Fr. Robert Manansala – Santuario de San Antonio Parish

Roy B. Zuck shares a story about a beggar who asked for alms from a rich lady. She gave him a coin saying, “This is more than God has ever given me.” The beggar said, “O Madame, everything you have has been given by the Lord.” “True,” said the lady, “but God has not given it to me, it remained His all the time. What I have is only a loan from God. I am only a steward of God.”

In his book Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis refers to the same idea of stewardship in terms of God’s gift of life and everything in it. He says: “Every faculty you have, your power of thinking or of moving your limbs from moment to moment, is given you by God. If you devoted every moment of your whole life exclusively to His service, you could not give Him anything that was not in a sense His own already.”

Indeed, God has entrusted us with so much: our lives, our families, our friends, our talents, the years of our lives, our resources and our wealth. The big questions are: How have we beenreceiving what God has given us? How have we been using and dealing with these God-given gifts? For every gift, there is a corresponding responsibility.

Stewardship is the main theme of the parable of the vineyard today. It is the story of a landowner who planted the vineyard, constructed a protection around it and put up a winepress for the time of harvest. He then leased the vineyard to his tenants, entrusting everything to them, and left for another country.

Having given the tenants everything they needed to produce a good harvest, the landowner expected his just share of a fruitful yield. But the tenants had not been good and faithful stewards. Aside from failing to give the landowner his just share, the tenants harmed and killed his servants first and then killed his son when they were sent to collect the landowner’s share. The tenants thought that with the servants and the son gone, they could seize the vineyard as their own.

In its original context, the parable of the vineyard is a story about the entire salvation history. God inaugurated His Kingdom on earth and first sent the prophets to call the Israelites to be faithful to their covenant with God. But the people resisted, rejected and killed the prophets. Finally, the Father sent his only Son Jesus invested with full divine identity and authority. But the leaders of the people also rejected him and put him to death.

The parable recounts the passage from the Book of Psalms about the rejected stone becoming the cornerstone (cf. Ps118:22-23). In the same way, just as the vineyard in the parable is taken away from the tenants and given to those who would be better stewards, the Kingdom of God will also be taken from those who have rejected the prophets and the Sonof God. Instead, the Kingdom will be given to those who will produce fruits by living according to the Kingdom values and the teachings and examples of Jesus and the prophets.

Indeed, in life what has been given can be taken away if we are not deserving and if we do not produce the expected fruits. This is a theme that reverberates in a lot of parables that have something to do with stewardship of God’s gifts, foremost of which is God’sreign in our lives and in the world.

In the Bible, when we talk of stewardship, we also talk of responsibility, fruitfulness and accountability. We must take intentional responsibility for everything that God has given us. What is given gratuitously must truly and gratefully be received.

But it is not enough to be grateful for what the Lord has given us; we must also be responsible and fruitful. Eleanor Torrey Powell, the great American film actress and tap dancer, expressed this beautifully when she said, “What we are is God’s gift to us, what we become is our gift to God.”

“Fruitfullness” here must not only be seen in terms of becoming more and better personally. Fruitfulness is also relational, interpersonal, social and meta-personal. It will be too selfish to only think of and work for our personal development and growth in different aspects of life without contributing to the development and betterment of others and of the world.

What we have achieved in life remains selfish and limited and will not be complete until it contributes to the betterment of others and their lives. What God has given us are not just for ourselves; they are also intended to be used and harnessed for the good of others and of the world. Randy Alcorn says, “Christians are God’s delivery people through whom he does his giving to a needy world. We are conduits of God’s grace to others.”

We take note also that the Bible uses the term fruitfulness instead of productivity. Fruitfulness is a spiritual reality and it has something to do with the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in the world. St. Paul, in his Letter to the Galatians, speak of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control as fruits of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22-23). These fruits are to be concretized in the lives and deeds of Christians who are Spirit-filled. From the Christian perspective, one may be productive in terms of economic and other world achievements, but he or she may not necessarily be fruitful. As Christians, we are asked to be fruitful more than to be productive.This is the message of the saints of God.

The parable also makes it clear that we will have to make an accounting for everything that God has given us. Our God is a jealous God. While what He gives us are free, He asks for an accounting in the end. He has not given us gifts just to be wasted in the end.

The different parables on stewardship, including today’s parable, make it clear that it will not work if we only give back what God has given us. We have to give back double, triple or, in Biblical terms, a hundredfold out of the fruitful responsibility that we have exercised for ourselves, for our God-given gifts and for others. At the moment of personal accounting at the time of our death and in the final accounting tocome at the end of time, we hope to hear the Lord tell us: “Well done, my good and faithful servants. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will giveyour great responsibilities. Come, share your Master’s joy” (Mt 25:23).

But we do not have to wait for the personal accounting at the hour of our death and for the general accounting at the time of Parousia, from time to time, as we know it, life asks us to account for what the Lord has given us. One can lose his or her work if he or she does not do well out of neglect, incompetence and laziness. A school may reject us to re-enroll if we do not meet its academic and behavioral requirements. We can lose the love of others, including family members, if we do not heed the advice given on the ABS-CBN TV show Be Careful with my Heart. If we are not careful with the hearts of others, we can hurt them and lose their love for us. We can lose our Christian faith if we do not nourish it. The list is limitless and we know that the message of the Gospel parable is so true on a daily basis.

