Zealous for Heavenly things

FR. TOM'S HOMILY FOR THE 25th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, September 18, 2022:

An angel appeared at a faculty meeting and told the dean that to reward him for his years of devoted service he could choose one of three blessings: either infinite wealth, infinite fame or infinite wisdom. Without hesitation, the long-time educator asked for infinite wisdom. “You got it!” said the angel, and disappeared. All heads turned toward the dean, who sat glowing in the aura of great wisdom. Finally one of his colleagues said, “Say something.” The dean looked at them brimming with infinite wisdom and said, “I should have taken the money.”

In addition to being a big baseball fan, I'm also a fan of baseball movies (especially when our Sox aren't doing so well). Just think of some iconic lines that come from baseball movies. There’s, “If you build it, he will come,” from Field of Dreams. Or the great line, “There’s no crying in baseball!” from A League of their Own. I recently re-watched another great baseball move, 42, which tells the story of Jackie Robinson and how he became the first African-American to play in the major leagues.

There is a dramatic scene in the movie when Dodger’s owner Branch Rickey offers to sign Robinson. He tells Jackie, “You will have to take everything they dish out to you and never strike back.” And he was right. On the field, pitchers brushed Jackie back with blazing fastballs and opposing fans and teams taunted him. Off the field, he was thrown out of hotels and restaurants because of the color of his skin.

But, through it all, Jackie kept his cool. He turned the other cheek. And so did Branch Rickey who was also hounded for signing Robinson. Together, they changed the face of baseball and professional sport for the better. Yes, Branch Rickey did a noble thing breaking down the color barrier in baseball, but the movie reminds you that he was also a smart business man and not all of his motives were pure. There was one scene when Rickey, played by Harrison Ford, says, “People ask me why I want to do this? You know why? Because I like money. And people will spend money to come see you play.” Even while doing a noble thing, Rickey was still out for his own best interest.
That scene came to mind as I reflected on today’s Gospel. Jesus gives us this image of the dishonest steward. We heard, “The children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of the light.” Or more simply, “People work harder for money than they do for heaven.” Jesus challenges us not only to strive for goodness, holiness and righteousness, but He also calls us to be smart and committed and eager in pursuing these heavenly things. He wants us to work just as hard and as smart for His Kingdom as we do to make our lives comfortable and successful.

This is also a message Pope Francis has been sharing with us. He wants us to think about and strive for the important things. For example, he said, “Poverty and the real needs of many people have become the acceptable norm. For example, if on a winter’s night a person dies in the cold, that’s not news. Or if there are children who have nothing to eat, that's not news, it seems normal. It cannot be this way! What matters is the love we express in our world by using our goods to help not just ourselves, but to help others in charity.”

The challenge of our Gospel, the challenge of Pope Francis, the challenge of our faith is this – can we be as vigilant for the things of God as we are for all the other things that are in our lives? Can we care as much for the homeless, the hungry, the sick, the immigrant, the refugee, and those on the margins all around us, as we care for ourselves? We are called to be recreated, made new, through our Baptism, to see with new eyes through our faith – and what we are meant to see is that we are not different, we are not separate, we are not “other”. Rather, we are connected and united; we are brother and sister to each other; we are one family of God.

And so, we pray today, Lord, open our eyes to your word, even when it challenges us more than we want to be challenged. Open our minds to your word, even when it disturbs us more than we want to be disturbed. Help us to put your word in practice, even when it means changing our lives more than we want to change. Above all, Lord, help us realize that you want to achieve great things through us and that we can achieve great things for you if we only open our hearts to you.  Open our hearts Lord.

May the Lord give you peace.

---