Am 8:4-7 / Tm 2:1-8 / Lk 16:1-13
A holy monk was on a hilltop praying, and far below he could see people walking along a country lane: an old soldier in a tattered uniform, stumbling along on one leg, a haggard mother old before her time, staggering under the weight of her dying child, a young man, bloodied by robbers, falling to the ground and not getting up. Looking down on this terrible parade of life and death, the holy man cried out in anguish, “O God! How can you let this suffering go on? Why don’t you do something about it?”
His words echoed in the silence. And then he heard God whisper, “My son, I have done something about it. I made you!”
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From the very beginning, God knew that evil things would happen, so He made us and filled us with gifts. Now He’s reminding us that it’s time to deliver the gifts: There’s important work to be done, and each of us has our own piece of it, our own special mission, spelled out by our gifts and by this moment.
Don’t betray God’s gifts; they’re needed now! Don’t work with a divided heart; nothing less than your best will do! Put your hand to the plow, and don’t look back!