To Whom Much is Given, Much is Expected.

Homily for Wednesday 24^th October 2018

_“Who then is the faithful and wise steward, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master when he comes, will find so doing.” *Luke 12:42-43*_

Today’s Gospel passage continues from that of yesterday. Jesus is speaking to us on the need to be prepared at all times for the day of reckoning.

You do not start fixing doors and windows the moment you are told that armed robbers are standing at your gate, No! You don’t wait till when you are famished and lacking energy before you think of what food to cook. You don’t wait till you are rushed to the hospital before you keep your surrounding clean. You do not wait till you are close to the grave before you begin to form new habits or try to live a holy life. The best time to begin is NOW.

Today is another opportunity that God has given you to be better than yesterday. Today is another chance to stretch forth your potential for virtue because you have so much good inside of you that is yet to be explored.

As Jesus was still speaking, Peter stood up to ask “Lord, do you intend this parable for us or for the people?” And Jesus responded by saying: “To whom much is given, much is expected.”

One of the mistakes we ministers tend to make is assuming the Gospel is meant only for those who listen to us every day and not for us. We easily become signboards showing the way and refusing to go there ourselves. We become like the lawyer Jesus talked about who heap burdens on people and refuse to touch them even with the tip of our fingers. To us, Jesus says: “to whom much is given, much will be expected.”

The minister is like the Faithful Steward. Remember Joseph was a steward in Potiphar’s house. The steward is in charge of the Master’s property, he is not the owner but he has power over it. The way and manner the steward behaves determine the life of the servants put under his care. Hence the saying goes: “if the priest is a saint, the parishioners are holy; if the priest is holy, the people are good; if he is good, they are average; if he is average, they are poor; if he is poor, they are bad.”

Jesus talked about the steward who goes about beating the menservants and the maidservants, depriving them of their rights while he himself eats and get drunk. Such a steward, Jesus says will receive a severe beating. In a similar vein, Jesus warned us saying: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.” Mark 9:42.

Are you the leader of a pious society in the Church? Are you in charge of Children Sunday school or do you lead a Bible Study Group? Do you teach marriage courses? Be aware that you also qualify as a minister even if your work has no remuneration or upkeep whatsoever. What you do or refuse to do goes a long way to affect those under your leadership directly or indirectly. God will not make anyone a leader by mistake. He knows you are capable of feeding his flock, that is why you are there so let not your office be only about what you get, use your position to serve the body of Christ.

As a leader in the church, you must always update yourself by reading good books. You must constantly go back to the Catechism and other church documents. You cannot give what you do not have. I saw an article recently about a fuel tanker. The tanker may be loaded with fuel set to deliver fuel to a petrol station but if there is no fuel inside the vehicle’s engine, it cannot move. The tanker may be carrying 33,000 litres of fuel but it still has to queue up in a filling station to buy fuel in other to get to its destination. If its own engine is empty, the fuel you carry (your position and status) is useless!

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, may my death not take me unawares. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Wednesday of the 29^th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: Ephesians 3:2-12, Psalm (Isaiah) 12:2-6 and Luke 12:39-48).