Stewards of God's Word
by Leon J. Suprenant, Jr.

One of my pet peeves when I come home at the end of the day is to find my daughters' bicycles strewn on the driveway. Of course I'm frustrated that I'm unable to pull into the garage. Even more, I expect the girls to take better care of their possessions. It's not that I care so much about the bikes themselves, but I want to ensure that my daughters have grateful hearts. I picked out each of their bikes especially for them, making sure they were just the right size and color. How my girls manage these and all their gifts reflects their attitude toward the giver of the gift. If they treat their gifts well, they honor the giver and grow in virtue and responsibility. Someday I want to be able to entrust them with more responsibility than merely a bike with training wheels.

Stewardship is the word we use to describe the appropriate attitude toward and use of the many gifts God has given us. In this issue of Lay Witness, we will examine different aspects of Christian stewardship, with the goal that our lives will fully manifest gratitude for all our many blessings.

Very often, we think of stewardship in terms of material creation, such as the prudent use of natural resources or even the generous dedication of our time, talent, and treasure to the needs of the Church. Christian stewardship certainly includes these things, but I'd like to examine briefly our stewardship of the gift of faith that was given to us at Baptism. We have truly been given a pearl of great price (cf. Mt. 13:45-46). Now that we have this precious pearl, what do we do with it? Do we, perhaps inadvertently, take this treasure for granted? Do our lives reflect the gratitude and joy of one who has been given such a valuable gift?

Gift Beyond All Price

Many people, especially my family and friends, care what my opinion is. (At least they tell me they do!) We all have our own preferences, talents, and interests, and thank God each one of us is a unique, irreplaceable person with a distinctive point of view.

Yet we also have to recognize that in some contexts it's important to communicate reality "as it is," and not "how I'd like it to be." After all, objective reality is a given, not something I create or "spin." For example, when we watch the news, we usually can distinguish facts from opinions. When the sports anchor gives us the score of a game or the news anchor tells us the closing prices of stocks, we trust that he or she is reporting facts and not making the information up. When I argued cases as a lawyer, I surely was an advocate, but as an officer of the court I was not free to create legal precedent as I went. Rather, I had to work with existing statutes and case law.

Similarly, when it comes to the teachings of Christ-especially in areas where there is confusion or widespread dissent-we must be faithful to the gift of faith that we've received. It's wrong to substitute our own opinion or agenda for God's Word. We're called to embrace the words of Christ, who said that His "teaching is not mine, but his who sent me" (Jn. 7:16).

Pope John Paul II emphasizes in his apostolic exhortation Catechesi Tradendae (On Catechesis in Our Time) that a catechist, above all, should "not try to inculcate his personal opinions and options as if they expressed Christ's teaching and the lessons of His life" (no. 6).

Earlier this year, the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) invited Sr. Joan Chittister, O.S.B., to give a keynote address to the religious educators who assembled for the event. Given the fact that Sr. Joan dissents from Church teaching on issues such as women's ordination and homosexuality, several dioceses, most notably Peoria and Pittsburgh, expressed the legitimate concern that the attendees would receive dissident opinions rather than the teachings of Christ, and thus withdrew their support.

All of this points to what I consider to be the first requirement of being a steward of God's Word: We must understand that our faith is not something we create, but rather is something we receive as a gift from God that re-creates and transforms us.

Safe Deposit

When my daughters leave their bikes on the driveway, there's the real danger that the bikes will become weather-beaten and possibly even snatched away. The careless treatment of a gift not only shows a certain lack of appreciation and gratitude, but could also lead to the loss of the gift.

Not surprisingly, then, we are expected to defend the precious gift of faith lest we lose it (cf. 1 Tim. 1:18-19; Catechism, no. 162). The First Commandment "requires us to nourish and protect our faith with prudence and vigilance, and to reject everything that is opposed to it" (Catechism, no. 2088).

St. Paul stresses this point in his letters to St. Timothy. He instructs him to "guard what has been entrusted to you" (1 Tim. 6:20), and again in the next letter he exhorts him to "guard the truth that has been entrusted to you by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us" (2 Tim. 1:14).

Defending the riches of our gift of faith has always been an integral part of the mission of Catholics United for the Faith. This includes charitably and patiently addressing the more obvious, frontal attacks on the faith.

ven more, however, we need to courageously confront the subtle, interior challenges we face every day. This can be done successfully only if we let the gift of faith transform us through daily prayer and ongoing formation in the faith and life of the Church.

Interest-Bearing Account

There's a tract of dirt on one side of my garage. This past spring, my wife Maureen and I decided to divide it into three parts. Each of my three youngest daughters was given a parcel on which to tend a garden. My daughters love flowers, and so they eagerly and successfully embarked on this project.

When I gave my daughters this project, I expected to see some flowers later in the summer. I didn't want to simply get back a barren parcel of dirt. In fact, when little Abigail initially balked at the prospect of having to water her garden each day, I told her that if she didn't want her garden I'd divide her parcel between Mary Kate and Virginia. She of course reconsidered her position and decided to keep her little garden!

Jesus told a very similar story. In the Parable of the Talents (Mt. 25:14-30), the master did not simply want his talents back, but he fully expected a return on his investment. In fact, the man who simply returned the one talent he was given was called "wicked" and "lazy" by the master. The talent was taken away from him and he was cast into the darkness.

When we talk about Christian stewardship in general, we typically turn to the creation account where God entrusts the created world to man, commanding him to be fruitful and multiply (cf. Gen. 1:28). This concept of bearing fruit, of giving God a return on His investment, applies forcefully to the gift of faith. Throughout the Gospels, whenever someone encounters the Lord, he or she can't wait to tell others about Him. This holy zeal and conviction is summarized in the inspired words of St. Paul: "Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!" (1 Cor. 9:16).

St. Paul is not suggesting that we share our faith out of servile fear or a scrupulous sense of obligation. Rather, the gift of faith liberates us from the slavery to sin and makes us truly sons and daughters of God and heirs of heaven. This immense gift by its very nature is "fruitful" and impels us out of love to offer it to others (cf. 2 Cor. 5:14). This is the great paradox of Christian stewardship: We most effectively acknowledge and guard the gift of faith by giving it away. As Pope John Paul II reminds us in his apostolic letter Novo Millennio Ineunte (At the Beginning of the New Millennium): "Those who have come into genuine contact with Christ cannot keep Him for themselves; they must proclaim Him" (no. 40).

In Luke 17, Our Lord healed ten lepers, but only one returned to praise God for this singular gift. Weren't the others grateful? We don't know what was on their hearts, but we do know that they failed to express gratitude in action. May this issue of Lay Witness encourage all of us to take stock of the many blessings we have received from the Lord, and may our own lives of fidelity and service unequivocally proclaim our gratitude to the Holy Trinity for the wondrous gift of faith.

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