Nondiscriminatory Collaboration

November 12: Wednesday of Week 32 of Ordinary Time, Year A-II:

Titus 3:1-7; Psalm 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6; Luke 17:11-19

Click here for the complete text of today’s readings.

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

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

Nondiscriminatory Collaboration

“Be open to every good enterprise” (Titus 3:1).

Paul insists we are not saved “because of any righteous deeds.” But we do them—not as obeying laws of human morality, but as “stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1Peter 4:10), impelled and empowered by the divine “bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, richly poured out on us through Jesus Christ our Savior.”

We make known the “hope of eternal life,” unveiled “when God’s kindness and love for humans appeared.” Baptism made us stewards of that revelation, responsible for creating a society that allows the whole human race to be aware of it.

Allows, not forces. As Christians we claim freedom to express divine truth publicly, so long as we don’t force others to pay attention, because this does not diminish anyone’s humanity. But as humans we oppose the public expression of some false attitudes and values, such as gross vulgarity, hate-mongering, and racial-religious prejudice, because they create a dehumanizing environment that blocks appreciation for “the good, the true and the beautiful” in creation itself. This is not inconsistent. It is preserving humanity, not imposing divinity. We fight against slime.

As stewards of the kingship of Christ, human and divine, we are “open to every good enterprise,” human or divine. We collaborate with all who seek solutions “to the problems of our time” (Vatican II, “Church in Modern World,” 10). This is responsible stewardship.

  

PRAY: “Thy Kingdom come!”

PRACTICE: Collaborate with everyone of good will.