Freedom to Live as Disciples of the Master

Homily for Wednesday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

In today’s Gospel text Jesus is talking about being ready for his return. Of course, the first level of that message is about his return at the end of time. However, he comes at other times, too.

In the past four months, we have experienced the loss of three members of this community. None of these losses were unexpected. Once we reach a certain age, thoughts of the return of Jesus to us personally are more present than they may have been in our youth. The good news is that all three of the Sisters who have passed away in the recent months were ready for the return of the master of this house.

Today we hear Jesus describe the faithful and prudent steward. Stewards are people who have been entrusted with specific tasks and the talents and abilities to perform them. Consequently, we are all stewards because all of us have been blessed with gifts and talents that have been entrusted to us by God. We are expected to use those talents and gifts for the good of others.

Jesus is asking us to live our lives with freedom - with the freedom that comes from knowing who we are. That freely lived identity is formed and tested in our everyday lives. It is formed by the defining relationships in our lives and by the choices we make which shape us into the persons we become. This faithful freedom to be who we are called to be is tested by all the attractions of the world which pull us in other directions. Usually, it is that something just looks so attractive that we feel drawn to want it or to at least try it. Sometimes it is fear - anxiety, and worries about the "what ifs" - steal our ability to be courageous and steadfast. In all of these defining moments of our lives, Jesus is coming to meet us with the offer of grace, with the gift of freedom, with the loving encounter that calls us to be our most loving and self-sacrificing selves. He simply asks us to be ready to meet him at the time he comes to us today.

As Jesus comes today in the Eucharist, we are given the opportunity to speak with him and to discern what he is asking of us. Each day we are given this opportunity as we all prepare for the return of the Master.