Friday, October 17, 2014

Living On Borrowed Time

Dear Parishioners,

“I’ll do it in my own good time.” That’s a phrase we sometimes use to postpone a task, because we are currently occupied with something else. But whose time is it really? Is it our time to do whatever we want to do with it, or is it someone else’s time?

Actually it’s God’s time; it belongs to God along with the rest of creation. Time didn’t exist until God, who lives in eternity, created the world. Time is the measure of change since the world began, and since God created time, time belongs to God. We are simply stewards of God’s time. In short, we are all living on borrowed time.

In today’s gospel (Matthew 22:15-21), we hear the famous saying of Jesus: “Then give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, but give to God what is God’s.” We have an obligation to serve both our government and God. However, since all creation including our time, talent, and treasure ultimately belong to God, we cannot give them to our government when it would be contrary to God’s law. We must remember what happened in Germany, Italy, and Japan in the 1930s and 1940s.

Today, we must ask ourselves what more we can do for the good of our government and the good of our church. How can we more generously use our time, talents, and our treasures to serve both God and country.

- Fr. Carl

“To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary.
To one without faith, no explanation is possible.”
~ St. Thomas Aquinas