Gratitude (28th Sunday Ordinary C)

A soul made it to heaven and was welcomed by St. Peter who graciously led him and showed him the different sections in heaven. They came to a section where a host of angels were all very busy reading letters.

“This is the ‘Receiving Section.’ In this room all prayer requests are received and processed,” St. Peter explained. The newly arrived soul indeed noticed that the angels were preoccupied with the volume of letters from all over the world, perhaps trying to categorize each request in terms of priority.

St. Peter and the soul moved on and arrived at the next section. Here, a great number of angels were even more busy wrapping things and labeling them.  “This is the ‘Packaging and Delivery Section,’ said St. Peter.  The soul was awed by the sheer magnitude of the gifts and blessings of every kind being prepared and delivered to the different corners of the world.

(Photo grabbed from http://www.ccar.us)

Then they reached the last section. The soul was astonished with what he observed. There was only one angel stationed in that section and the angel was doing nothing.

“Why is this section very quiet? What is this for?” asked the perplexed new comer.

St. Peter replied with sadness in his voice, “This is the ‘Acknowledgment Section.’ It is sad that after the prayers had been granted, only few people remember to give thanks.”

Today, in the gospel reading (Lk 17:11-19), Jesus is pained by the fact that, among the ten lepers he had cleansed, only the Samaritan came back to give thanks. “Where are the other nine?” Jesus asked, probably with deep sadness.

Hence, today we are invited to reflect on the theme of gratitude as our readings lead us.

An evident parallelism between the Elisha-Naaman narrative (2 Kngs 5:14-17) and the Jesus-Samaritan account easily catches our attention as we read the first and the gospel readings. Naaman and the Samaritan were both cured of their leprosy; second, they were both regarded as “foreigner;” and lastly, both also expressed their gratitude for the great favor received by glorifying and worshiping God. Let us reflect on each of these elements.

Experience of God who heals.  Leprosy then was a dreadful disease. To have it would mean losing everything; suffering from it would mean total alienation: from self, from loved ones, and even from God. When Jesus cured the ten lepers, he instructed them to show themselves to the priests. The priest’s confirmation that a leper had been totally healed and cleansed was significant in the process of reintegration to the community. The leper’s experience of healing then was a tremendous experience of being made whole again: an experience of regaining one’s lost dignity and self-respect, of reuniting with loved ones, and of reconciliation with God.  Such tremendous favor could not have failed to evoke deep gratitude. Naaman and the Samaritan experienced the great kindness and mercy of God. Hence, their hearts were filled with gratitude.

God makes us whole. God heals our brokenness. He gives back our self-respect. He reunites us with people we care about. He embraces us back in reconciliation. With this tremendous act of God’s goodness, how can our hearts possibly not well up with gratitude? What heart is not moved to tears of gratitude by so great a favor from this loving God?

Gratitude for undeserved grace.  The fact that Naaman and the Samaritan were considered foreigners and yet were blessed with God’s healing grace highlights the element of gratuity on God’s part and a deeper sense of gratitude on the part of the lepers.  Both Naaman and the Samaritan could have felt their unworthiness precisely because of the fact that they did not belong to the “chosen people” of God. They did not deserve God’s healing grace.  Yet they experienced it.  All the more that they felt indebted and were moved to give thanks.

The other nine did not come back to thank the Lord. Were they overwhelmed by the experience so as not to remember to say “thank you”? Or was this a case of the sense of entitlement on their part? Maybe in their heart of hearts, they believed that they received what was due to them; so as a matter of claiming what was rightfully theirs, there was no need of giving thanks.

Hence, for us to be grateful, let us see God’s grace and blessings as gifts freely given. We do not deserve to be shown great kindness and care by this Almighty God, yet we joyfully experience his love anyway.

Gratitude leads to true worship. Naaman, having been healed, asked permission to make a sanctuary in order to offer a sacrifice no longer to the pagan gods he used to worship but to the Lord of Israel alone. The Samaritan likewise returned “glorifying God in a loud voice.”

