Sunday Reflection

Sorry Fr. Pat: 
A Reflection on Should Of, Would Of, & Could Of

Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31; Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6; Matthew 25:14-30

Father Pat Madden told us in homiletics two phrases never to use when preaching: Should and Let Us. He liked to say you don’t “should on” the congregation or feed them “Let Us” (lettuce).

But I think I'm going to break those rules, sort of.  

Has anyone ever second guessed themselves? When something bad happens or doesn’t turn-out in our  favor - Our conscious questions our choice: Maybe I should of done this; If only I would of done; or Instead, I could of done that.

Why do we second guess? Maybe the answer’s in today’s Gospel. (Matthew 25:14-30)

The 3^rd servant says '... I was afraid ...'

This servant is unfortunate and that can make us uncomfortable; because, the servant can remind us of ourselves. No matter how much bravado we have most mistakes are made because we are afraid.

We see the servant in ourselves. If we look at the servant, maybe we can understand how we end up where we do.

“I knew you were a demanding person"

The first thing the servant shows us is fear and misunderstanding of obligation. The servant thought he had the master figured out; but, he was wrong. He judged his master on what the world thought. 

That is why so many of our problems exist. Following God is hard, following the world is easy. We misunderstand the obligation of being a Catholic and a Christian. Doing the right thing is hard so we follow the easy path. The world’s easy to understand. So we live our life by what the world tells us. The world  is made up of everybody else's opinion telling us the way we ought to be.

"Out of fear I went off and buried your talent"

The second thing the servant has is a fear that prevents him from accepting and using the talent he was given by the master. The servants is scared of using it. 'It yours - you have it back; in other words - I don't want it.

We do the same things. We don’t use what God gave us to honor God. We keep them hidden then give them back unused. It’s not the amount that God gives us; it’s closer to we don’t want it at all. 

I’m old; I can't do anything, the only thing I can do is come to Mass. I’m young and I can’t do anything. We can all pray. These are the small things we invest for God so they grow.

"You wicked, lazy servant!"

Thirdly, this may be the thing that we have most in common with the servant. The servant doesn’t trust what the master says. He didn’t obey and basically refused to be his servant.

Put that into our lives, we have a hard time being obedient to God. It encroaches on what we identify as our freedom, our choices, or our lifestyle. It cramps our style.

The things that we share with the servant is what direct us to all of those should of(s), would of(s), and could of(s). We live a life fighting against the will of God.

Many of the should of(s), would of(s), and could of(s) that we experience n our life is not because we listed to God’s voice. Like the servant, those choices come from our self. We make emotional decisions. These can often conflict with God and our moral conscience.

"Come and share your master's joy."

There is a great irony between life in the world and a life with God. It’s a hard paradox to accept. In God, to find true joy lies in accepting duty and obligation, to find true maturity lies in our complete surrender, and to find true freedom lies in obedience.

This is the paradox we find in Jesus. This, he taught and embodied. He was the freest human to ever walk this planet, yet he said that he did nothing on his own; everything he did was in obedience to his Father.

We need to stop obeying the false voices inside of us. Don’t mistake the confusion of the world with conscience.

So what did we learned from the servant:

• Don’t listen to the voice of the world; Joy is accepting duty and obligation;
• Even if it is only a small amount, completely surrender all you gifts to glorify God; and 
• Be obedient to the voice of God, this is where you find true freedom

By following the example of Christ, we come to know the Father’s will. In this, we’ll not have to second guess or question ourselves.

I’m sorry Father Pat but maybe there is some “shoulds” we need to share and there is some “Let us” we need to feed to others. Learning these help us get rid of the should of (s); the would of(s); and the could of(s).

But, those are for another reflection.