Our Gospel today, upon first reading may not appear to be related or confusing in the analogies that Jesus is making. Jesus first begins by stating that to be a disciple of his, there is a need to, first hate “father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters,
and even his own life,” and then be willing to “carry his own cross” (cf Lk 14:26-27). Then Jesus begins to talk about the smart builder calculating the cost of materials and labor to be sure he has enough to build the tower to be sure he has all he needs otherwise he will not complete what he set out to do. In the same way, Jesus talks about a king preparing for battle. If his goal is for success, he needs to be confident he has enough soldiers to win, if not, he will need to send an emissary to make peace.

Each of these four points is interconnected if we understand what Jesus is conveying regarding discipleship with him and that is to look toward what is the fundamental option or the end goal of having a relationship and discipleship with Jesus. The goal or success of discipleship with Jesus is relationship with God in this lifetime and for eternity in the next, and to lead others to experience the same.

To attain this goal then, God must be first in our lives before all else, even the closest of family members and most intimate of friends. For if we truly want to be close to family and friends and to see each other as brothers and sisters in Christ, we need to know the Father. As we come to know and experience God, we will be transformed by the infinite power of his love.

Having a relationship with God is not just knowing about him, but knowing him intimately and that means we have to change. We become less self-focused and self-centered as we begin to experience, in relationship with God, his love. As we do so we begin to see our sins, how short we fall from sharing the love of God in our human relationships and the way we treat one another. With humility, contrition, and confession we begin to heal and change into his loving sons and daughters. In so doing, our natural human relationships improve and we grow closer and more mature because the love of God is more present in our lives. We become more loving, forgiving, patient, present, and other-centered as we allow Jesus to love others through us.

JoAnn loved to plan. She enjoyed planning things out before we would do any project no matter how small. I tended to dive in without thinking matters through necessarily to the desired end. JoAnn helped me to slow down and think before I lept. I helped her to be more open to preparing instead of holding too tightly to the desired plan. When things did not always go according to the plan, we were able to adjust better and be more flexible because we were committed to each other.

Although not always as patient with each other as we wanted to be, our commitment and love for God, helped us to grow in our love for each other, and over the years we grew in our patience in working together, we learned from each other, and knew we were always better together despite sometimes having different ways of approaching certain projects or challenges. All of our relationships will grow and mature if we lean on God first and open our hearts and minds to allowing his love to transform us and flow out to each other!

Photo: JoAnn’s birthday 2018

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, September 9, 2019

Then he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath” (Lk 6:5).

The disciples were traveling with Jesus, they gathered food where they could. In today’s Gospel, they picked heads of grain and rubbed them in their hands to make them easier to chew. The critique of those Pharisees, presumably, walking along with or close by to Jesus, was that his disciples were breaking the sabbath law by working and thus not keeping it holy.

The reason for this was that pious Jews would often practice what is called, building a hedge around the Torah, meaning that they would institute practices beyond the original law so that there would be no way of breaking it. Fr. Bill Burton, ofm, shared an example that has stuck with me since my Scripture studies in seminary.

There is a prescription in Exodus 23:19, that states that you should not cook a kid (baby goat) in its mother’s milk. So as not to even come close to breaking this law, observant Jews developed the practice, which continues today, to not cook any meat and dairy together; thus the idea of building a hedge around the Torah. The hedge in today’s reading had to do with what constituted work and what did not, so as to keep the sabbath rest intact and keep the Sabbath holy. Jesus settled the debate by claiming that he was the Lord of the Sabbath.

The Lord of the Sabbath needs to be the Lord of our lives. We live in a fallen world, but even at its best, we live in a finite and fragile world. We as human beings can only do so much. The best we can do is to use our intellect and ability to reason while at the same time seek to discern God’s will and direction so to have access to the spiritual resources that he offers to us in our everyday affairs, especially when tragedy strikes.

JoAnn, my heart and wife for the past twenty-three years passed away this past Monday morning as a result of the ever-increasing effects of pancreatic cancer. The Bahamas and the outer banks of North Carolina were devastated by Dorian. The Amazon continues to burn. Tragedy, pain, and suffering happen in our independent lives directly and in our world collectively. Yet, in each instance, we are not abandoned, we are not alone. God works with us and through others who allow their hearts and minds to be open to his love working through them.