Indeed, gratitude leads to true worship. When we experience the undeserved grace of God, let our gratitude bring us into a meaningful worship of God. The Eucharist actually means thanksgiving and it is in fact the highest form of worship we offer to God. Let our celebration of the Eucharist then be truly a thanksgiving to the Father, through Jesus, the Son, and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Let our celebration be marked by the joy of our grateful hearts. 

Not Counting the Cost (27th Sunday Ordinary C)

Can God ever be held indebted to us? When we render Him service, when we do sacrifices for him, when we offer him our lives under perpetual vows, for instance, have we done God a great favor? And does God, then, owe us his gratitude? Can we make a claim on God? Can we demand from him his kindness and mercy as if these were due to us by right?

(photo from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net)

Don’t we usually expect God to be generous to us or to be ready to grant our prayers precisely because we have been faithful to his commands? Human as we are, we do tend to view our relationship with God, as we view our human relationships, within the framework of commutative justice. We somehow see our relationship as a contract between two parties: I render you my services, my time, and my skills and you, in turn, give me the compensation that I deserve. Because of this mentality, many a times we demand as a right some recognition and reward for the good things that we have done. And if we do not get what we have expected, we turn sour and we become unhappy and we begin to lose our enthusiasm in serving.

Yes, we expect God to act within our concept of justice so much so that many times we cry “unfair!” when our expectations are not met. Or we simply and secretly harbor an ill feeling deep within us. But we need to understand that we drag God into this talk of justice only because we have been oblivious of the fact that whatever resources we harness in serving, like our skills, energy, talents, time, even our lives, are not ours but God’s. Even the very opportunity to serve is a graced moment offered to us by God. We demand reward because, in the first place, we have failed to see that everything that we have and are is a gift.

The vocation to serve as a duty. The parable of the homecoming servant in today’s gospel reading (Lk 17:5-10) sheds light on the right attitude called for by our Christian vocation to serve. In the parable, the master does not invite to sit with him at table his servant who just came home from working in the field. Rather, he asks the servant to prepare the table for him and wait on him while he eats. The fact that the servant has already worked in the field does not give him a claim of gratitude on his master. Those who render services for which they are employed deserve nothing more than what the terms of the agreement provide.

This is also true to Jesus’ disciples. In Jesus’ words: “When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do’” (v. 10).

The vocation to serve as a gift. The point of the parable is that our Christian vocation is itself a gift. Our act of serving, as a vocation, does not give us a claim on the Lord. In the words of Roland Faley, TOR: In being the beneficiaries of God’s saving work in Christ, his followers are already “gifted”; anything to which they are subsequently called as Christians is, as might be said, done “in the line of duty.”

Hence, we cannot rightly demand God’s added favor and graciousness as due to us. Yet, God is in fact gracious to us. And this is not because He owes us. His grace is always free. It is freely given—a gift. We don’t work for it; we even do not deserve it. So these good things that come to us in our Christian life ought to be received in the spirit of gratitude. Since God does not owe us anything, his favor, when it pours, should always catch us by surprise.

Generosity in serving. As Christ’s true disciples then, the right disposition in living out our vocation to serve is that of generosity and self-giving. Let us be inspired by the prayer of St. Ignatius of Loyola:

Lord, teach me to be generous.
Teach me to serve you as you deserve;
to give and not to count the cost,
to fight and not to heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek for rest,
to labor and not to ask for reward,
save that of knowing that I do your will.

If only we can all take this prayer to heart, we can accomplish many more great things for God’s kingdom here on earth.

Looking back, what are the things which I refused to actively engaged in because I counted the cost or I did not see the reward I expected to get out of it?

What were those moments when I felt unhappy serving or I harbored ill feelings because I was not given “due” recognition?

A story to end: A friend of mine who takes the gospel seriously in her life shared to me her experiences in serving as a volunteer in the evacuation centers in Zamboanga during that historical "Zambonga Siege." While distributing food to the evacuees, it became apparent to her that many of the families she was serving were most likely families of those who attacked the city. They were mostly women and children. She began to feel angry and tempted to stop serving. But she continued because, according to her, the gospel imperative was very clear to her. Even if she found no reward in what she was doing, even if she was battling with her own disturbing emotions, she could not turn her back to her calling to serve those who are suffering at present.

