Daily Gospel Reflection for November 22, 2017 - St. Cecilia

Today’s Gospel: Luke 19:11-28 – St. Cecilia

This parable is about stewardship. It is scary, right? There is the rock star investor who doubled the money. Awesome. The very good investor who made a sizable chunk. He too was well rewarded. I feel bad for the third guy though. He wasn’t an idiot; he was scared. He didn’t want to invest and lose everything. He is not just not rewarded; he loses the very thing he was so afraid to lose. Fear didn’t just inhibit growth; it stole his portion.

Catholics don’t like to talk about stewardship. I married a Protestant, and it took a few years before we realized than when I was talking about stewardship I was probably talking about Creation, unless I specified otherwise, whereas he was probably talking about money unless he specified otherwise. Stewardship is about making the most of the treasures God gave you.

I don’t think this parable is about money or stuff. We could read it that way. We could read it to be about productivity or money, I suppose. Everything we have is a gift from God, so you could make the case that this reading is about nearly anything. I remember one meditation on this passage which explained that this was about schoolwork and grades. The parable can be understood in a lot of ways, but I want to zero in on faith. Faith is a gift. A treasure. Faith is ours, but not earned. Faith must be tended and grown, or it will certainly disappear.

Fear keeps us from sharing our faith. Fear can rob us both of the fruits of faith and of faith itself. It is scary to put your faith out in a world which may not listen. Do not be afraid.

Fear can rob us both of the fruits of faith and of faith itself. By Beth HersomClick To Tweet

Ponder:

When our Master comes back asking how we managed his gifts, how will we answer?

Pray:

Lord in Heaven, you are my master. Everything I have is yours. Bless me with the courage and wisdom to be a good steward and to share and multiply your gift of faith.

Copyright 2017 Beth Hersom

Beth is a cradle Catholic and mother to three daughters. She writes about faith and family. She also talks about the the journey of parenting a child who has significant medical difficulties. Please visit her website: joyfulcatholicmom.blogspot.com

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