OF THE PERSON ENTRUSTED WITH MUCH

Eph 3.2-12; C Is 12.2-6; Lk 12,39-48
24 OCTOBER

In the Letter to the Romans, St. Paul reveals that the Christian will be judged according to the Gospel, the pagan that has not known the Gospel will be judged according to his personal conscience. Every man is responsible even for the suffocation of his conscience in injustice. Otherwise, beyond this limit, there would be no responsibility. Instead we are responsible, we are guilty of having exceeded the limit of evil.

All who sin outside the law will also perish without reference to it, and all who sin under the law will be judged in accordance with it. For it is not those who hear the law who are just in the sight of God; rather, those who observe the law will be justified. For when the Gentiles who do not have the law by nature observe the prescriptions of the law, they are a law for themselves even though they do not have the law. They show that the demands of the law are written in their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even defend them on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge people’s hidden works through Christ Jesus (Rm 2,12-16).

Therefore, God handed them over to impurity through the lusts of their hearts for the mutual degradation of their bodies. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and revered and worshiped the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. Therefore, God handed them over to degrading passions. Their females exchanged natural relations for unnatural, and the males likewise gave up natural relations with females and burned with lust for one another. Males did shameful things with males and thus received in their own persons the due penalty for their perversity. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God handed them over to their undiscerning mind to do what is improper. They are filled with every form of wickedness, evil, greed, and malice; full of envy, murder, rivalry, treachery, and spite. They are gossips and scandalmongers and they hate God. They are insolent, haughty, boastful, ingenious in their wickedness, and rebellious toward their parents. They are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know the just decree of God that all who practice such things deserve death, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them (Rm 1,24-32).

Both judgments will be exercised on the foundation of every spiritual and material good given to every man by the Lord. This means that a pope will be judged as a pope, a bishop as a bishop, a presbyter as a presbyter and a baptized as a baptized person. But also a head of state as a head of state, a responsible as a responsible, a father of a family as a father of a family, a professor as a professor, a judge as a judge. The sins of the personal ministry in actions and in omission will be passed to scrutiny.

Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” Then Peter said, “Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?” And the Lord replied, “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute (the) food allowance at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so. Truly, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, then that servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful. That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.

But if we are all welcomed into the eternal kingdom of God, what Paul says and Jesus teaches belongs to the genre of the ancient fable. But if Jesus and Paul are the Word of God, even if in very different ways, then it is we who are in error. A pope with one word can save or destroy the Church. He will be judged on this Word. So it is said of bishops or presbyters or for those who exercise government on earth.

Mother of God, Angels and Saints, make us of a strong and invincible faith in the Word of Jesus.