This friend of mine has made me confident that, indeed, there are still true disciples of Christ who are ready to tell anyone, “We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.”

Stewardship (25th Sunday Ordinary C)

In 2013, On National Heroes’ Day, Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle joined a protest march that called for the abolition of the Pork Barrel fund as it had been the source of scandalous corruption in the government. He exhorted all Filipinos to act collectively with heroism and with honor anywhere they are.  Few days earlier in a press conference, the Cardinal had addressed his challenge to those involved in the “intricate web” of corruption to visit the poor and slum areas in order to get a real feel of the suffering of the poor. The Cardinal said: “On my own, I just think those that are doing such things are capable because the poor is absent in their lives. Maybe they cannot see them or they don’t want to see them. But once they see them and even feel their suffering, maybe, they will at least be disheartened and moved by it.”

Indeed, the corruption of the country’s resources perpetuates the suffering of the poor.  The multibillion pork barrel scam, for instance, has been a great injustice to the Filipino people who, for long, have been struggling with poverty while those who are entrusted with power continue to enrich themselves at the poor’s expense.

Today’s readings lend themselves to a reflection on material stewardship. The readings allow us to focus on three aspects of stewardship: It is at the service of the poor, at the service of one’s legitimate needs, and at the service of God.

At the service of the poor.  Cardinal Tagle’s challenge to the politicians to be sensitive to the suffering of the poor echoes the message of the Prophet Amos in the first reading (Am 8:4-7) to those “who trample upon the needy and destroy the poor of the land.” Amos decries the unjust practices of the rich, particularly the merchants who exploit the poor people in buying and selling—the scales were adjusted to the advantage of the agent, while the poor paid more or received less.  Amos warns them of the Lord’s justice. They will be held accountable for everything they have done against the poor.

A responsible stewardship is sensitive to the needs of the poor. Those who have been entrusted with power and with the resources ought to see that all these must be at the service of the suffering poor.  Hence, stewardship implies the commitment to put up socio-economic and political systems, policies, and practices which assure the material security of the needy and the empowerment of the poor.

In our present clamor for a clean government, we pray that the justice of God prevails, that the exploitative and corrupt systems be abolished, and that we all take seriously the invitation to address the cry of the suffering poor.   

At the service of one’s legitimate needs. Material goods are entrusted to us as our means of meeting our basic needs and those of our dependents.  Christian stewardship does not scorn material things but calls for detachment from them lest they might take the place of God in our lives.  Material things are means and not end in themselves.  They have to be utilized with prudence in order to serve our end. 

The parable of the fired steward in the gospel reading (Lk 16: 1-13) illustrates that in the moment of crisis, the steward prudently used the material things at his disposal to secure his future.  He instructed his master’s debtors to write a discounted amount on their promissory notes.  These reduced the charges owed by eliminating the “service charge” which is normally due to him as an agent. By deciding to let go of his share, he gained friends from whom he could ask help in the future.

Stewardship calls for prudence and a degree of freedom from material goods in order to serve rightfully our basic needs without falling into the trap of greed and inordinate love for created things.

At the service of God.  The gospel reading ends with this reminder: “You cannot serve God and mammon” (v. 13). The inordinate love for created things compels us to sacrifice our health, family, friendship, moral principles, and faith convictions in favor of material gains. This is serving mammon and not God. When we close our eyes to the suffering of the poor and enrich ourselves at the expense of the poor, we are serving mammon and not God.  

Christian stewardship is serving God, not mammon. A faithful steward knows that God is the master; God is the source of bounty; God is the ultimate owner of everything. It is God he serves not money; His will he follows.

If only we can manage our material goods and other human affairs according to His will as the Prophet Amos reminds us, we would see justice, peace, and true development flourish in our land. 

Hence, today we ask the Master to forgive us of our dishonesty and mismanagement as stewards.  We ask for forgiveness for causing the suffering of the poor, for our greed and selfishness, for worshipping and serving mammon. And we ask the grace of prudence and freedom to dispose of our material goods at the service of the poor, of our own legitimate needs, and of God.