[Howdy, Blogosphere! This week Deacon Mick Fornelli gave one heck of a good homily at St. Pat’s. With his permission, I share it with you now.]
There are times, I think
we all have the inability to focus
so we do things to help bring the focus back.
Channel surfing is something we probably all do.
I know I do and it drives Michelle a little crazy.
We use the TV remote control to
run through all the 6-700 various cable & Internet channels
trying to focus or commit on one .
Our life can become like that.
It’s called compartmentalization.
One channel is about family life.
Another is our job.
Another is our Church Life.
Another is our social life.
Another is our political life.
Every day maybe even every hour
we switch from one channel to another
and never connect them.
The truth is that ——- a Catholics, we are called
to focus on only one channel in our life
it’s the channel to be followers of Jesus
wherever we are and wherever we go.
Our first reading
from the Old Testament prophet Amos
gives us a snapshot
of some merchants/money changers in a synagogue service,
bored to death.
They’re waiting for the service and the sabbath
to be over so they can go back
to what they did best ——
and what they did best was cheating and shortchanging people.
This was their version of compartmentalization.
They separated their religious duties
from their business or work life
and separated both of these from their family life.
This example of the lack of living ones faith
is a constant subject of so many of Jesus’ homilies.
If we are going to be true followers of Jesus
then being a follower of Jesus should affect
how we raise our family, how we do our job,
how we vote, how we spend our leisure time.
There is no time-off from being an intentional disciple of Christ.
Unlike those merchants in the synagogue that Amos describes,
our faith should influence and impact everything we do.
In fact,
everything we do should be a way of serving the Lord.
In his Letter to Timothy in today’s second reading,
St. Paul writes that
we should pray for kings and all those in authority.
That is something we Christians should not forget.
We should hold up all our leaders in prayer,
even those for whom we did not vote
or even those we opposed.
The kings and leaders in St. Paul’s time
could be extremely brutal. Yet,
Paul says that we should still pray for them.
My friends, —— There is power in prayer.
Prayer can change the world.
Finally, we have the Gospel parable of the devious servant.
It’s unclear why
homilists find this parable so puzzling.
It’s relatively evident that
the Lord is praising the man’s ingenuity
and He says that the children of light
should be as thoughtful and resourceful
when it comes to the matter of salvation.
Jesus tells us
we need be just as clever
in planning for a secure future for ourselves,
and it’s not just for the few years we spend on-earth that
we have to provide ———— but more importantly
also for our time in eternity.
Our life in this world is temporary.
Eternity is forever.
So —— do we apply the same ingenuity
the same thought and planning
to our own spiritual life as we do to other areas of our life?
Many people put more effort
into taking care of their body
than they do in caring for their soul.
Some people who don’t think twice
about spending hour after hour at a gym to stay in shape
have difficulty spending an hour in church
or even 10 minutes a day in prayer.
Many people spend more time studying the stock market
and taking care of their portfolios
than they do deepening their faith.
Many people put much more thought and effort
into buying a car or the newest computer or the latest iPhone
then they do in seeking the will of the Lord in their life.
Many people spend more time
in planning their career here on earth
than their future in eternity.
I believe, the point of this parable is straightforward.
The manager used his position
and even the fact of his termination
to take care of his future.
Do we use events in our life
— both positive and negative —
that happen to us as a way of coming closer to the Lord?
My friends, what we do with our wealth,
our time; and our resources
says a great deal about our priorities,
and the seriousness of our fidelity to Christ.
Stop channel surfing!
The stock markets goes up and down.
Wealth can be taken away by a medical crisis.
Popularity comes and goes like the seasons.
Careers come to an end and the company continues without us.
The high fashion of one decade
is the joke of the next.
Neighborhoods change
and old landmarks are replaced.
Our bodies weaken and our appearance changes.
But our soul,
unlike every other investment we make,
lasts forever
and it’s our ticket to eternity.
The call of this parable is to
take as much care of the spiritual side of our life
as we do for the material side.
The call of this parable tells us to
avoid compartmentalization, to avoid channel surfing
by letting our commitment to our faith
and our love of Jesus Christ
shape everything we do.
Quite simply —- It calls us to focus on
and show the same ingenuity,
planning and effort in our spiritual life
as we do in our material life.
My brothers and sisters,
have absolutely no doubt
the best decision we will ever make
is the investment in and the care
we take of our immortal soul.