There are more interpretations to this story than there are young women; the one that fits today is being prepared. How often do some of us find ourselves ill-prepared, as did the foolish virgins? Paul’s caution about those falling asleep brings to mind a story that I suspect some college alumni can relate to.

The night before his first final exam, a young freshman, who believed that he always worked best under pressure, finally began to study at 10:00. He was doing well, reviewing his notes and highlighting certain passages in his textbooks. Around 2 in the morning, he fell asleep at his desk. When he woke up, he was stunned to discover that the period for his test was half over.

Grabbing his pen, he ran to class. There he desperately explained to his professor what had happened. Naturally, the teacher wasn’t sympathetic and just said, “Well, do what you can with the time you have.” Needless to say, he flunked the exam.

In this parable, Jesus labeled five virgins as foolish for not being prepared. All ten were prepared for the immediate arrival of the groom but unlike those who were wise, the foolish virgins did not have sufficient oil for their lamps to last through the night. Caught short handed, they left to fetch more oil elsewhere and while they were gone, the groom arrived and the feast began without them.

That the wise virgins refused to share their oil sounds selfish but Jesus was speaking of something that could not be shared. If we think of the oil as good deeds and acts of love, we can see why the wise virgins could not share what they had. While I can borrow a cup of sugar from you, I cannot borrow your good deeds or your relationship with God.

The oil we use to light our lamps comes from living a life of stewardship. Such a life, which Archbishop Sartain calls the heart of our Catholic faith, asks us to share our gifts of time, talent and treasure for the sake of building up the kingdom of God. Yes, the gifts you offer benefit the parish but more importantly, your gifts benefit your relationship with God for they are your response to God’s goodness in your life.

This parable stresses that we are accountable for our good deeds or lack of them. If we keep putting off what really matters, namely, nurturing our relationship with God, Jesus could one day say, “I do not know you.” As the foolish virgins and the college freshman discovered too late, each person has to be prepared to stand in the presence of God, for we know not when that moment comes when we will be taking the ultimate final exam.

What separated the wise from the foolish is that they were prepared for the moment while the foolish virgins were not. Wise followers know the value of prayerfully and generously living each day in response to the goodness of God in their lives. Their lamps are oiled so that they would always be lit. Elsewhere in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus says, “Let your light shine before others so they may see your good works and give glory to God.” One light dispels the darkness but imagine what a difference many lights create.

“God gives it all then calls us to share.” He did not predestine us to be foolish or wise; the choice to share is ours to make. If we want Christ to recognize us, we have to invest in a relationship with him in this lifetime and that is done by giving generously of our time, talent and treasure, thus, being a light to others. Giving minimally is a foolish choice for that is hardly investing in the most important relationship we can have for all eternity.

I now invite Fred McCarthy, the chair of our stewardship commission to share his reflection on the value of stewardship in our lives and the life of our parish community.

Good Morning/Evening,

My name is Fred McCarthy and I have been a member of Saint Hubert Parish for 5 years. I am here today as the chairman of the Stewardship Commission to talk with you about this year’s Annual Stewardship Campaign.

When Father asked me to do this it was down at Whidbey Island Bank and as he asked it got deathly quiet in the bank and the tellers leaned forward to hear my response.

I really appreciate being a member of Saint Hubert Parish. I get a lot back personally for my parish membership.

Our Parish Stewardship Campaign theme for 2011 is “If everyone lit just one little candle, what a bright world this would be.” Does anyone know where that theme originated? In the 1945 a Maryknoll Missionary priest named Father Keller who grew up in Oakland California formed the Christophers to communicate the message about the Catholic Church using the media. They had one of the earliest television shows about Catholicism and the theme song of the show included these words. I remember listening to their program on Sunday mornings in the early 1950s in our home.

A number of parishioners have joined us and are helping the Stewardship Campaign with their ideas and actions.

You will be given a candle when you leave church today by one of the commission members. We hope it will remind you and your family at home about our campaign and the needs of our parish. You might want to light the candle during dinner this week and talk together about stewardship and what your family is doing.

Our mission is to support our parish and the services we have come to value with a successful Annual Stewardship Campaign.

We are seeking to increase the number of families participating actively in our parish in pledging their time, talent, and treasure.

Many people here at Saint Hubert make this parish successful. Over 80 people are in some leadership role in various ministries in the parish. Some people are involved in as many as 15 different forms of service. Over 35 people are involved in three or more areas of service. Many of you support excellent services in our communities as well.

We have many blessings here on Whidbey Island and a friendly and involved parish to come to each week. We have many things to be thankful for including our beautiful church and parish center paid for by parishioners and maintained by dedicated staff and hard working parish volunteers through over 35 ministries. 31 of them are listed on the back of the Talent card.

This week Father sent everyone a mailing that included a letter, a postcard from the Archbishop and three cards with ideas for giving.

