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_{25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 24, 2006} 

            Listen to this fanciful fairy tale that contains a great truth. It goes something like this: A great king was growing old. He realized it was time to designate one of his three sons to succeed him. The big question was, "Which of the three should it be?" So he decided on this solution. He would send all three to a distant land that had great schools of learning.

            Just before they left, he called them together and said that the one who returned with the most useful invention would succeed him as king. And so the three sons set off and buried themselves in study. The results were amazing!

            The first son invented a magic telescope that could focus in on anything on earth. The second son invented a magic carpet that could fly anywhere on earth in one minute. The third son invented a magic medicine that could cure any disease on earth.

            The first pointed his magic telescope to their homeland to see how their father was preparing for their joyful return home. The sons were shocked at what they saw. Their father was in a coma, surrounded by doctors who were trying to cure him of a rare disease, but without success. The son who invented the magic carpet told his two brothers to sit down with him on the magic carpet. Then they flew home to their father. The third son then took his magic medicine and cured their father, saving his life.

            When the father learned what had happened, he could not decide which son should succeed him. For it took all three to save his life. If any one son had failed to help, the inventions of the other two would have been useless.

            And so the king and his three sons discovered a great truth. St. John of the Cross expressed it in Christian terms this way: "As every one of the saints received the gifts of God in a different way, so every one of them sings God's praises in a different way, and yet all harmonize in one concert of love."

            And that brings us to today's Gospel. Like the king in our story, Jesus realized that his days on earth were numbered. He would soon die. And like the king in our story, one of Jesus' major concerns was a successor to continue the work that he began.

            Unlike the king in the story, however, Jesus' plan for a successor was a team of 12 disciples. And so one of Jesus' tasks was to teach them to work together as a true Christian community. We can imagine his consternation when he saw them walking along one day, arguing about who was the most important member of the team.

            That was far from the spirit Jesus wanted to establish among them. For as James points out in today’s second reading, "Where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is also…disorder and every kind of evil."(James 3:16) And that was what Jesus was seeing among them: jealousy, selfishness, disorders, and every kind of evil. And so Jesus did what all leaders must do at one time or another. Mark says: Jesus sat down, called the twelve disciples, and said to them, "Whoever wants to be first must place himself last of all and be the servant of all."

            And that brings us to all of us in this church today. Modern society has become so complex that one person can no longer function autonomously in a given field. The byword in business today is teamwork and the byword in international affairs is brotherhood. Teamwork and brotherhood, once a dream and a vision, has now become a dire necessity.

            In his acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. took it a step further, saying that our situation in today's world is so complex and fragile that "we must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools."

            A while back I was reading a magazine article that used a striking image from nature to illustrate the kind of teamwork and brotherhood we are talking about. It noted that twice a year geese migrate as a flock. Those three words, "as a flock," reveal the secret of their ability to fly long distances. Cooperating as a flock, geese can fly a 70% longer distance. The lead goose cuts a swath through the air resistance, which creates a helping uplift for the two birds behind him. In turn, their beating makes it easier on the birds behind them. Each bird takes his turn as the leader. The tired ones fan out to the edges of the V for a breather, and the rested ones surge forward to the point of the V to drive the flock onward. If a goose becomes sick and needs to rest, another goose will stay with it until it can continue again.

            It is this kind of teamwork that Jesus talks about in today's Gospel. It is this kind of teamwork that the Christian community must strive for if it is to be what Jesus made it to be: the salt of the earth and the light of the world!

            And the place where it must all begin is in the heart and soul of each individual, all of us! This is what Stewardship is all about! To work together as a team of Catholic brothers and sisters, freely and joyfully giving our time, talent, and treasure to become a light to the world.

            Recall our fanciful fairy tale. If any one of the three brothers had failed to use his time and talents properly and diligently, their father would have died. So it is with our Christian community. If we are to become a light to the world, each one of us must do our part.

            An old Chinese proverb puts it very well.

            If there is right in the soul, there will be beauty in the person.
            If there is beauty in the person, there will be harmony in the home.
            If there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nation.
            If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world.

            Let us pray that by being good stewards, by placing ourselves "last of all and servants of all," we will bring God’s peace to our lives, our homes, our nation, and our world!