends the prophet to call them out and point out that … cheaters never win.
In the Gospel, we hear the parable of the Dishonest Steward. Here, a steward is someone whose job was to manage the land and property of his master. And this steward was being dishonest. And this gets noticed by the master.
This isn’t so much of a lesson in “you can’t take it with you” as it is a lesson in “it was never yours in the first place."
The Dishonest Steward cheated his master, and ended up getting caught. Bottom line: he’s been busted.
As Christians we are called to live “in the world” but not to be “of the world.” The gifts we have are given to us … but we are only stewards, not owners.
We may end up cheating our Divine Master for a time, but ultimately we will face judgment. If we cheat, we will get caught … but if it’s not in this world, most certainly it will be in the next.
And that can make it difficult for us to make the right decisions … to follow those simple, sandbox lessons … especially if our focus has been distorted to viewing only the here-and-now, and we don’t take the long view and consider everything … everything … through the lens of Eternity.
The master goes on to commend the Dishonest Steward. But not for his dishonesty. Rather, the steward is commended for taking advantage of what he has for a short time, and leveraging it for his advantage later.
He knew that his time was short. And he knew that he needed to provide for his future, unknown life … and so he took that opportunity to provide for himself.
He was a child of the world, and was prudent with the things of the world. Jesus calls us children of the light – but points out that we act imprudently with the resources of Eternity that we have at our disposal.
Jesus, in this parable, points out that the children of the world gladly and actively cheat others out of the limited things of this world for short-term gain … but unfortunately, the children of the light – that is, His disciples … meaning us – we end up cheating ourselves out of the supernatural things that are our inheritance from God because we too often take them for granted.
St. Paul, in the Epistle, gives us a first step in making this happen. He points out that in all things, prayer should come first … prayer must be a priority.
In this First Letter to St. Timothy, St. Paul speaks of: supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings.
The bottom line is that we must make prayer a priority. And never miss the opportunities to take advantage of the resources – natural and supernatural – at that are available to prepare us for our heavenly future. To miss these opportunities is to cheat ourselves out of the generous graces of God poured out on us every moment of every day.
As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ … let us pray that we might be more mindful to the gifts of God … and the presence of God … in our daily lives. May we also become more and more attentive to the action of His grace in our lives. And take advantage of the manifold opportunities we have to grow in grace … and mercy … and love.
