GREATER THAN HE

Thursday, 2^nd Week of Advent        

            “… none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

            A microphone and a speaker can make a weak voice louder than the world’s strongest voice. A motorcycle can make a slow person faster than the world’s fastest runner. In the same way, God’s kingdom can make an insignificant person greater than the world’s greatest person.

            But it is not enough to have a microphone; we must speak into it. It is not enough to own a bicycle; we must ride it. It is not enough to have the power of God’s kingdom available to us; we must use it to transform our world. Many times, we do not even recognize this power within ourselves, simply because we are preoccupied with our petty concerns. We always have to remember that God gives us, not only the opportunities to be great, but also the power to be great.

            Today’s gospel reading reminds us of the great power Jesus made available to us. It also reminds us of our task and responsibility to spread the kingdom throughout the world. So we have to confront ourselves with a very important question: What are we personally doing to promote and spread God’s kingdom wherever we are?

            There are many answers to this question; but there is one word that can sum up the right answers: STEWARDSHIP. The most that we can do to bring God’s kingdom to completion is to be good stewards of God’s gifts. Hopefully our Advent reflections can help us deepen our understanding and appreciation of Christian stewardship and lead us to the practice of stewardship as our response to the call to bring the kingdom of God to completion

            We have to live out the truth that everything we have, everything we are, comes from God. We are not owners; we are mere caretakers, managers, stewards of God’s gifts. And we are not to use those gifts only for ourselves, but for the building up of the kingdom of God. We can certainly say that our being good stewards of God’s gifts hastens the coming or the fulfillment of the kingdom of God. While our failure to be stewards delays the kingdom. Lord Jesus Christ, help us be good stewards of God’s gifts… That our stewardship may hasten the coming of God’s kingdom.