I cannot answer why these things happen. I cannot answer why JoAnn had pancreatic cancer. But I do know God was with us every step of the way and as JoAnn physically decreased she allowed her mind and heart to be open, such that Jesus increased in her life touching others through her with his love. There will be many who will reach out to come to the aid of the Bahamas and North Carolina, and I pray there will be more of an outpouring of world support for the people and lands of the Amazon.

Jesus needs to be the Lord of our lives, in and out of season, in the midst of our trials as well as our joys and celebrations. As we lean on him and each other all things are possible and what may seem incomprehensible or hopeless at the moment, God will bring about a greater good through his will and timing.

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Photo: Sunset at Santa Monica Beach two nights ago with Jack and Christy watching the sunset.

Link for today’s Mass readings for Saturday, September 7, 2019

And no one who has been drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good'” (Lk 5:39).

Many of us can relate to holding on to the old. It is more comfortable, it is proven to be good and true. A favorite wine, a pair of broken-in jeans or shoes, a favorite book read time and again, these are all part of the simple pleasures of life. In Jesus’ parable, he is challenging us to go deeper. He is inviting us to recognize those things that we are holding onto that may be preventing us from more than just a mere existence or minimalist mode of living to instead actualizing the fullness of the potential for ourselves and others.

We have created patterns in our life that may appear and feel safe, but in actuality may be holding us back from a deeper and fuller experience in life. We may be influenced by cultural or social tremors that may dictate to us that we are too old, that we are too young, that to do this or that is too much of a risk… Each of these examples can be challenging on the material plane of existence, yet while Jesus seeks the best for us in our every day, at the same time, he is calling us to go even deeper spiritually as well.

God the Father is infinite and inexhaustible. Though the Gospel remains the same, there are always new ways, new means to hear the message, to go deeper with it, so to better be able to share it. Each generation has to claim the deposit of faith passed on for generations as its own. I had heard of social media and its handful of platforms for some time but had not experienced any of it myself until a few years ago. For over two and a half years now, I have been sharing these reflections as a way to share my thoughts on the Gospels and journey with Jesus.

I was quite happy reading, learning, and sharing within the four walls of my classroom, but I felt Jesus urging me to reach out a bit more, to go beyond those four walls, to take a risk and try some new wine. I wasn’t sure how to begin, but took a few steps and I have been typing away each day to share a reflection like this one that you are reading now ever since. There was a risk in adding one more thing to my schedule in that there would be less time during the school year to be with JoAnn, but it helped to open up time in the evening where we would pray together and then we would read the daily Mass readings and I would share my reflection. JoAnn then would critique them and we would discuss what we learned together. So my initial concern was unfounded and in trusting the lead of Jesus, we had more intimate time together immersed in the Word of the Lord.

In what way is God calling you to take a step out of your comfort zone? In what way can you share your faith journey with others? As you take a look at the horizon this morning, take some deep breaths as the sun rises, realize that you have a unique gift or talent to share, a way that Jesus is inviting you to participate in building up his kingdom. A life surrendered to Jesus, lived in collaboration with him, is ever new, ever better. Let us be open to hearing his guidance and be willing to be led by him, to be engaged in a new way we haven’t experienced before, to taste some new wine and put on a new wineskin!

Photo: Valentine’s Day 2019

Link for the Mass reading for Thursday, September 6, 2019

After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Simon said in reply,” Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets” (Lk 5:4-5).

Faith is to trust in God and believe that what he tells us is true. On our own initiative and will power we are limited as finite beings as to what we can understand and do. Today’s Gospel reading provides an example of this. Simon had been fishing all night with no results. Simon Peter follows Jesus’ command to go back out and put into the deep, and Simon not only accomplishes what he originally set out to do, but he also did so beyond anything he had ever imagined! When we follow God’s direction and initiative all things are possible for us as well.

God’s initiative and grace enter our lives daily as Jesus entered Simon’s boat. Do we have eyes to see, ears to hear, and a willingness to listen and follow the initiative of Jesus? Remember the rich man who had followed all the commandments, but when Jesus invited him to sell all and come and follow him, he could not do it? Simon the magician saw the works of Philip, Peter, and John and wanted to buy the power of the Holy Spirit to heal but was rebuked. Turning away from Jesus’ invitation or seeking to manipulate Jesus for our own personal gain will not bring us the fulfillment that we seek.

