Dear Friends
7th Sunday in Ordinary Time
(February 23)

Last week I began a discussion on the spirituality of stewardship, moving beyond the 3 T’s (time, talent and treasure). I tried to explain how the idea of stewardship is at the core of what it means to a Catholic Christian. Simply put, stewardship is the core of our response to a loving and compassionate God. As God cares for us, we in turn care for others. Let me develop this idea a little further.

Do you remember how churches were so much fuller on Sundays years ago? (OK, you have to be old like me to remember, I grant you). I remember my mother talking to me about the fear of God. And she meant fear in the classic sense of a Stephen King novel – downright “fright.” I remember back when I was seven, my CCD teacher (that’s what we called faith formation or religious education classes back then) preparing us for First Penance. She drew a circle on the blackboard and called it our soul. Then she put all sorts of chalk-like marks inside the circle and told us that each time we sinned, another little mark was made against our souls, and if we died without confessing each and every one of our sins (she then began to erase some of the marks), even if there was one little sin there – we would be doomed to hell. Let me tell you, for an impressionable 7-year old, this created some good old-fashioned fear in the very classic sense of that word!

Yes, many people feared God. It was a very different world back then when we (OK, let me speak for myself ) when my response to the call of God was one of sadness -- sadness that Jesus had to die for me and downright fear that I might die possibly losing my eternal salvation at most every chance a disobedient child could conceive.
Well, today we should still mourn our sins, don’t get me wrong. We should be moved when we gaze upon a crucified Christ whose blood was indeed poured out for our salvation, but (thankfully) we have left the fear of God (in the literal sense) light-years in the past. And rightly so. But what have we replaced this with? What is our response to a loving God and a crucified Lord? Do we really feel blessed because we’ve been called to the Supper of the Lamb? (Remember, these are the words which invite us to approach the altar for Holy Communion). Last week I wrote about how we are called and blessed. Now I would like to reflect on our response. If “fear” is not how we should respond to our loving and merciful God (who will indeed judge us on the last day), then how are we to respond?

In a nutshell, we respond as Jesus did. And what did he do? He gave without ever counting the cost or anticipating what he was going to get out of it. No, he simply gave. And shouldn’t that be our response as well? I know some people hate the word “obligation” when it comes to anything regarding Christian faith, but let’s simply put it out there: We are obliged to give. It’s not optional. Let’s go even deeper. We give not in order to get something out of it, or to rack up “brownie points” with God as if we’re investing in our 401K. No, we simply give. St. Paul put this so tenderly and so poignantly when he was speaking to people in ancient Corinth: “Gladly will I spend and be spent” (2 Corinthians 12:15).  Paul was talking about his response to a loving God and a crucified Christ. He wasn’t motivated out of fear at an angry God—quite the contrary. He saw in the dying and rising of Jesus such a selfless act of love poured out for all that he gladly and joyfully responded in kind.

So, the very first ingredient of stewardship, no let me say, the very first mark of what it means to be a Christian, is to be a person who spends gladly. “Blessed [which means specially chosen] are those [name YOU and ME] who have been called to the supper of the Lamb.” More on the spirituality of stewardship next week with a reflection on the phrase, “Ubi caritas Deus ibi est” (where there is love, there is God).  So, for now, go out spending and be spent as well.