Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time ‘C’

Today’s readings draw us back to a simple truth: all is gift. We are not owners but stewards entrusted for a time with life, relationships, abilities, resources, and the Gospel itself. God asks  not anxiety, but faithfulness; not fear, but a wise and generous love. 

In the First Reading Amos speaks into our marketplaces and calendars. He warns against the  quiet drift where profit outruns mercy, where speed tramples Sabbath, where cleverness  replaces honesty. Stewardship begins with reverence: people before profit, truth before  convenience, worship before work. 

Saint Paul invites the Church to widen its prayer and witness. Because Christ is the one  mediator for all, we intercede for all: neighbors and strangers, friends and leaders, those who  bless us and those who oppose us. The Gospel we carry is not a possession to protect, but a  treasure to share. Whom is God placing on our hearts? Where is He asking us to speak hope,  to make room at our table, to cross a threshold for the sake of someone outside our circle? 

In the Gospel, Jesus points to a shrewd steward. He doesn't praise dishonesty, but rather  decisiveness and foresight. He seems to say, be at least this intentional about things that last.  Use what is passing, your time, talents, health, money, to build what endures: communion with  God and mercy toward others. Be faithful in the little. St. John Chrysostom wrote, “Faithfulness  in little things is a big thing,” and Teresa of Calcutta added, “Do little things with great love.”,  things like a thank you, a returned call, a fair wage, a quiet apology, a hidden act of generosity.  These small seeds belong to eternity. 

God has already placed rich resources in our hands: the Eucharist and Reconciliation, the  Scriptures for daily prayer, the guidance of the Church, the companionship of our parish. The  question is not only what we have, but how we use it. What would it look like to arrange our  week around placing God first, to budget for generosity first, to set aside time for someone  lonely? The Lord is not trying to take from us, He is teaching us how to live free. 

Where have I been living like an owner instead of a steward, clutching, delaying, excusing? What “small faithful” practice is God nudging me to begin or renew? 

Our accounting before God is not meant to be a fear, but a hope: the joy of placing our life into  the hands of the One who first entrusted it to us. May we live today so that meeting Him feels  like coming home. 

Prayer 

Giver of every good gift, 

turn our hearts from owning to trusting,

from grasping to giving, 

from hurry to holy attention. 

Make us faithful in little and courageous in much. 

Teach us to use what passes away 

to build what will never pass away - love of You and love of neighbor. 

May our parish be a place where resources become mercy, 

and where every gift returns to You in praise. 

Amen.