To Everyone Who Has, More Will Be Given

November 18, 2009

Wednesday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

"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

And to those standing by he said, 'Take the gold coin from him and give it to the servant who has ten.' But they said to him, 'Sir, he has ten gold coins.' 'I tell you, to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. Luke 19:24-26

Piety

From you let my vindication come; your eyes see what is right. You have tested my heart, searched it in the night. You have tried me by fire, but find no malice in me. My mouth has not transgressed as humans often do. As your lips have instructed me, I have kept the way of the law. My steps have kept to your paths; my feet have not faltered. I call upon you; answer me, O God. Turn your ear to me; hear my prayer. Show your wonderful love, you who deliver with your right arm those who seek refuge from their foes. Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings from the violence of the wicked. (Psalm 17:2-9)

Study

As today’s Gospel lesson unfolds, we learn that Jesus is getting near to his final destination – Jerusalem. His followers are expecting the Kingdom of God to appear any moment now. So this story Jesus chooses to tell today to the expectant followers becomes all the more significant because it is the last lesson before arriving in Jerusalem where the events foretold by the prophets will play out.

Don’t be fooled by the symbolic topic of the story. At the gates to Jerusalem, Jesus did not turn into an investment banker overnight and abandon all the teachings we have had throughout this liturgical year. In fact, this Gospel parable is remarkable consistent with the Nazareth Manifesto which outlined the extent of Jesus’ mission at the outset of this book of the Gospel. In many ways, it is the fitting bookend to the Nazareth manifesto which will be fulfilled not in the hearing but lived out in the coming days.

Before we move forward and reflect on the true meaning of this story, let us recall the words Jesus spoke at the outset of his mission: He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the Sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord." Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, "Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing." Luke 4:16-21

What is “acceptable to the Lord” in today’s story?

The successful servants are the ones who had knowledge of the master’s goals and set about to accomplish those with all the talents and skills which they possess. Those who did this were blessed with even more from the Lord. What is not acceptable is to ignore your talents and hide them away from helping to grow the Kingdom that God seeks to spread on earth. Those who prefer to remain selfish and not use their talents for the good of the community are punished by losing the little they have.

Jesus is not abandoning his aims to “bring glad tidings to the poor…to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free.” The use of the financial theme is purely symbolic in this parable, not literal. Don’t expect Luke to relay Jesus’ year end tax tips or whether the bull market has legs or whether it is time to put your gold coins into growth stocks.

In fact fidelity to the law (goals) that God has over the goals that the world or Citibank or Fidelity Investments propose is further emphasized in the Hebrew Bible story from 2 Maccabees about the mother and seven sons who refused to disobey God’s laws and follow the laws of the King. These brothers would not trade their own life for a bite of a Sausage Egg McMuffin.

In other words, the Psalmist proclaims the main theme for us today: My steps have been steadfast in your paths, my feet have not faltered. I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my word. The Lord is indeed demanding. However, he does not demand our obedience without the promise made in Nazareth as this mission unfolded.

Such true fidelity will be spelled out in the example made of Jesus as he arrives at his final destination – Jerusalem in the next few chapters in Luke’s Gospel. Therefore, this lesson in obedience is the final spoken lesson Jesus gives to his followers before the arrival in the Holy City and the events of the final Passover dinner begin to unfold in this chapter and the subsequent chapters that conclude Luke’s Good News. As the last lesson before arriving at his destination, Jesus will now show us in his last steps how his steps are steadfast in his Father’s way so that ours may be as well.

Action

What can we do to possibly be worthy of the sacrifice that will be offered for us? A new liturgical year will be upon us in less than ten days. How can we change the direction in which we look for happiness and fulfillment from being self-centered to being God-centered?

Maybe none of us will face torture like the seven brothers or like Jesus is about to in the next parts of Luke’s Gospel. However, maybe we can become advocates so no one else is tortured at the hands of any government – including our own.

Reflect the example of Sister Alice Zachmann, SSND, who received the Pax Christi Metro DC Peacemaker of the Year Award last weekend. As one of her friends has written, “Sr. Alice is a person who knows no limits and has been a tireless worker for human rights across the globe. She inspires and makes us believe that we all can make a difference.”

Sr. Alice first visited Guatemala in 1975. Moved by the beauty of the country, and by the suffering and repression of its impoverished people, she founded the Guatemalan Human Rights Commission (GHRC) in 1982. The GHRC brought public and Congressional attention to the human rights situation in Guatemala. Under her direction, the GHRC created the Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition project (TASSC). TASSC was founded in 1998 by torture survivors on the principle the that torture is a crime against humanity and that survivors are the most effective voice in the campaign to end its practice. In 2002, TASSC International became an independent non-profit organization, the only organization founded by and for torture survivors. Alice has served as its office manager and outreach director since 2002. She will retire at the end of this year and return to spend time with her order and her family in Minnesota next summer.

Even though she spoke no Spanish in 1975, she committed all of the rest of her talents to this cause. As she retires after nearly 35 years working with the people of Guatemala and GHRC, she says that she still speaks no Spanish. Yet her work has echoed through the continent.