Homily for Ordinary Time 25 - September 18, 2022

 

Homily for Ordinary Time 25

September 18, 2022

No More Plastic Man

 

            St. John Cansius was a Polish priest who was a college professor in the 1400s. Along with his incredible intellect, he was a profoundly simple and humble man. One day, he was making a journey on-foot to another town when he encountered several robbers who beat him and stole his knapsack. They brutally asked him if he had anything else, but finally left when he insisted when he had no more money.

            He had walked another mile when he remembered that he had a few coins in a hidden pocket inside of his clothes. Quickly he ran after the robbers and told them that he did indeed have more money, and offered it to them. The robbers were so struck by his honesty that they quickly returned everything they had stolen, and departed with their heads hanging in shame.

            Honesty and integrity should be the hallmark of every Christian. Honesty means being truthful in words; integrity means being truthful in our life. Lies are always from the Evil One, whom Scripture calls the “Father of Lies” – but by contrast, Jesus calls Himself the Truth. Those who follow Him must speak and live Truth.

            So…is Jesus then complimenting this dishonest steward? I have heard many interpretations of this parable, but the one that makes the most sense to me is that both the steward and the master were dishonest, by overcharging these debtors. When the servant is let go, he decides to right the wrong that he helped perpetrate, by bringing down the debts to their rightful amount…which also had the added benefit of ingratiating him to the debtors, guaranteeing a job once he was let go. The master admired the stewards’ shrewdness – the steward may have gained less money from this plan, but he gained something much more valuable: the respect of his peers and hope for the future. In context, this is what Jesus is praising – the steward being willing to make a sacrifice of money for a greater good – as Jesus wants us to be willing to use the things of this world in such a way that we actually pursue the greatest good of eternal life.

            The virtue of integrity, then, orders our entire life to pursue the highest good. That means that we are a Christian in every aspect of our life: our work life is done for Christ; our romantic life is in accords with God’s beautiful plan; our recreation gives Him glory; our school life is done for His praise; even our internet presence is infused with God. Integrity means that we’re the same person on Monday morning and Friday nights as we are on Sunday morning; that we’re the same person with our grandmother that we are with our football buddies.

            It might be easiest to see integrity as contrasted to its opposite, which is being two-faced or duplicitous. But it becomes impossible to wear two faces for long – as the American author Nathaniel Hawthorne once wrote, “No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself, and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true one.” Much wisdom there!

            An older friend of mine used to have a saying whenever he encountered someone duplicitous: “I can see right through you, Plastic-Man.” The idea is that until Christ penetrates every aspect of our life, then our faith is only skin-deep. If our souls are truly transformed by grace, it will necessarily radiate to every aspect, not just our Sunday morning activities.

            My vocation was sparked by a priest who had incredible integrity. His name was Fr. Michael Sliney, and he used to run retreats for high school boys. He was an incredible athlete with a passion for soccer, and he was so much better than all of us high-schoolers. And he wouldn’t go easy on us, either – he would run circles around us with a cutthroat desire to win!

            But one day we were on our monthly retreat, and all the boys were playing soccer. Fr. Michael was standing off the side of the field, with a look of conquest in his eyes. I could tell that he was absolutely chomping the bit to get in. But instead, he did a surprising thing. He turned away, pulled out his Rosary, and began walking down the path praying the Rosary. He thought no one saw him, but I saw him, and I thought to myself – that man loves Jesus more than soccer, more than anything in this world. I want to be like that man. Integrity is being a Christian when no one’s looking.

            Jesus says something interesting at the end of today’s Gospel. He says that if we are trustworthy, we will be entrusted with true wealth. He can only give His greatest spiritual gifts – like intimacy in prayer, overcoming of sin, the inspirations of the Holy Spirit, and so much more – to those who are men and women of integrity, who seek to allow Him to penetrate the depths of their being and who don’t live shadow-lives. St. John Vianney once told the story of a saint who had a vision of Jesus during Mass. As Communion was being distributed, the saint saw Jesus standing before the altar with His arms full of amazing gifts of grace, looking for souls to distribute them to – but He could only give them to a soul who was trustworthy, that is, a soul living in integrity.

            This morning, my challenge is to consider how well we live this virtue. Are there times, places, or situations in our lives where Christ is not yet welcome? And how can we better invite Christ into these places?

            No more plastic men. Let’s be men and women of integrity – Christian, not just in name, but in reality, through and through.