Memorial of Saints John de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues, Priests, and Companions, Martyrs
Whenever I read today’s Gospel, Luke 12: 39 – 48 one word comes to mind – integrity. What is integrity? Some say it’s “doing the right thing when no one is looking”, “adhering to a strong moral and ethical code” or “always behaving according to the moral principles you believe in.” But what does all of that really mean? I like to think of integrity as “doing what is right over what is convenient.”
Convenient. That word has come to carry a lot of weight in our modern society. Convenience drives our economy and so many of our choices. We expect to have our groceries delivered, our dinner door dashed to our house, our packages in hand the day after we order them. We expect to be able to talk to our appliances and have them do our work for us. Our need for convenience has been a critical catalyst of global warming and our current climate crisis. Abortion is seen as a solution when a pregnancy is inconvenient. Convenience drives so much of our daily life and choices. Interestingly, if you Google “convenience” the very first thing that comes up is “fitting in well with a person's needs, activities, and plans.”
And that, that idea right there is where I think we all need to stop and pause. As Catholics we believe that our life does not center around us but rather around God. This is not a convenient belief. Our life should be “fitting in well with God’s needs, activities and plans,” not ours. And nothing could be more inconvenient. Life is not meant to be convenient. People and relationships cannot be built around convenience. We cannot go through life thinking only of what fits our own personal needs and plans. As a member of the body of Christ and of humanity this approach simply does not work.
And I think that was Jesus’ message in his parable today. The servant who hears his master is delayed and begins to eat and get drunk does not do what is right. He does what is convenient – what fits in with his plans. And we are told that his servant will be punished severely. “He will assign him a place with the unfaithful” (Luke 12:46) Because I call myself a person of faith, I must also call myself a person of integrity – someone who chooses what is right, over what is convenient. Today’s Gospel ends with Jesus’ words, “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more” (Luke 12:48). Many of us have already been entrusted with much. Therefore, much is already demanded of us. When faced with the choices of this day, I hope I have the strength to choose that which fits God’s plan, not my own, no matter how inconvenient it is guaranteed to be.
AJ Grimm