Then Jesus said to the disciples, ‘There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. So he summoned him and said to him, “What is this that I hear about you? Give me an account of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.” Then the manager said to himself, “What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.” So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, “How much do you owe my master?” He answered, “A hundred jugs of olive oil.” He said to him, “Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.” Then he asked another, “And how much do you owe?” He replied, “A hundred containers of wheat.” He said to him, “Take your bill and make it eighty.” And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes. Luke 16.1-9
Earlier this summer, I thought I heard a voice. It said to me “Gary, You are about to take a journey, a journey through space and time.” (Cue the twilight zone music) Well, it wasn’t the Ghost of Rod Sterling. I suspect it was just my inner voice, perhaps nudged along by the Creator of the Universe, telling me that I needed a break.
And so I took a journey through space. According to my GPS, it was to a place that was about a three hour drive from here. But in reality, it was a place that seemed to be in a different world. No noise of traffic and sirens in the distance. No Go-Train horns. No calls from duct cleaners. A look out my front widow revealed grass dropping off a cliff to the lake below, and an horizon where sky and water met in differently nuanced shades of blue. No skyline. No construction cranes. Just the occasional eagle soaring by.
I also took a journey through time to beyond time. Gone was the calendar, the watch, the relentless pressure of having to be somewhere at sometime. The only clock was the sun, giving more or less light as it waltzed with the earth in the dance of the cosmos. So, on the one hand, I journeyed into a place where there really was no time, but just the present moment.
But it was also a journey into history, and like in the movies, I was transported back almost 1500 years every Sunday. Each Sunday, I attended a Byzantine Catholic Mass with my Father in law, who is in his 90’s. The Mass is known as the “Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom” and dates to the 5th century. In the chant, the prayers, the incense, the gestures and the church space itself, I was transported back over a millennia, and connected to worship that had remained unchanged over the centuries. And in being there, I too was transported back in time, experiencing the sights and sounds and smells of those who had lived millennia before I existed. And in that experience, I connected with the timelessness of our church, our faith, our God.
So, Why am I telling you this? It is not as if we are in school, and I am telling you what I did on my summer vacation! What is the value in telling you about my travels to two spaces, one away, one different, and to two times.. one historical, and one beyond the boundaries of time?
Merely to reinforce how important it is to have time away from this world, for our health and well being. Shabbat time, Sabbath time. Kind of what God has revealed to us in Scripture.
September marks our return to a way of life. Kids are back at school, our work begins afresh with fewer interruptions for staff or client vacations, and all those household tasks begin again. Taking kids to classes. Shuttling the kids or grandkids between myriad extra-curricular activities. The Tyranny of time (and not having enough of it) stands around the next corner, ready to pounce.
The Gospel message from today, although confusing at first, touches on this. Like the rich mans manager, we can be smart and shrewd when dealing with the things of the earth. We understand that there are long term goals that require actions from us if we are to achieve them. From buying a house or condo, to finding a get-away place for vacations. From planning how and when to start a family to looking at the philosophy of how we want to parent them. Long-term worthy goals, that we keep in mind as we go through life. For many of us, it is also what we do during our day to day jobs …. Long term planning, strategic goals, learning outcomes. All of these can be seen as smart, maybe even shrewd, ways of dealing with our world.
But are we as smart in dealing with our spiritual lives? We may be good stewards of our earthly resources … are we good stewards of our spiritual resources too?
I think that is the central message of today’s Gospel. That we should apply as much thinking to our spiritual lives as we do to our temporal lives.
And is there a best way to do that? There are many.
One of them is to gather as community to take time to give thanks for all the gifts we have received. And to ask for support in our troubles. It is what you are doing, right here, right now. This is a good place to be, and it is good that you are here. Let this day not become just another day with tasks piled up on the calendar, with one of those tasks being “Go To Mass”. As much as possible, let this day become a Day of Rest. A day to travel beyond the limit of space and time.
But it is more than just coming to Mass. It is about taking time each day to chat with God. Perhaps its a hidden ongoing conversation throughout the course of the day, just between God and you. Or in hiding away for 10 or 15 minutes each day to centre yourselves, let go of the day, and encounter God in your thoughts and senses.
You and I, like the Rich Man’s manager, are called to be smart about how we deal with our spiritual lives and spiritual legacy. You and I are reminded by today’s Gospel to not get too absorbed and overpowered by the onslaught of events and actions that consume our days. You and I are called to be good stewards of our spiritual lives.
You and I are called to take a journey through space and time. Each day, and each week, to go to where and when we can encounter God. In a place beyond space and time.