“In the Meantime” by Colleen O’Sullivan
"I do
not know how you came into existence in my womb; it was not I who gave you the
breath of life, nor was it I who set in order the elements of which each of you
is composed. Therefore, since it is the Creator of the universe who shapes each
man's beginning, as he brings about the origin of everything, he, in his mercy,
will give you back both breath and life, because you now disregard yourselves
for the sake of his law." (2 Maccabees 7:22-23)
"A nobleman went off to a distant country to
obtain the kingship for himself and then to return. He called ten of his
servants and gave them ten gold coins and told them, 'Engage in trade with
these until I return.' His fellow citizens, however, despised him and sent a
delegation after him to announce, 'We do not want this man to be our king.' But
when he returned after obtaining the kingship, he had the servants called, to
whom he had given the money, to learn what they had gained by trading.” (Luke 19:
12-15)
Piety
I chose you from the world, to go and bear fruit
that will last, says the Lord. (today’s Alleluia verse from John 15:16)
Study
Sometimes where a story appears in Sacred Scriptures tells us almost as
much as the content of the story itself. Today’s Gospel reading ends by saying
that after Jesus said this parable, “He proceeded on his journey up to
Jerusalem.” Jesus’ public ministry is coming to an end. This chapter in Luke’s
Gospel begins with the story of Zaccheus, who climbs up a tree to better see and
hear Jesus. Many in the crowd were there because they thought “the reign of God
was about to appear.” It was, but it wasn’t going to be at all what they were
expecting – a Cross for Jesus instead of a great political and military defeat
of their enemies.
Knowing that he will be leaving soon, not to return until a later date
as King in glory, Jesus tells this parable of a wealthy man who entrusts his
daily affairs and finances to his servants while he leaves to become king.[i]
This landowner isn’t the most popular of men, and a delegation goes to try and
prevent him from becoming their king. Their efforts come to nothing. The rich
man receives the crown and afterward returns home. There he discovers that the
running of his household has gone poorly in his absence. The servant who has
let him down comes to an unhappy end.
There is much to reflect on in this parable. Jesus no longer walks the
earth in human form in 2019. He is now with the Father in heaven until the day
he returns in glory. In the meantime, Jesus entrusted to you and me the mission
and ministry of his Church. Were Jesus to return today, I think he might be
just as upset as the king in today’s parable. While many people conduct
themselves as faithfully as the seven brothers and their mother in today’s
first reading, others are filing out the doors of their parishes and never
looking back. Every one of us has aided and abetted the fostering of a culture
of clergy entitlement, not just clergy themselves. We in Christ’s Church have
taken a long time to recognize and seriously begin to deal with clergy sexual
abuse. Pope Francis has urged us to be a poor church for the poor, hardly a
concept original to him. Read the Gospels and note that Jesus was poor, and he
dedicated his entire life to serving the poor, the sick and the oppressed. Read
through the Acts of the Apostles and see how the struggling newborn Church
reached out to churches struggling in other places and took great care of the
orphans and widows in their midst.
In the parable, the writer states, “His fellow citizens… despised (the
man who would be king).“ The evil spirit is alive and well in the 21st
century. The evil one never relents in the objective to separate us from God. He
rejoices when he sees others working to turn us against the Church, attempting
to get us to relinquish our faith. The evil spirit always has an abundance of
helpers.
Action
When you pray today,
please take a few minutes to consider what part you play in keeping Jesus’
mission and ministry alive.
[i]
Jesus begins the parable by
saying that a man of noble birth went to a far country to have himself
appointed king and then return. This may have reminded his hearers of
Archelaus, the son of Herod the Great, who went to Rome in the year 4 BC to get
himself appointed king. On his return, he succeeded his father. It may seem a
rather unusual procedure, but the Herods used to go to Rome to get appointed as
rulers over the Jews. (Living
Space, an online Scripture commentary maintained by the Irish Jesuits)
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