Who can tell me what I am holding up? Yes, it is a $100 bill. That’s a lot of money, right? What if I were to give this to one of you? What would you do with it? Now, I’ve got you thinking. Maybe about all the things you could buy? Are the things you thought of something you want or something you really need? Or maybe you are going to save it, so you give it to your mom or dad for safe keeping.

I only have this one, but let’s pretend I gave each of you this bill.   What did you do first? Did you thank the person who gave it to you?  That’s what we are taught, to thank someone when they give you a gift. Did you thank God? Are you thinking, God did not give this to me… you did, so why thank God?  

Because everything we have comes from God. Our clothes, our homes, our cars, our toys, all of it. Even every breath you take is a gift from God. We don’t really own any of it, but we are to take care of it and use it in a way that makes God happy.  We call the “taking care of something”, stewardship.

We hear about stewardship in today’s readings, especially the Gospel. And the story Jesus told was about a man that was not a good steward of his master’s money.  When his master found out about the bad job he had been doing, he removed him as his steward. So now this former steward tries to make sure he had friends after he got fired, by being nice to people who owe the master something. 

The second part, about being nice, is the reason Jesus praises him – not for being a bad steward.

Stewardship is not just about money or possessions. It is also about our time and our talents. Both are gifts from God. How do we use them?  

Do we give time back to God, whether it is coming to Mass, in prayer, spending time in adoration, or volunteering to help those in need?  Or are we too busy with work or sports or social media to give him the time he desires from us. And we do give him time, are we focused only on him, or are thinking of other things and just going through the motions?

As for our talents, do you use them to give glory to God. To use them as he wants us to: serving others. Or do we use them selfishly for our own needs or to make us feel more important than someone else?

When we focus on ourselves and make objects, like money, the focus of our lives, we end up serving them and not God. Through this story, Jesus indirectly reminds us of the first commandment to love God with our whole mind, soul, and strength.  We can’t do that if we are focused on other things.  

We are to use everything we have been given to give glory to God.  We can’t keep something for ourselves.  We will be so much more content and joyful if we give everything to God and then graciously and humbly accept all he returns to us.

And if we can do that with the small things, we will be trusted with bigger things.

For us adults, put yourself in the place of the steward with Jesus as the master. We will someday be asked by our master about our stewardship of the many gifts God has given to us. How have we used them? Do we let them control us, or do we control them? If we think of them as our own and focus on them, we end up trusting in them, not God.  We end up serving them, not God.  

We can become like the people Amos writes about in the first reading. These crooked people are using the poor and loving money instead of loving people and using money. They were so focused on themselves and making money that they complained they could not sell anything on the Sabbath. They had to wait to cheat and treat others with no respect for their dignity.

We can’t hide our actions, either, for God sees all.

So, don’t think about the $100 bill I pretended to give you, especially during the rest of the Mass. Focus your mind on Jesus who will be present very soon on the altar and the ultimate gift of himself that he gives us at communion. Even if you can’t receive him physically, you can receive him in your heart.

Think about the many gifts you have received from God and thank him for them. And when you receive a new gift, let your first thought be one of gratitude. Then ask him how you are to use these gifts to honor him, the giver of all gifts.  By doing so, you will be a great steward in the eyes of God and you will be serving him and not mammon.