29th Sunday in Ordinary Time - STEWARDSHIP of TREASURE HOMILY – Fr. Chris Heller – Mt 22: 15-21
“Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”
When I left my retreat in New Jersey this year, the staff of priests & lay people said “take care.” They knew I had apprehensions about driving on the New Jersey Turnpike & Garden State Parkway! When I left my continuing education seminar in Ohio this year, my NYS colleagues said, “take care.” When I left my Cousin Anthony’s house after having dinner with him & his family, they said, “take care.” He knew I’d be riding on the Southern State Parkway, with all its curvy lanes!
The more I’ve reflected on these good wishes for my health & well-being, they’re not idle words: just as they said, “take care,” the truth is that as your pastor, I AM your caretaker, in Jesus’ holy name. I’m responsible for your well-being as parishioners, including your growth/development of a personal relationship with Jesus in the spiritual life, as well as being pastor pothole & parking lot paving.
I am SO blessed to be your pastor: I’m grateful to our generous God, who continues to bless us all! I’m grateful for the sacraments, especially for the Eucharist & Holy Communion we receive. I’m grateful for my connection to Msgr. McGuire & my good friend & colleague Fr. Charlie Papa, who promised you, before I got here, that I’d be baking cheesecakes to feed you all week long! I can only tell you that, like many things ordered on the internet, your personal cheesecake is back-ordered! I’m grateful for the opportunities to serve God with you, to make a real difference in peoples’ lives, like the residents at the Bristol Assisted Living Center up on Route 25A, that we as priests & lay people have begun to serve.
YOU have made it possible for us to keep our services going, even during the horrible Covid time; I’m SO grateful &proud that we NEVER closed our Outreach Office: we did things differently, but because of your generous love ALL YEAR LONG, we kept a supply of food ready & available, and if you and I are going to be fed at the Lord’s Table of the Eucharist, we are called to feed others at their homes. But you and I also know that talk can be cheap: it’s ACTION that Jesus wants & needs to see from us.
So I CAN’T just say “thank you, God,” for all these gifts, although that’s exactly where I begin. I ALSO take a portion of my stipend money, the money you provide for me to live on & put gas in my car, & I turn a portion of that money back to the PARISH. It’s MY way of answering what for me has been an important ongoing question: WHAT RETURN CAN I MAKE TO THE LORD, FOR ALL THE GOOD THAT GOD HAS DONE FOR ME? (Psalm 116) In English, HOW generous can I be to FUND & SUPPORT & PROVIDE good things for other people through our church community? Each of us is called to answer that question personally, and on behalf of our families.
By our baptisms, God has given ALL of us the power to DO GOOD, to make a difference in others’ lives: to bring hope to someone’s house - that their kids will have religious education books from which to learn; or that although a wage-earner has lost his or her job, YOU help keep the lights & the phone ON in their distress. Yes, YOUR contributions become WORKS of MERCY that ease peoples’ sufferings & distress.
So, as your pastor, I ask you: can you do more financially? Can you be a bit more generous, perhaps $5 or $10 more per week? Can you stretch your giving to our parish, knowing that God will bless your dedicated gifts to the parish and multiply them? Remember the blessing story of the loaves and the fishes, & how Jesus multiplied both of them? Everyone was fed and satisfied, and there was even some left over to feed others later on. And as St. Luke tells us, a generous person will prosper in the sight of our God. Let’s prosper: let’s thrive: let’s admit we live in abundance. TOGETHER, let’s keep growing and building for these second fifty years in our beloved parish. Please join me and the other parish members who are taking a step up and forward. Thank you. Fr. Chris
