June 27, 2010 – Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
1 Kings 19:16b,19-21; Psalm 16; Galatians 5:1,13-18; Luke 9:51-62
Jesus’ preaching kindled a reaction from those who heard him. He summoned his hearers to follow him into the kingdom of God, and his call demanded an immediate and total response. Jesus’ strong and attractive personality caused many to have an immediate rush of enthusiasm and make rash statements without thinking things through.
We read of several of those in Luke 9:51-62.
To one of those who wanted to follow him, Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head” (Luke 9:58). His disciples have no earthly security. But as we grow in our understanding of stewardship, we increasingly come to understand – and accept – that, in the final analysis, we own nothing. All that we have is on loan from God, and we are responsible to him for how we use what he’s entrusted to our care.
Others want to follow Jesus, but they want to wait until everything is properly arranged. First, family responsibilities have been handled, business affairs are in order, and everything in their personal lives has been taken care of, then they will leave to follow him. How long do you think that will be?
We’re often like these people we read about in the Gospel. We’re challenged to be more faithful disciples, and we have a surge of enthusiasm. But later, our enthusiasm wanes, and we start looking back. We find that our stewardship falls into the same pattern. We respond to God initially, but then we start to worry about giving so much of our money or time to God in the Church. Maybe we won’t be able to pay our bills. And how about our retirement fund? Doesn’t it need more dollars flowing into it? Perhaps we should devote more time to our work
But we have something even better than many possessions. In Psalm 16 we exhibit our faith in God when we affirm, “You are my inheritance, O Lord.” He’s the one who provides us with real security, and we can trust that all our needs will be provided for because the Creator of the Universe has given himself to us.
