Hi Folks,
I just finished my first day of classes at the Mexican American Cultural College (MACC) in San Antonio. I have a lot to learn. I am starting from barely above ground level in my Espanol, so I have a lot to learn to get me able to pray the Mass and the other Sacraments in Spanish. I feel very dumb and overwhelmed at this moment. I know those feelings will fade as the twelve weeks go by but today, and for a while, I'm floundering.
The Gospel for next weekend is the parable from Luke about the steward who was about to get sacked by his master. He decided to cover his butt by making deals with all the folks who owed his master grain, oil, money, etc. His ulterior motive was probably to get hired by one of the folks he offered a discount to after he'd been fired from his present boss. Instead the master gives him a raise and a promotion for thinking out of the box. Jesus' point seems to be that the Kingdom of God needs folks who are able to think, dream, embrace, and forgive in "out of the box" sorts of ways.
In lots of ways we like to categorize and pigeon hole others people or others' ideas. We resist change. We're uncomfortable with concepts that are foreign to our own. We find fault and figure out ways that some one's solution can't work without first giving it a decent hearing. In terms of the Church, sometimes we chase people off by not giving them a decent welcome because they have different ideas, they are of a different sex (or sexual orientation), or they look, speak, or act foreign to us. In the Gospel of Luke especially, but in all of the Gospels, Jesus was the Son of God who opened God's embrace to many, especially those who were normally left out.
Let us ask God to open us up to His big Sacred Heart. As we have been loved, let us love and welcome.
paz,
Fr. Chuck
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