Neglect and irresponsibility are only two of the reasons for losing what we have already been gifted with. The parable also shows another dark reason: violence to others. The landowner’s servants and son were beaten and killed by the tenants. To harm, to destroy and to do violence to what God has given us are even worse ways of losing what we have been gifted with.

Sometimes, we hear someone tell another whose life or family has deteriorated in many aspects: “What have you done to your life?” “What have you done to your family?” Indeed, in life we do not only neglect persons and things; we can also do a lot of harm to them.

A number of years ago, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines issued a pastoral letter on the ecological problems in the country. The pastoral letter is entitled: “What is Happening to our Land?” This is not purely an ecological question; it is a deeply spiritual question. It is a question of stewardship, responsibility and accountability before God our Creator and before our present and future generations.

Someone said that God is actually limitless in His patience and kindness to us. He is always giving us new opportunities and new beginnings to be truly responsible, fruitful and accountable. This is so true. But the problem is that, as human beings, we are limited and are not infinite. Our time is limited. Our human and earthly existence is bound by space and time. We are historically conditioned and situated. We are only given a number of years.

During the Martial Law years, the student activists had a challenging motto for social and political involvement. “Kung Hindi Ngayon, Kailan Pa?” “If Not Now, When?” I think this is not only a political motto. It can also be used as a spiritual and evangelical motto. “Kung Hindi Ngayon, Kailan Pa? “If not Now, When?” If we do not truly decide now to live for God and His ways, when will we decide to do this? If not now, it may be too late.

St. Francis of Assisi said, “Let us begin again for until now we have done very little.”

Randy Alcorn also said, “What you do with your resources in this life is your autobiography.” I dare say,“What you do with God’s gifts to you is your spiritual autobiography.” It isthe story of how you have gratefully, responsibly, fruitfully and accountably lived the one and only gift of life that God has given you.

About Fr. Robert and his reflections.

(Dt 18:15-20; 1Cor 7:32-35; Mk 1:21-28)
What do you think is the difference between an orator of the world and an orator of God’s Word? In the ongoing Impeachment Trial in the Senate of the Philippines as an Impeachment Court, we see a lot of orators and hear a lot of orations.

The Dominican Fr. John Francis Ku, writing beautifully on the Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen as Master Preacher, says that while a man becomes an orator in the world by learning how to orate, a man becomes an orator of Christ by learning how to “orare”. “Orare” is the Latin verb for “to pray.” An orator of the world is a dealer in words. An orator of Christ is a communicator of God’s Word. Fr. Ku further says that an orator of the world is like a flint that kindles its own fires while an orator of Christ is like a brand lit by the torch of God.

The Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen was an orator of Christ and a master preacher of God’s Word. As a master preacher, he spoke and taught as one having an authority and not as the others, as the Gospel reading today tells of Jesus.

One cannot deny that the Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen was truly a gifted and learned man, but his authority in preaching, as he himself would attribute it, came from God. His authority was not personal and not of his own but one that ultimately came from his deep relationship and intimacy with Jesus, especially in moments of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.

The Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen is known for his personal devotion, commitment and promotion of the daily One Hour of Prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. He promoted this commitment especially to the priests and the preachers of God’s Word. In his autobiography, Archbishop Sheen entitled a chapter The Hour That Makes My Day. On the day of his ordination to the priesthood, as Fr. Ku also relates, he resolved to spend an hour of prayer in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament every day of his life, a promise he observed faithfully until the end. This nourishment served as the very root of his prayer life, his vocation, his perseverance and his fruitfulness in ministry, including his preaching. All of Archbishop Sheen’s homilies and sermons were prepared in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. Archbishop Fulton Sheen spoke with authority because he was truly a man of God, a man of prayer, a man of God’s Word and a man of the Eucharist.

In the gospel today, Jesus’ authority was recognized not only by the people but also by an evil spirit. The gospel says, “The people were astonished at the way he taught…” “They wondered, ‘What is this?’ With what authority he preached? He even orders evil spirits and they obey him.” Indeed, the evil spirit, at the command of Jesus, came out of the man it had possessed.

The context of the teaching of Jesus was the synagogue worship. As an adult member of the community, he took his turn at teaching those gathered in the synagogue. The people were used to the manner of teaching of the other scribes. The scribes as official teachers usually relied on the authority of the others preceding them. This was not the case with Jesus. He taught as having an authority in his own right. The people recognized this and were amazed at it. The exorcism he performed was another manifestation of the unusual authority that he had.

It was actually the evil spirit which articulated the source of the authority of Jesus, both in teaching and in exorcising. While the name Jesus of Nazareth was a recognition of Jesus’ natural and human origin, as someone coming from the little and obscure town of Nazareth, the title “the Holy One of God” that the evil spirit used to refer to Jesus was a recognition of Jesus’ distinctive relationship with God and of his unique status and superiority. The evil spirit admitted this when it uttered, “Have you come to destroy us?” The evil spirit knew that it was in confrontation with Jesus and that Jesus was far more superior over and against it and the other evil spirits. Jesus was definitely more powerful than the evil spirits because he was from God, he was sent by God and he spoke the Word of God. Later on, Jesus’ followers would recognize him not only as coming from God, but the Son of God himself.