We need to follow the example of Mary, who when the archangel Gabriel shared God’s message with her that she was to bear a child, even though she did not understand how this could be, Mary trusted. She conceived in her womb, through the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, the God-Man, the incarnate Son of God, Jesus the Christ. May we also follow such examples as Peter, James, and John, who said yes to lowering their nets, even though they did not see the point, yet they followed and were amazed. Then led by Peter’s humility and contrition, they “left everything” and followed Jesus. They went on to announce the Gospel of the Lord and caught people for the Kingdom of heaven.

Do we have the humility to follow Jesus, even when we may feel or see no point in his request? Jesus has a plan for us, as he did for Mary and the Apostles. He will give us the means to accomplish what he calls us to do. In that quiet place in our soul, in the stillness of our hearts, Jesus is inviting us to follow him, to put out into the deep water. What we may hear may seem unbelievable, or insignificant, we may experience anxiety or fear. Yet, let us take the risk and follow Jesus where he leads, where he would have us go, and what he would have us do.

About seventeen years ago, I remember taking a leave of absence after teaching in public school for five years. After time away from teaching, I thought about returning to the classroom, but instead of returning to the public school system I wanted to explore the idea of teaching in a Catholic school. It was mid-year, so I was just looking for a substitute teaching position. After a few initial inquiries, I received no bites, then JoAnn recommended me reaching out to Rosarian Academy a school about 30-40 miles from us, my initial reaction was like Peter. I resisted because of the potential drive, but JoAnn persisted and I followed her lead and made an initial call, received an interview, and not only ended up getting a full-time substitute position for the remainder of the year, I was hired back full time at the middle school level for the following school year and taught at Rosarian for another wonderful eight years.

Jesus can guide us directly as he did with Peter or he can guide us through others as he did with me through JoAnn. We need to allow our hearts and minds to be open to where God is leading us and when we do so, we will not only be happy, but we will find fulfillment and meaning in our lives, such that it overflows to others. I thank JoAnn for her years of support of me and my vocational path. Her guidance and love have been an instrumental and integral part of helping me to be who I am today.

Photo: My first class teaching at Rosarian!

Link for the Mass reading for September 5, 2019

But he said to them, “To the other towns also I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God, because for this purpose I have been sent” (Lk 4:43).

Jesus himself, the Son of God incarnate, fully divine and fully human, is the foretaste of heaven in the midst of those he encountered then and continues to be today, as he works through us, his Church. His work of preaching, teaching, healing, and casting out demons, shows that the divine flow of the Father’s Love is infused into our fallen human condition. Jesus came to restore unity to that which had been lost and once he began his public ministry he was ever on the go.

Through our Baptism, we have been conformed to and indelibly marked by Christ, and for Christ. We are nourished by his Body and Blood in the Eucharist and were empowered through the laying on of hands by the bishop at our Confirmation. We have been divinized, made God through our participation in the life of Jesus the Christ. We too then are priests, prophets, and kings in his name. We also are, to preach and teach the same Gospel, to be his healing and comforting presence, to make Jesus present to those in our midst, and yes we too are called to cast out all demons, and to shine the light on negativity, fear, and division in his name. As James teaches, we are to “submit [our]selves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee” (James 4:7).

Jesus did not travel very far during his three and a half year public ministry, yet his Word has reached all the corners of the world. That is because of those who have encountered him, said yes to his invitation, submitted to the will of his Father, so to be transformed into his saints, and they continued to spread his teachings and life.

We are also called to surrender our life to Jesus moment by moment, in each circumstance and situation so to build up our relationship with him, and embrace the gift of the unique vocation we have been called to do, to be holy, to be his saints. Let us go off to a deserted place and contemplate what Jesus’ inaugural message means to us: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the Gospel” (Mk 1:15). Then, filled with the Holy Spirit, proclaim with joy, in word and deed, this Good News through our everyday experience. Let us rise this day to follow Jesus and be on our way!

