(Romans 15:14-21, Psalm 98: 1, 2-3AB. 3CD-4; Luke 16:1-8)
How many times have we Catholics been misunderstood by our non-Catholic Christian brethren? How many times have we been misrepresented, ridiculed, accused of idolatry, called Mary worshippers, been accused of not following the Bible… this list goes on and on doesn’t it? Now how many times have we acted in like manner? How many times have we held ourselves back from loving our brothers and sisters in Christ because they don’t have the Sacraments, they have “watered down” Christianity, they just don’t have the full truth, they took out books of the Bible for heaven’s sake? Yes, we are guilty of excluding our brothers and sisters in Christ as well my dear friends.
So what would happen to the fabric of the world if we, all Christians, really practiced what our Savior taught? What if we loved each other – deeply loved each other to the point of death? What if Christian Unity became a real thing on this planet? What if we Christians loved, valued and appreciated each other so much that we craved community with one another? Would we become irresistible to God’s wounded children; non-believers and those who have fallen away from their Christian faith alike? What if the non-believers looked at us and said “I have got to have some of that!!!” What if they ran to us in droves my friends? The world is full of wounded people who desperately need what our Savior has to offer – unconditional love and perfect healing. Christians are uniquely situated to share the truth with the world. However, first we must become irresistible magnets and to accomplish this we must love, value and forgive each other.
So what does Christian Unity have to do with today’s readings? Everything! Turning to the Gospel we learn of the steward who squandered his master’s property – a lot of it. This was no small time steward, no, rather he was the equivalent of a rather high flatulent CEO of today and in being so he held significant power in the community. However, when his master dismissed him he settled up his master’s accounts properly going to each debtor and lowering their debt by the amount of his steward commission. In turn his master says that he acted prudent.
Then Jesus gives us something to ponder on at the end as he states that the “children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than the children of light”. Just who are these children of the world and who are the children of light? Before I answer this I want to share with you my lunch story with Dr.”Jane”.
Dr. “Jane” is a woman I have great respect for. She is a gifted doctor who cares deeply for her patients and her staff. On top of this she is a wonderful wife and mother. I am blessed to call her my friend. Also, Dr. “Jane” and her husband are Hindu. While she is not devout, she does attend her temple on a regular basis and she tries to live by the tenants her faith. During lunch today I asked her about her faith, in turn she shared with me some of the loving aspects to Hinduism. Then I shared a bit of scripture with her – her eyes grew wide as I talked about the coming together of the body of Christ and his message of unity. Apparently, she didn’t know such beauty existed in Christianity.
So in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. – Romans 12:5
In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. – Ephesians 2:21-22
“Jane” and I had a beautiful meeting of the minds, so to speak, as we spoke of human unity and the importance of focusing on our commonalities instead of our differences. We both left lunch with a spring in our step and I left knowing I planted a seed to be harvested at the perfect time.
So now back to our readings. The children of the world that Jesus spoke of are those who do not yet know Jesus. They are the ones who St. Paul in our first reading sought to proclaim the Gospel of Christ to. Remember, Paul desired to reach those who have never heard of Jesus. The squandering steward who still did right by his master’s debtors was a child of the world.
Jesus goes on to say that these children, children of the world, are more prudent in dealing with their own then the children of the light are. And it is us, we who know the light – Jesus Christ himself, who are children of the light. Yet, we Christians are less prudent in dealing with one another then our non-Christian brethren. Ouch! But true. We create division amongst ourselves and we do not treat each other with prudence even though we are the ones who have as our savior the Way, the Truth and the Life.
So maybe it’s time for us Christians to forgive one another, time for us to look at our Christian brethren with love instead of disdain, time for us to come together. After all, our personal relationship with Jesus is just that – it’s our personal relationship and Jesus knows how to draw the children of light to himself. We are only commanded to love one another. We certainly have a great leader in Pope Francis who continually models to us Christian Unity.
As our Psalm says today: “All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God.” Let us participate in God’s great plan for humanity, let the children of the world see in all Christians such magnetic love that they run towards us with great fervor. Let us love one another as the world has never seen so that multitudes turns to the one true Church. Yes, our Christian churches currently look a bit different and our practices don’t always look the same; however, Jesus knows that and he’s got it handled.
Jesus – I love you!
