When was the last time that you humbled yourself before God and said, “My God, all of these gifts are from You. I offer them back to You”? - Daily Reflections September 18, 2016

STEWARDSHIP

When I was young, I used to play priest, i.e., pari-parian. I would cover a table with curtains and call my friends and cousins. We would buy Coke and Fita biscuits and these would be our bread and wine. You can just imagine how everyone would wish it was communion time already. This got me thinking: Why do we call it pari-parian? Because after the play, I was no longer a priest. It was only temporary. Could this be the reason why in Filipino we call our possessions ari-arian? Everything that we have is temporary. Even the very life we have is simply an ari-arian. A time will come when we have to turn it over to the Lord of Life.

       The Gospel speaks today of a manager entrusted by his master to care for his property. Though focus is usually given to the enterprising way the clever manager wiggled his way out of his troubles, the parable is a reminder for us of the Christian understanding of stewardship. God is the source of everything that we have and are. In a telling line from the Gospel, we are reminded, “If you can trust a man in little things, you can also trust him  in greater; while anyone who is unjust in a slight matter is also unjust in greater” (Luke 16:10).

        The gifts that God has given us are given not for their own sake. God expects us to be fruitful. When we come face to face with the Lord, we will be asked how much we have cultivated everything that God has given us. A dying man told his wife, “When I die, I want you to put in my coffin all of my money. I want to bring all of them with me.” The wife took all of the man’s money, deposited it in her bank account, then issued the man a check, and put the check in the man’s coffin.

       We bring nothing with us when we die. The only thing we can bring with us are the seeds of goodness we have planted in our hearts and in the hearts of others. What would you bring with you when that time comes? Fr. Joel Jason

REFLECTION QUESTION: When was the last time that you humbled yourself before God and said, “My God, all of these gifts are from You. I offer them back to You”?

Lord, teach me to be Your humble servant and let me offer the gifts that I received from You by sharing them with other people. Amen.