The Stewardship Of Hope

October 12: Twenty-Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time:

Isaiah 25:6-10; Psalm 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6; Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20; Matthew 22:1-14

What is Jesus saying to us as stewards of his kingship? 

(To support Reaching Jesus: 5 Steps to a Fuller Life... Step Five).

The Stewardship Of Hope

“The hope that belongs to our call…” (Ephesians 1:18).

The readings are all about the sense of anticipation that should draw us to Mass every Sunday: He has “sent his servants” to say, “I have prepared my banquet,” with “rich food and choice wines… Come to the feast.”

If this isn’t what we find at church, we need to pray with Saint Paul: “May the Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our hearts, so that we may know what is the hope that belongs to our call.” Each of us has the responsibility of “the faithful and wise steward, whom the master set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time” (Luke 12:42). What we provide “on this mountain”—that is, in the Church—must be ‘in accord with God’s glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” We are bound by our baptismal consecration as “stewards of the kingship of Christ” to make sure no one who comes to church is short-changed.

This calls for quality control. We are just as responsible for exercising it as the pastor is. He has the authority; we have the right and obligation to insist that he uses it well. We are all in the same boat. If the hand on the tiller is setting the course for all hands, all hands better take a hand in setting it.

PRAY: “Lord, let me hear your promise.”

PRACTICE: Be concerned about quality control.