I know some of us feel guilty when we get this letter. Why is the church always asking us for money? Doesn’t it make some of us feel guilty about how much we have given or not given? In the Catholic Church we have our share of guilt. Someone once said guilt is the gift that keeps on giving.

Stewardship provides about 80% of our operating budget for the parish for the year. The fact is that we have to ask you to contribute to have the money to provide the services we all want to have from our church.

It is easy to confuse the Annual Archdiocesan Catholic Appeal with the Parish Stewardship Campaign.

The Annual Appeal funds over 60 ministries throughout the Archdiocese and is conducted in the spring.

The Stewardship Campaign funds parish services and is conducted in the fall. Some think that the Archdiocese takes back much of the money raised in the local parish campaign.

I called the Archdiocese after I heard this concern, and found out that the Archdiocese assesses less than 1% of what we collect back for Archdiocesan support. For example if we raised $100,000 the Archdiocese would assess back $210.

One of the goals of our parish is to inspire young people to service. A memorable story of service that happened this past year and touched our hearts was that of student, Cortney Dunnigan, a parish member, who came up with the idea of collecting used backpacks for homeless people. This effort resulted in collecting approximately 25 backpacks and Cortney helped distribute them with members of three other churches in Seattle. The name of the project he supported was “His hand extended.” He gave us an example of Faith in Action in our own community and great hope for our future generations of Saint Hubert parishioners.

On a personal note, stewardship has been a central part of our family’s charitable giving plan. I always remember my father, who passed away in 2004 at the age of 92, with his Fedora type hat in his hand and his trench coat on after Mass kibitzing with Father Blanchard at Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Seattle and each week one of us kids got to put a $5 bill in the collection.

We went to school at our local parish and I remember parent teacher conferences in the 4th grade when sister said to my mother when she asked how I was doing . Well Fred has these new logger boots and he’s always playing with the shoe laces on them during class. Then she paused waiting for a response from my mother. My mother was a nurse in combat in WWII and she responded. Thank you sister, I was wondering how he was doing in reading and math?

Over the years we have contributed to parish stewardship and a number of special ministries of the Archdiocese of Seattle including parochial schools, the Hunthousen Housing Fund, Tsunami Relief, and The Sisters of Saint Joseph of Peace. I feel a warm place in my heart when we make these contributions and trust that the funds we are giving through the Catholic Church go to right to the people in need.

I want to say thank you to the members of the Stewardship Commission, Father Rick for his openness to our ideas, Al Jones for the electric tea light idea, Margaret Andersen for framing the poster copy of Father Rick’s art work entitled Festival of Lights, Terri Snyder for her clerical support and keeping so many details together, and my friend from when we were both Catholic School principals in Seattle Agnes Jacobson (Bell Moore) for leading the distribution of candles at this Mass.

Thank you for continuing to contribute your time, talent and treasure to Saint Hubert. Together we can assure a vibrant parish life here. Please remember the needs of our parish in your family’s plan for charitable giving . . . and increase your involvement and giving, if you are able, during these difficult financial times. We all want our parish to be the best it can be. In this time of great need we ask you to be very generous in your support of our parish.

Please take a few moments after Mass today to stop by the Ministry Fair in Read Hall entitled ” The Light of Ministry, Time and Talent in Action”. Margaret Anderson, her husband Bob and many others spent yesterday setting up the beautiful displays and the choir people have a special surprise at their booth. Visit the tables and your fellow parishioners working at each table, and consider the ways you might help our parish.

Thank you for your time and for listening today.

Fred

Hmm, I didn’t think it was polite to talk so critically of people behind their backs but that is what we find Jesus doing in today’s gospel. Speaking to the crowds and his disciples, Jesus once again chastises the Pharisees for their religious puffery.

Jesus had little patience for those who put on religious airs but didn’t follow through with a life of faith, that is, they didn’t practice what they preached. The Pharisees made a show of going around displaying their religiosity. They wore little boxes on their foreheads, called phylacteries, along with prayer shawls lined with large tassels. These were the outward signs of prayerful men but were they indeed living prayerful lives?

Contained within these little boxes were miniature scrolls inscribed with a passage from Deuteronomy 6, which tells us to love the Lord our God with our whole heart, our whole soul, and our whole mind. This passage should sound familiar to you. We heard it proclaimed in last Sunday’s gospel. That was the reply Jesus gave to the Pharisees when asked to name the greatest commandment. Immediately following this line in Deuteronomy is the command for Jewish men to bind these words to their wrists and to wear them as a pendant on their foreheads.

Likewise in Deuteronomy 22, God commands them to wear fringes on the borders of their garments to remind them of God’s commandments. In Jesus’ opinion, in spite of these visual reminders, the Pharisees did a poor job of following these commandments. His persistent conflict with the Pharisees was not over their skills in interpreting the sacred scriptures but their failure to “walk the talk.”

Religion of obedience to external precepts, which sums up the mindset of the Pharisees, can lead to what TS Eliot calls “the greatest treason: to do the right deed for the wrong reason.”

