Nov 19, 2023 English

“Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

Students get their report cards every once in a while.  At certain points of a year, students have an occasion to reassess their efforts.  Everyone wants good grades, of course, but encouraging and helping the students to do their best and to develop a strong sense of responsibility and accountability is the goal of this exercise.

A life unexamined is a life not worth living. Was it Socrates who said this? Daily examen is a must and so is a periodic check-up through retreats or spiritual direction. Reflecting on the origin of our existence, rerouting the path that we take if necessary, reaffirming or honestly assessing our vision and goal… these are the elements of integral human growth.

The gospel today talks about “a good and faithful servant.”  A good steward uses ingenuity and imagination to increase the yield of the entrusted capital and estate, which eventually leads to a win-win situation for himself and the one who entrusted him with the responsibility. Jesus even commends a dishonest steward for acting prudently (Luke 16, 1-8). Beyond being faithful to the letter of the law, one is expected to use one’s brains to find the way. We often run into lack of imagination and entrepreneurship among various forms of bureaucracy
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I do not know if it is true, but I hear people make fun of government workers for their careerism or lack of ingenuity. Pope John XXIII was asked by an interviewer how many people worked at the Vatican. He paused a moment and replied: “About a half.” Pope Francis caused a stir when he addressed the Curia regarding the “curial diseases” some years ago. He talked about 15 diseases: the disease of a superiority complex from narcissism, the disease of excessive busy-ness, the disease of mental and spiritual petrification, the disease of excessive planning and of functionalism, the disease of poor coordination, a “spiritual Alzheimer’s disease,” the disease of rivalry and vainglory, the disease of existential schizophrenia, which is the disease of those who live a double life, the disease of gossiping, grumbling and back-biting, the disease of idolizing superiors, the disease of indifference to others, the disease of a lugubrious face, the disease of hoarding, the disease of closed circles, where belonging to a clique becomes more powerful than belonging to the Body and, in some circumstances, to Christ himself, and the disease of worldly profit, of forms of self-exhibition. Yikes!

Jesus invites us to stretch our imaginations and to take the creative initiative in a timely manner, instead of sitting back passively waiting for everything to run its course. Being faithful is neither one-dimensional nor blind. It takes a dynamic and supple mind, and a resolute heart. Being faithful is also the ultimate goal of Confucian ethics. Keeping your word and fulfilling your promises achieves that goal. Abraham is called the Father of the faithful (cf. Romans 4:11).  His faith was steadfast and consistent like the Old Faithful Geyser. In this flippant world with its disposable culture, we need fidelity and constancy more than ever.
 
Being faithful in small or large affairs is the sure path to imitate our loving God whose love and compassion is rock-solid.

Fr. Paul D. Lee