Increase our faith. Our gospel starts off with the apostles asking this favor of Jesus, and so we don’t get to hear the context that led to that the request, but if we back up a few verses to the beginning of chapter seventeen we can find it easily enough. Jesus, at this point in Luke’s account, has just finished speaking to the Pharisees the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, which we heard proclaimed last week, and then, turning to his own disciples, he warns them: woe to him by whom temptations come! It would be better that a millstone be hung around his neck and that he be cast in the sea! So take heed to rebuke sinners that they might turn from sin, for even if a man sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times turns back in repentance, even so seven times you must forgive him.
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Auméntanos la fe. Nuestro evangelio comienza con los apóstoles pidiendo este favor a Jesús, por lo que no llegamos a conocer el contexto que llevó a esa petición, pero si retrocedemos unos versículos hasta el comienzo del capítulo diecisiete, lo encontramos fácilmente. En este punto del relato de Lucas, Jesús acaba de terminar de contar a los fariseos la parábola de Lázaro y el hombre rico, que escuchamos la semana pasada, y luego, volviéndose hacia sus propios discípulos, les advierte: ¡Ay de aquel por quien vienen las tentaciones! ¡Más le valdría que le ataran al cuello una piedra de molino y le arrojaran al mar! Así que tened cuidado de reprender a los pecadores para que se aparten del pecado, porque aunque un hombre peque contra vosotros siete veces al día y siete veces se arrepienta, siete veces debéis perdonarle.
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This Sunday we continue reading from the prophet Amos, who, if you remember, was sent to preach in the northern kingdom of Israel, which had, following Solomon’s death, entered into rebellion against the sons of David in Jerusalem, and had in fact achieved for itself by this time significant wealth and power, even outshining the kingdom of Judah in the south.
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Esta parábola del mal administrador es una de esas parábolas que a menudo nos resultan confusas. Parte de esta confusión surge simplemente porque carecemos de comprensión del contexto de la parábola. En la época de Jesús, el administrador de la casa de un hombre rico gozaba de bastante libertad, pero también tenía importantes responsabilidades. La tarea del administrador consistía en utilizar los bienes que su señor le había confiado para obtener beneficios para él. Sin embargo, al igual que un recaudador de impuestos romano, un administrador también podía utilizar su posición para ganar dinero para sí mismo, por ejemplo, prestando dinero a un interés elevado y quedándose con los ingresos adicionales. Ahora bien, el administrador de esta parábola era mal e infiel en la medida en que había fracasado como administrador: en lugar de ganar dinero para su señor, lo había malgastado, por lo que, como es comprensible, su señor había decidido destituirlo de su cargo, lo que significaba que perdería su medio de vida. Mientras fue administrador, este siervo disfrutó de las riquezas y las comodidades de su amo, pero ahora ve que pronto le serán quitadas, por lo que debe tomar una decisión.
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Some fifty years or so before the birth of Christ, Julius Caesar was on campaign in Gaul. Now at this point in his career, Caesar was not yet the dictator that he would become, but was instead, in those ailing years of the Roman Republic, one of several major players vying for power, and in fact he had many powerful enemies. Thus, his campaign in Gaul, which roughly corresponds to modern day France, was undertaken above all so that Caesar could win for himself riches and prestige back in the capital. And so it was, particularly in order to win the popularity of ordinary Roman citizens, that he wrote an account of his conquests wherein he detailed all that he did during the war.
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Unos cincuenta años antes del nacimiento de Cristo, Julio César estaba en campaña en la Galia. En ese momento de su carrera, César aún no era el dictador en que se convertiría, sino que, en aquellos años últimos de la República romana, era uno de los principales protagonistas que luchaban por el poder y, de hecho, tenía muchos enemigos poderosos. Por lo tanto, su campaña en la Galia, que corresponde aproximadamente a la Francia actual, se llevó a cabo sobre todo para que César pudiera ganar riquezas y prestigio en la capital. Y así fue como, con el fin de ganarse la popularidad de los ciudadanos romanos comunes, escribió un relato de sus conquistas en el que detallaba todo lo que había hecho durante la guerra.
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At the beginning of this gospel, Jesus is surrounded by great crowds. Many had flocked to him because they had been healed by him or by his disciples, or else because they had been delivered from demons, and, some doubtless, because they were simply moved by his preaching, or else marveled at what they had seen him do for others, and thus hoped that he might be the messiah. In any case, all who followed Jesus as he preached and worked his miracles did so because they had in one way or another been attracted by him and by what he was doing, and so, having made this initial approach to Jesus, our Lord here turns to them and invites them to move from attraction to discipleship.
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On the front of your worship aids is a quote of Pope Francis’s from Laudato Si: “When we can see God reflected in all that exists, our hearts are moved to praise the Lord for all his creatures and to worship him in union with them.” At the heart of this quote are the twin truths that all of creation comes from God and returns to him, that in coming from him it shows forth his power and brilliance, and that in returning it renders him the praise and adoration that is his due. The world itself, in other words, is caught up in the drama of salvation and redemption.
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Strive to enter through the narrow gate, says our Lord, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. A lack of strength – that is what condemns one to the outer darkness, according to this parable. Not a failure to recognize the way to salvation – those who enter into the feast as well as those who are denied entry both recognize where the kingdom of God is to be found – but the latter, though they recognize the feast, have proved too weak to share in it. Of them, I think, our Lord speaks in another parable:
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Esfuércense en entrar por la puerta, que es angosta, dice nuestro Señor, pues yo les aseguro que muchos tratarán de entrar y no podrán. La falta de fuerza es lo que condena a uno a las tinieblas exteriores, según esta parábola. No es el no reconocer el camino de la salvación —tanto los que entran en la fiesta como los que se les niega la entrada reconocen dónde se encuentra el reino de Dios — sino que estos últimos, aunque reconocen la fiesta, se han mostrado demasiado débiles para participar en ella. De ellos, creo, habla nuestro Señor en otra parábola:
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PaddlingPadre 