#DAYLIGHT
– Daily #MenOfLight#GospelReflection
October
23, 2019
Wednesday
of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time
Gospel:
Luke 12: 39- 48
Sharer:
Bro. Mike Lapid
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The Gospel
39 ‘But know this: if the owner of
the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he*
would not have let his house be broken into. 40You also must be
ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.’ 41 Peter said,
‘Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?’ 42And
the Lord said, ‘Who then is the faithful and prudent manager whom his master
will put in charge of his slaves, to give them their allowance of food at the
proper time? 43Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at
work when he arrives. 44Truly I tell you, he will put that one in
charge of all his possessions. 45But if that slave says to himself,
“My master is delayed in coming”, and if he begins to beat the other slaves,
men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk, 46the master of
that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that
he does not know, and will cut him in pieces,*
and put him with the unfaithful. 47That slave who knew what his
master wanted, but did not prepare himself or do what was wanted, will receive
a severe beating. 48But one who did not know and did what deserved a
beating will receive a light beating. From everyone to whom much has been
given, much will be required; and from one to whom much has been entrusted,
even more will be demanded.
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Reflection
Our reading today is about stewardship.
In those days, it was common for rich
people to have stewards (also called care takers or “katiwala” in tagalog). Stewards
were trusted men; they were managers who took care of their master’s household
which included slaves and other workers. It was quite common for a master to
leave stewards for extended periods of time and return only on certain days or
seasons of the year. And each time a
master would return, stewards would give an account of everything they have
done during those times when their master was absent. With their master
practically away for most of the time, stewards were virtually masters of the
entire household.
As stewards were expected to take on
the task of taking care of entire households, they were expected to be faithful
to their masters and be prudent. They had to uphold their master’s wishes,
making sure that everything was done in accordance to those wishes. Most
important of all, they were to be prudent, as their judgments and decisions
affected entire households.
But as we see in the parable that Jesus
tells us, not all stewards were faithful and prudent. At times, stewards became
abusive. Unfaithful and imprudent stewards ended up becoming abusive and cruel;
they also ended up squandering the resources of their master.
In the end, only the good and faithful
stewards were rewarded by their masters. Unfaithful and imprudent stewards on
the other hand were punished.
What does this parable tell us?
First, it tells us that our
relationship with the Lord is one of stewardship. We are meant to be stewards
of the Lord. The Lord trusts us and wants us to take care of people, of the
earth and of all the resources that have been given to us. The Lord entrusts us
with the gifts we have received from him, our talents, our wealth, and
everything given to us by the Lord. We have been given this sacred trust and we
need to be accountable for everything entrusted to our care. We are not owners
of what we have. We are God’s stewards, caretakers of what he has given us.
Second, as stewards, we are expected to
be faithful to the Lord. What we do must reflect what the Lord wants. The basis
for our decisions and choices in life is his holy will. Our Lord is kind, just
and merciful. As faithful stewards then, we should accomplish our task with the
same kindness, the same justice and the same compassion as the Lord himself
would have. We are also expected to be
prudent. Our decisions should be the result of our ability to weigh in on the
consequences of our choices and the effects these would have on other people’s
lives. Considering and reflecting on the choices we make gives us a balance
that is very important for anyone who is given the task of stewardship.
Third, when we lose our sense of
stewardship, we also lose faithfulness and prudence. When we think we own what
we have and are not accountable to anyone, we become abusive; we waste what is
given to us, thinking that it is our right to do whatever we want with what we
have; we become proud and overbearing, thinking that our wealth, our talents
our gifts are there to serve our own selfish purposes. It is when we lose our
sense of stewardship when the human family begins to break down, when our sense
of community and solidarity in society begins to disintegrate; and when each is
left to its own. Jesus visualizes for us what an abusive steward can do; a steward
who beats men, women and slaves in his own household while enjoying life irresponsibly
with uncontrollable eating and drinking while the master is away.
Lastly, vital to our relationship with
the Lord as stewards is our awareness and consciousness that the Lord of the
house will return; that he will come again; and that when he comes, he loves to
see us faithfully doing the task he has assigned us to do as stewards. When the
Lord comes back, he will ask us what we have done to his household, to our home,
the earth, and what we have done to our brothers and sisters. It is this sense and awareness that the Lord
will come back that should make our hearts always in a state of joy, yet still
conscious of our responsibility as stewards.
As stewards, we are always in a state
of awaiting the one whom we love and serve; one who has long been away but now has
come back. Our Lord’s return should signal to us a happy event when finally, we
meet him face to face. Happy are we when the Lord finds us faithfully taking care of his
household, prudently managing everything that he has entrusted to our care.
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Prayer
Dear
Lord, I am supposed to be a steward. You have entrusted me with so many things.
Oftentimes, however, I think that what I have is simply mine. I fail to see
that what I have comes from you. I will never be your steward so long as I fail
to recognize that everything I have comes from you. This is maybe why I waste
so much of what you have given me. This is also maybe why I remain indifferent
to what is happening around me. Teach me to be your servant, your faithful
steward Lord, awaiting your return. Amen.
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Assignment
1. Answer this question: If the Lord were to
appear to you today and asks you how you have been as a steward, what would
your reply be to him?
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Quote
We are God’s stewards; caretakers of
what God has given us.
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