Photo: Peter receiving the keys of the kingdom. As Peter was commissioned the Gospel so are we. Stained glass in Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Los Angeles, CA,

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, September 4, 2019

The funeral arrangements for JoAnn are as follows:

Visitation times will be Friday, September 13 from 6:30-8:30 pm and
the prayer service will be from 7:30 – 8:00.

Taylor & Modeen Funeral Home
250 Center Street
Jupiter, FL 33458

The Funeral Mass will be Saturday, September 14 and beginning at 10:00 am

St Peter Catholic Church
1701 Indian Creek Parkway
Jupiter, FL 33458

Interment will follow the Mass, JoAnn’s body will be taken via police escort to:

Our Lady Queen of Peace Cemetery
10941 Southern Blvd
Royal Palm Beach, FL 33411

All are invited to attend a luncheon reception to be held in the St Peter Catholic Church Parish Hall at approximately 1:30. Same directions as above for funeral Mass.

If you are not able to attend the funeral Mass in person, the Mass will be live-streamed online at the Church:

Type in – https://stpeterjupiter.com
On the top menu bar, hover over the word – watch
Left-click on the first option – Live Streaming
Then you ought to be good to go!

In lieu of flowers:

JoAnn has always been very practical, she did not even like me buying her flowers. She would much rather that we donate the money that we would have spent on purchasing flowers to save lives. Please donate to the St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in JoAnn Dube’s name. The site is stjude.org and they have a donation page.

The picture is from the same time period as the other when JoAnn was designing her own clothes and one of Christy’s favorite pictures. Certainly appropriate for this time. Though she looks angelic, I do need to put on my theologian’s hat for a moment and clarify that we do not become angels when we go to heaven, but are higher than the angels through our participation in the life of Jesus! Jesus opened up the doors to heaven for JoAnn and all of us in the humanity he assumed!

Peace and all God’s good,
Deacon Serge

Jesus returned to his hometown of Nazareth, as we saw in yesterday’s reading, and that did not end so well, with his fellow Nazoreans running him out of town (Lk 4:29). In today’s reading, Jesus was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum. The initial reaction to Jesus’ teaching was similar in both accounts; the people were “amazed” and “astonished” with his teaching. But no one in either group makes the bold statement that arises today: “I know who you are – the Holy One of God” (Lk 4:34)! This phrase was professed by a demon. He who taunted Jesus.

From the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry opposition was present. In Nazareth, the fallen nature of our humanity reared its head. The people he grew up with were unwilling to see beyond the ordinary Jesus they always knew. Wasn’t he just the son of Joseph, just the carpenter? Jesus was safe when he merely worked a quiet life, participated in the life of the synagogue, even when he returned from surrounding territories amidst words of praise, and even stepping up to read in the synagogue from the words of Elijah: he was the hometown boy making good. But once Jesus began to equate himself in the line of the prophets and share how God was working beyond the people of Israel, with his accounts of Elijah going to the Gentile widow, and Naaman, another Gentile, going to Elisha, highlighting that God worked beyond the people of Israel, even his own had enough. Jesus had to go (Lk 4:29).

In today’s account, another source of opposition is the taunting demon. Jesus rebuked the demon immediately and called him out of the man. Jesus faced time and again the fallen nature of humanity, disbelief, lack of faith, as well as the opposition of demons, and soon the failure of religious and civic leadership. Sound familiar?

Where do we find our self in the scenes of Jesus’ ministry and teaching, in our own time today? Following Jesus is a day to day commitment and we must be willing to face the same challenges that his disciples did. We need to be willing to face our weaknesses, our woundedness, and own shortcomings and conform our lives to the will of Jesus. By doing so we will be confronted with the darkness and sin within ourselves. May we have the humility to resist defending, rationalizing, and covering over our shortcomings, and instead be willing to repent, to turn away from our sin, and be willing to be healed.

We also need to resist dismissing Jesus’ encounter with the demon in today’s Gospel too quickly. Demons do exist and play a role in the principalities and powers that influence us and our world. We ignore this reality to our own detriment, for they will tempt and subtly attack us at our weakest and most vulnerable points. This is not a cause for anxiety and fear. The weakest Christian is stronger than the devil himself, but we must be aware and vigilant. When faced with temptation by Satan or his demons, we need to call on the name of Jesus, those of the dark must flee from the radiant light of Christ. This is why it is so important to regularly examine our conscience, to be aware of and confess our sin. Otherwise, they can and will be used against us.