Jesus’ authority was divine as it came from God and was of God. Jesus also used this authority for the good of others, which included instructing and teaching people to turn to the Lord and to his Kingdom and freeing people from the power of Satan and his cohorts. The preaching of Jesus did not only bring about admiration, as can be seen in the reactions of the people. More important were the transformation, liberation and renewal that it brought to the man freed from the chains of the evil spirit. Jesus’ teaching was with authority not only in terms of its divine source but also because of its transforming and liberating effects on the part of the listeners and recipients.

Etymologically, the word authority comes from the Latin word auctoritas, which literally means “a producing” or “a cause.” An authority is that something that produces or causes one to do what one is doing in a particular way and with a particular result. What caused Archbishop Fulton Sheen to preach with authority? What caused Jesus to preach and expel evil spirits with authority? Ultimately, the question, in fact, is not “what” but “who”. Who caused Archbishop Fulton Sheen to preach with authority? Who caused Jesus to teach and expel evil spirits with authority? It was GOD.

Authority has also something to do with influence. What is the influence of the person on another or the others? What effects does the person with authority have on others? Again, we see in the examples of Jesus and of Archbishop Fulton Sheen the good influences and effects of their teaching and preaching on the listeners and recipients. By its fruits, we know not only the tree but also the source of one’s authority.

What does this gospel reading have to do with us? Most of us are not priests or preachers and teachers. Maybe, not in the official sense. But, whether we like it or not, we are all teachers and preachers. We are all priests, prophets and kings by virtue of common baptism. St. Francis of Assisi said, “Preach at all times, and if necessary use words.” We, ordained ministers, preach to God’s people in a more official capacity. Parents teach their children. Parents have a lot to learn from their children. We all teach and preach to one another, whether we like or not.

Don’t we often hear the following statements? “I have learned a lot from this person and from his example.” “I have been touched by his show of kindness.” “I have been inspired by his leadership by good example.” As Christians, we must preach the Word of God with words, by our deeds and by the way we live our lives. Do we really do this? Do we teach or preach with authority? Are we truly receptacles and channels of God’s message of love, peace, justice and forgiveness? St. Bernard of Clairvaux says, “We cannot be channels of God’s love unless we are first receptacles.” And, in everything that we do, do we always seek the good and betterment of others?

Some weeks ago, I saw an attempted robbery in a store in the US that had been captured on CCTV, broadcasted by TV station KDFW Fox 4, and made available on YouTube. In the presence of a client, the masked robber pointed his gun at the lone sales lady and owner and asked for money. Marian Chadwick, the sales lady and owner, did not give the robber money but instead commanded him to leave the place in the name of Jesus. She shouted, “In the name of Jesus, get out of my store. Right now! I bid you in the name of Jesus, leave my store.” The robber was taken aback and left without hurting the sales lady and owner and taking anything from the store.

Did Marian Chadwick speak with authority? More than we could ever imagine. We may never do what Marian Chadwick did. But the truth remains: We can teach or speak with authority when we allow God, his Word and his power to be the one speaking in and through us. We can witness to Christ with authority when our lives are credible witnesses of selflessness and God-centeredness. We live with authority when it is Christ who truly lives in and through us.

St. Joseph Cupertino, pointing to the preacher as God’s instrument, says: “A preacher is like a trumpet which produces no tone unless one blows into it. So, before preaching pray to God: You are the spirit and I am only a trumpet, and without your breath, I can give you no sound.”

This is true not only in terms of preaching, teaching and witnessing. This is true in the very way we live our lives as Christians. We are nothing without Christ. We have no authority without Christ. We have no impact without Christ. We can only make a difference when we allow ourselves to be humble instruments of the Lord. The paradox of human instrumentality vis-à-vis God’s initiative and action was expressed by Archbishop Fulton Sheen when he said: “Everything is done by God and nothing is done without us.” As Christians, we teach, preach, witness, minister and live in Christ’s behalf just as the prophet Moses, as the First Reading from the Book of Deuteronomy says, was raised by the Lord and spoke in his name.

The Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 95) exhorts us not to harden our hearts when we hear God’s voice. God’s voice is spoken in a very special way in the Scriptures and in the words, deeds and lives of God’s faithful servants and witnesses as they try to live God’s Word in their lives. God is proclaimed in and through the lives of people who live passionate and single-hearted lives, as the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians insinuates. Indeed, when we hear and recognize God’s voice and presence, we need to heed him. God is coming not to destroy us, in contrast to the experience of the evil spirits mentioned in the gospel, but to save us and claim us as God’s beloved children.

When God speaks, he always speaks with authority. When we respond to God, we should respond with the totality of our being, with all honesty and integrity. “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.” “I come to do your will.” “You have the words of eternal life.”

About Fr. Robert and his other reflections

Santuario de San Antonio Parish
Makati City
January 28-29, 2012