Fuzzy Math?

By Fr. Paul Scalia
Herald Columnist
(From the issue of 11/14/02)

Jesus does not know mathematics." Such was the late Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan’s wry comment about our Lord’s extraordinary generosity. Perhaps he was right. In the parable of the laborers in the vineyard, our Lord speaks approvingly of the landowner who gives equal pay for unequal hours. He alsocompares Himself to a man who leaves ninety-nine sheep to find one — just one! — lost sheep. But in His parable of the talents, the master punishes his servant for returning exactly the same amount entrusted to him. Now if our Lord seems bad at math, how should we understand the precise accounting of this master, this image of the Divine Master?

When our Lord gives us something He also gives us responsibility — and will hold us responsible. "After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them." Every gift carries a task. For this reason St. Paul begs the Corinthians "not to receive the grace of God in vain." Our Lord expects a return on what he has entrusted to us.

Therefore we cannot remain idle in the life of grace. God has so associated us with His work that our salvation depends not only on His grace, but also on our own cooperation and efforts. As St. Augustine said, "The God who made me without me will not save me without me."

The lazy servant reveals that grace profits us only if we invest it. Obviously, investment entails risks and can be frightening. But the alternative is terrifying. The servant who failed to invest, who "dug a hole in the ground and buried his master's money," was thrown "into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth."

The reward for investment should encourage us further. As servants who invest our master’s money, our cooperation with God’s grace means that we can merit heavenly rewards. Of course, we do not merit anything on our own, but only because God has enabled us to. The ability to merit reward is itself a grace. But the ability remains.

By our faithfulness, prayers, and good works, we merit rewards. We do not put God in our debt so much as we enlarge the capacity of our souls, our capacity to receive His life. It may shock our egalitarian ears to hear that not everyone is equal in heaven. True, everyone will be perfectly happy according to the grace he has received and his response to that grace.But some, such as Mary and Joseph, by the holiness of their lives here on earth, achieved a greater capacity to rejoice hereafter. The merited greater rewards.

"Where do you want to be in ten years?" asks the savvy financial advisor (at least on TV). He encourages his customers to commit a certain amount of money now to obtain a return in the future. If they follow his advice, they will find themselves secure and happy in the years to come. The more they invest, the better off they will be.

Our Lord wants us to apply such planning and investment to our spiritual lives. He commands us to invest now to attain glory later. "Store up treasures in heaven." Invest the grace of God. Devote your life to the Faith, the Sacraments, the moral life, and prayer. If we follow His teachings and invest His grace in our lives, we will find ourselves secure and provided for in eternity. And the more we invest, the happier we will be. After all, where do you want to be in 100 years?

Fr. Scalia is parochial vicar of St. Patrick Parish in Chancellorsville.

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