The closer we draw to Jesus, the more we experience his light, the more of our own sin we will see. This is not a cause to run and hide, but to humbly embrace the truth, so to be healed. This also means we will see more clearly the dark influences that plague us and our world which we are blinded to when we turn in upon ourselves and our own selfishness, embrace our own pride, and turn away from God.

May we instead place our trust and belief in Jesus today and each day, spend time in prayer, in his word, examine our conscience, and be willing to be led by him to serve one another, speak up for one another, and stand strong against the temptations and darkness of this world. When we fall short, fail, as we will, as did the apostles, we need to follow, not Judas, but Peter: repent, confess our love for Jesus, and begin again. Together, with our Loving God and Father, may we hold one another accountable, support and lift one another up in love, for Jesus is at our right hand, and, even in the darkest moments, with Jesus, we will stand firm!

Solar Eclipse: Photo Credit: Reuters Daniel Chan

Link for the readings for Tuesday, September 3, 2019

He said to them, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing” (Lk 4:21).

Jesus, who had just sat down, spoke these words to his hometown congregation in Nazareth who had just heard him read the passage from the writings of the prophet Isaiah. Jesus proclaimed that he was the one to whom Isaiah was talking about. Luke chose to place this event as the starting point of Jesus’ public ministry, of bringing glad tidings to the poor, proclaiming liberty to the captives, recovering sight to the blind, letting the oppressed go free, and proclaiming a year acceptable to the Lord (cf. Lk 4:18-19).

This is a message of universal healing for all of humanity, that restoration and reconciliation would come and Jesus would be the vehicle to bring all the nations, all people, back into communion and relationship with his Father. The poor mentioned were not just in reference to those experiencing material poverty, but to those finding themselves on the margins of society, the outcasts, those on the peripheries. The captives were not only those imprisoned for debts or crimes but those bound in the chains of their own sin and addiction. The blind was not only those who could not physically see but those who experienced the spiritual blindness of pride and arrogance. The oppressed were not just those under the iron fist of totalitarian and dictatorial regimes, but those pressed down through their own self imposed anxieties and fears.

In what ways are we in need of Jesus’ healing and restorative power? What is keeping us on the peripheries, apart from communion and fellowship? What sins and addictions keep us bound, what fears and anxieties keep us oppressed? Jesus invites us in today’s Gospel to be healed and to align ourselves with his will and ministry of loving service to others. The same words he spoke to his own hometown he is speaking to us. Will we hold on to our biases and prejudices and run Jesus out from our midst to hurl him over a cliff because he is not only offering his healing hand to us, but also to others outside our tribe, our nation, our political party? Or will we come to Jesus, kneel before him, acknowledge our need for his healing and make him the Lord of our life?

JoAnn recognized her need for Jesus in her life and she accepted the invitation of his love and relationship. She often said that she found rote prayers hard to do. She was much more comfortable speaking with Jesus as she spoke with our kids and me. JoAnn was also willing to admit her mistakes and confess her sins, which she was blessed to have the opportunity to do as God brought Fr. Leandro to us so she could access the healing graces of the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick about a month ago and again this past Saturday. JoAnn often told us as her condition declined further that her death would not be an end, but just a change of address and that she would be close to us, with us, and that she would love us forever and ever.

Let us take some time today to examine our conscience. Then come to Jesus with a contrite, sorrowful heart for what we have done and what we have failed to do. May we feel his healing hands on our bowed heads and the warmth of his love pouring through us to purge us of our sin and pride and heal us from that which keeps us bound. Very soon JoAnn will be with Jesus in his heavenly realm and then will be able to intercede for us such that he may guide us as he guided her on how and where we can participate with him in bringing healing and reconciliation to others in our midst, to bring about an “acceptable year of the Lord” (Lk 4:19).

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One ministry we have found to help us bring about an acceptable year is Cross Catholic Outreach hosted at our parish of St Peter bagging food for those in dire need.

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, September 2, 2019

“Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous” (Lk 14:13-14).

