Patrick Comerford
We are in the Kingdom Season, the time between All Saints and Advent. The Calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship today remembers Margery Kempe, Mystic (ca 1440).
Before today begins, before having breakfast, I am taking some quiet time early this morning to give thanks, and for reflection, prayer and reading in these ways:
1, today’s Gospel reading;
2, a short reflection;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;
4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.
Luke 16: 9-15 (NRSVA):
[Jesus said:] 9 ‘And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.
10 ‘Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? 13 No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.’
14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all this, and they ridiculed him. 15 So he said to them, ‘You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of others; but God knows your hearts; for what is prized by human beings is an abomination in the sight of God.’
Today’s reflection:
In the Gospel reading for the Eucharist today, we read Jesus’s explanation of the parable of ‘the Unjust Steward’ or the ‘Parable of the Dishonest Manager’, which we read yesterday.
Sarah Dylan Breuer, when she produced her celebrated American blog Sarah Laughed (www.sarahlaughed.net), said most commentators agree the parable is about how the shrewd steward acts decisively, and that Jesus is describing the ‘in-breaking of the Kingdom of God, call[ing] upon us all to act decisively.’
But she also points out that forgiveness is an overarching theme throughout the Gospels. How often should I forgive? As Saint Luke reminds us in the next chapter, even if someone offends seven times a day, I should be willing to forgive them seven times (Luke 17: 1-4). Seven … the perfect number … I should be willing to forgive perfectly.
If this story is all about forgiveness, and if Sarah Dylan Breuer is correct, then we must forgive, even when we have no right to forgive, even if it does not benefit us at all. We must forgive with grand irresponsibility.
But there is another difficult point in this Gospel story. Verses 10-11 say: ‘Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?’
Being faithful with what is given to me is also a familiar Gospel theme: it is found in the parable of the talents. But being faithful with dishonest wealth is a puzzling concept, even if it speaks to recent economic dilemmas in both Britain and Ireland. Is it still possible to manage goods in ways that are appropriate to, that witness to, that are signs of the Kingdom of God?
If I am responsible for the small things in life, then hopefully I can be responsible for the large things. Very few of us are asked to do huge things, such as win a by-election, finish a masterpiece, solve the banking crisis, score a winning try or goal. But we are asked to do a multitude of small things – within our family, our friends, our neighbours, our fellow students, in this community.
And: ‘Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much.’ Yet, it is often most difficult to forgive the small things.
I heard a comedian tell of a young man, up from the provinces, starting work in a menial clerical post, living in a cramped, one-room flat in Rathmines. In the room above is another man in similar circumstances, working late shifts as a labourer.
Each night, just as he goes to sleep, the office worker is woken by his neighbour as he opens the front door, clumps-clumps up the stairs, plods into his room above, sits on his bed, and throws his two big boots on the floor above our poor, weary and demented friend, one-by-one.
Each night, our sad insurance clerk waits for same routine, knowing that he cannot get to sleep until at least he hears both boots being thumped on the floor above.
One day, being a Christian, the more timid office worker approaches his neighbour, explains the problem, and asks could he come in quietly at night, and take his shoes off gently.
Surprisingly, his neighbour is sympathetic, understanding. The next night, he turns the key quietly, tip toes upstairs, sits down quietly, takes off both shoes in one go and places them together, gently, on the floor above.
Meanwhile, his neighbour downstairs is lying in bed, waiting anxiously. He can’t get any shut eye. He’s heard his neighbour come in, go up, sit down, and has heard the one muffled thud on the floor … Only one … he waits … he tosses … he waits … he turns … And finally, he can wait no more. He screams out: ‘Would you throw down the other darn shoe and let’s all go to sleep!’
Learning to forgive the very little slights and offences is often so difficult when we live closely to one another: the muffled sounds next door when someone is up late finishing an essay; the early riser heading out for a morning jog who unintentionally wakes us; the unexpected slurps at the table; the accent that irritates me because, subconsciously, it reminds me of a particular neighbour or family member.
Sometimes, if truth is told, it is easier to forgive when it comes to the big things. Yet, our spiritual relationship with God is reflected in our social and economic relationship with others. If we can be entrusted with the small things, are ready to forgive the small things, then we can be entrusted with the biggest of all … We can be stewards of the mysteries of God.
Perhaps, like the shrewd steward, we need to be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves.
Today’s Prayers (Saturday 9 November 2024):
The theme this week in ‘Pray With the World Church’, the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), has been ‘Conflict, Confluence and Creativity’. This theme was introduced last Sunday with reflections by Rebecca Boardman, former Operations Manager, USPG.
The USPG Prayer Diary today (Saturday 9 November 2024) invites us to pray reflecting on these words:
The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens; by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew (Proverbs 3: 19-20).
The Collect:
Almighty and eternal God,
you have kindled the flame of love
in the hearts of the saints:
grant to us the same faith and power of love,
that, as we rejoice in their triumphs,
we may be sustained by their example and fellowship;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Post Communion Prayer:
Lord of heaven,
in this eucharist you have brought us near
to an innumerable company of angels
and to the spirits of the saints made perfect:
as in this food of our earthly pilgrimage
we have shared their fellowship,
so may we come to share their joy in heaven;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Additional Collect:
God of glory,
touch our lips with the fire of your Spirit,
that we with all creation
may rejoice to sing your praise;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Collect on the Eve of the Third Sunday before Advent:
Almighty Father,
whose will is to restore all things
in your beloved Son, the King of all:
govern the hearts and minds of those in authority,
and bring the families of the nations,
divided and torn apart by the ravages of sin,
to be subject to his just and gentle rule;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Yesterday’s Reflection
Continued Tomorrow
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
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