At the end of this parable, Jesus is expressing another definition of love. Love is not merely an emotion, a feeling, or a state of mind. As I have stated often, I follow St Thomas Aquinas in his definition of love as the willing the good of other as other. This definition of love is unconditional. There are no restrictions placed on another for a return of the good given.

This is what Jesus means by inviting the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. These are people of his time who have nothing to give to someone who has the means of offering a banquet. They could even come, because of their ostracized status without the proper etiquette to even express the most minimal of thank you for the invitation and the meal, and instead to complain about the food, the decor, and even be insulting to the host. Yet, they would be served with humility and grace anyway, because the point is to give without expectation of reciprocity.

Some may say this is impossible, that nobody gives without expecting something in return. Everybody’s got an angle, even if we do something for a compliment. Jesus would probably agree with this claim, for on our own we may not even be able to conceive of giving without looking to get something back in return, let alone doing it. Jesus has countered this claim in a different context, but it applies here just as well: “For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible” (Mt 19:26).

To be able to love then, to be able to will the good of the other without condition, we need to first be willing to receive the love of God that he offers us. We are capable of love because first and foremost, we have been loved ourselves. If we spend no time with God, no time in his word, prayer, worship, acts of service, or most importantly his silence, we will not experience the love of God that he is so willing to share. The proof that he does so is that we are alive. Our very existence, in fact, the reality of all creation, is the result of the outpouring of the love of God.

The first step of receiving the love of God is being aware that our very desire to pray, the mind seeking the existence of God, the urge to move out from our self to reach out to the need of another, is already a response to the One who is loving us and inviting us to go deeper. And when we begin to experience the love of God and share it with one another, there is an inexhaustible supply and a joy for its own sake which comes up from within our soul from God who is the source. As the love pours in and we share it, it continues to flow. If we don’t share or follow through on the movement of love dwelling up within us, or we focus on the external return for the love given, we will often be let down and disillusioned.

JoAnn and my world were turned upside down when we heard about her diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Some people might get angry and bitter and say, why me, and it would be understandable. From that first day, and throughout the process, I do not remember JoAnn even tempted to go there. Instead what happened was that she had a hyper-focus on a gift and joy she always had since her youth and that was making or providing gifts for people. Simple, small things that came from the heart, and even if the person receiving the gift never said a word, JoAnn felt more joy in the planning, creating, and the giving of the gift.

Her gift from God was planning and being a gift giver. What happened during these five agonizing months was not that she sunk into a pit of despair, but that her planning and gift-giving went into overdrive and if anyone was in range, and God called her to give a gift, that was going to happen.

One example that emphasizes this was for the Hospice of St Clare team that took care of us and her. JoAnn planned out a pastry, fruit dish that she wanted to present to the team at their bi-weekly meeting. She planned in her mind what she was looking for, sent Jack to the food store with iPhone in hand so they could face time and JoAnn could pick out the items she wanted to place on the platter.

When the items arrived, JoAnn and Christy put together the arrangement, I wrote out the thank you card, JoAnn edited it as I read it to her, I rewrote it and then I drove the platter and card to the office. JoAnn felt the love of God inspire her to reach out to others by giving small gifts with great love, expecting nothing in return. One of the recurring questions JoAnn asked me these past few weeks was would God allow her to continue to give gifts in heaven. I believe he will.

Photo: Pastry/fruit plate JoAnn designed and we all helped to implement with her guidance for our Hospice team. Photo credit – Christy McKee

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, September 1, 2019

“Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter; so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back'” (Mt 25: 24-25).

I used to struggle with this verse of Jesus’ Parable of the Talents, not because I didn’t relate to it, but because I did. The problem was that I sided with the servant who buried his talent in the ground. What the servant did make sense to me, he kept his master’s talent safe and returned what he had been given. Historically, burying was considered a safe and acceptable practice in ancient Palestine when protecting someone else’s money. Even in reading carefully back to the beginning of the parable, I could see no reference to investing the talents. Though in the Gospel of Luke, there is an explicit demand to “trade with these until I come” (Lk 19:13). What is Jesus saying?

Actually, Jesus in this parable offers a microcosm of salvation history, the thread of which has been woven through all of Sacred Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. God, through his sovereign will, has consistently called, calls today, and will continue to call into the future a people to himself. In each age, God has bestowed upon humanity the generous gift of his grace, inviting us to receive and share in his very life, which is what we have been created for. This is a free gift, to be freely accepted or rejected. Once received though – no matter how little we choose to receive, we are directed to share what we have been given. Through a life lived of accepting, receiving, giving back to God and to one another, we are given even “greater responsibilities”.

In receiving the gift of God, himself, and sharing what he has given, ultimately his love, for God himself is Love, we not only mirror on earth, albeit dimly, but share in the divine communion of the love between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To reject this gift outright, or to receive some of the benefits and not to share, we cut ourselves off from the very life force and source of our being.

We can see this pattern emerge in this parable. The master gives his servants talents. To one he gives five, to another two, and to a third he gives one. All accept what they have been given. But differ in what they do with the gift. The first two double what they have been given and the third buried what he had been given. Two have received and multiplied their talents, the one refused to and kept it to himself. The master returns, commends and rewards the two, then berates and even takes the little the one had been given and gives it to the one who had more.

The message of The Parable of the Talents is as clear as it is challenging. John P. Meier summarizes that “Jesus is insistent; along with sovereign grace, serious demand, and superabundant reward comes the possibility of being condemned for refusing the demand contained in the gift. Indeed, one might argue that no aspect of Jesus’ teaching is more pervasive in the many different streams of the Gospel tradition, and no aspect is more passed over in silence today” (Meier 2016, 309).

God has created us and all of creation from the abundant outpouring of his love. Will we reject the gift of his love and invitation of communion? Will we receive, yet not actualize who we are called to be for our self and others because we would rather merely just exist, willing to be lured and entrapped by the temptations of anxiety, fear, apparent goods, and half-truths? Will we give in to the fear, too afraid to risk, to go out from ourselves to serve others? Or, will we appreciate the gift of our life and say thank you for the breath that we breathe? Are we willing to expand the love we have received by being willing to share, to multiply our talents, to embrace who God calls us to be, to love in kind, to will the good of others in the unique way God calls us to serve, whoever they may be?

I have lived the life of the wicked servant who buried his talent out of fear. I have embraced the sin of sloth and resisted opportunities to share what God has given me to invest. This was no path to fulfillment, but an experience of separation from the fullness of the One who wants so much more. To live a day to day existence adrift and dulled, is certainly not the way I hope to spend another day. I am trusting more in the love of God, seeking to discern and follow his will, though, at times, I still do so with indecision and trepidation. I do better when I reach out and seek the hand of Jesus and accept to be led by him. I have risked and fallen, made mistakes and duffed up time and again, but have learned, persevered, and each year of life there is a little less of me and a little more of Jesus shining through.

A big part of why I am where I am today is because of my wife, JoAnn. Who has been there supporting me and encouraging me every step of the way to come out of my shell, to learn to trust, to take risks, and she constantly stretched me to break out of my comfort zone. She modeled for me the act of giving of herself to others, especially our children. But not even just those closest to her. She often would complement something someone was wearing in her everyday encounters, she loved to give little gifts, write simple notes of affirmation, and the embodiment of her selfless giving was this past week when she made sure that the Hospice nurses caring for her had something to eat, to drink, and that they were warm enough because we had to keep the AC cool because of her spikes in temperature, even making sure one nurse wore one of her sweaters. I am sure that in a few days when she begins her journey from this life to the next, God will welcome JoAnn with the words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

We are not alone. What Jesus invites us, gives us, and yes, demands us to do, he will at the same time provide the support and energy we need to carry out the task given to us and to bring it to fulfillment. God has something for us to do, a talent or two to invest. May we allow the light of Jesus to shine through us as a prism in our own unique way so to dispel the darkness of our current political, social, and Church climate. May we not be afraid to be who God calls us to be. May we not be afraid to love and to be loved. May we, in the words of Jesus and St John Paul II who echoed them as he began his pontificate:

“Be not afraid” (Mt 14:27).

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Photo: JoAnn, my heart, and I early in the treatment phase of pancreatic cancer that she has been suffering with.

Meier, John P. A Marginal Jew: Probing the Authenticity of the Parables. Vol. 5. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2016.

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, August 31, 2019