The Pharisees went around putting on airs of being “holier than thou.” Acting holy, however, isn’t the same as being holy. Jesus cautions his listeners, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

We cannot hear Jesus’ indictment against the Pharisees without squirming somewhat in our pews. We could hear this gospel only as a warning addressed to those in church authority but as with any story in scripture, Jesus’ words are addressed to us as well. For some of us, his words may be as jarring as an alarm clock, calling our attention to something we have been avoiding. Whether we have an official title or not, each of us has the responsibility to live out the good news of Jesus Christ, teaching others about God by our words and actions. We should be asking ourselves, “Do our deeds measure up to our words?”

In the past, you may have heard the question, “If you were accused of being a follower of Christ, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” For example, if visitors walked into your home, what evidence would there be to show that yours is a Catholic home? Will they know you are Catholic by the presence of a crucifix or a picture of the Blessed Mother on the wall? That was a common practice in the past but not so much nowadays. Would they know you are a Catholic by your willingness to reach out and defend the right of the unborn child or the inmate on death row to live or of a homeless person to be treated with dignity? Would your neighbors know that you are a Christian because of your love and compassion for them?

The recent stabbing of two girls at Snohomish High School reminded me of another victim of violence on school campuses. Does the name Cassie Bernall ring a bell? Like any teenager, she struggled with the issues of growing up, of finding love and acceptance. Rebelling against her parents, she was almost lost to drugs and witchcraft. But time, love, and attention bridged the gap between her and her family.

She asked herself many questions and came to understand that God loved her even in her darkest moments. Instead of trying to look out for herself, Cassie decided to see what she could offer others in her own unassuming way. In the library of Columbine High School, in April of 1999, a classmate put a gun to her head and asked her if she believed in God. To be honest, I don’t know what I would have said had I been in her shoes at age 17, but she said Yes. Her yes came from a place deep within her heart, mind, and soul, a place so deep that she could say yes even though saying so endangered her life.

In her book about her daughter’s life, entitled, She Said Yes, Misty Bernall quotes the Indian mystic, Sadhu Singh: “It is easy to die for Christ. It is hard to live for him. Dying takes an hour or two but to live for Christ means to die daily. Only during the few years of this life are we given the privilege of serving others and Christ. We shall have heaven forever, but only a short time of service here, and therefore we must not waste the opportunity.”

So far as Jesus was concerned, the Pharisees, always busy with their pomp, missed the opportunity too often to really live life. Had they heeded the wisdom of Micah, one of the earliest literary prophets who lived at the same time as Isaiah did, they would have had little trouble putting into practice what they were preaching. 2800 years ago, that prophet penned a line that has served as a motto for many people ever since: “You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: only to do the right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.”

Like Cassie, are we willing to walk humbly with our God?

1ST: Exodus 22:20-26
2nd: 1 Thessalonians 1: 5c-10
Gospel: Matthew 22: 34-40

Well, here we are again. We hear the Pharisees trying to put Jesus to the test. Last Sunday we heard the Pharisees attempt to entrap Jesus in his own words with the response to the question about being lawful in paying taxes to Caesar.

This Sunday we hear the Pharisees once again attempting to trap Jesus, to invalidate Jesus’ authority by asking him about the greatest commandment. Keep in mind that the Jewish people held about 613 commandments and 365 prohibitions.

Well, I imagine it was mind boggling for the Jewish nation of Israel to comprehend, let alone remember all their laws and regulations. Is it any wonder that keeping the law became a burden for so many people?

Today’s gospel shows how Jesus sees beyond all those laws to see what is at the heart of it all, to see the greatest commandment that is at the center of the covenant with God. “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” Jesus says that “This is the greatest and the first commandment.” Then he goes on to say; “the second is like it.” “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus is giving this second part importance as a part of the first.

Jesus is speaking about one’s whole being and life energy being directed into the first and second commandment, Love God, Love Neighbor. Love Neighbor, Love God. You see, you cannot have one and not the other.

Jesus saw the law as a unified whole because it was based in the covenant with God and that covenant came into being because of God’s love. And so, love becomes the principle or decisive factor and the key to interpreting the requirements of the law.

The real challenge comes when we are asked to live out that love covenant through our day to day interactions with our neighbors. We are asked to love those whom God loves and that group is much wider than the people we like or those we find easy to love.

Can you imagine how it would be coming from an Islamic country living here, or coming to this country from some other place looking for work, any work, to put food in a child’s belly, or coming from a country ruled by tyranny and injustice.

These neighbors, possibly living next to us, are stared at and looked at as outsiders, people, who even in our country of freedom, are considered beneath us. Now, not all of us think this way but that is the perception our society emanates.

Isn’t this the warning we hear in our first reading today from Exodus? How do we treat the outsider, the alien, the immigrant around us? It is odd that we do not hear cries across our country for solutions to these perceptions. It is odd that we do not hear the cries of the poor enter into our governments discussions.

We sure hear the cries of banks and financial institutions that are looking for bailouts but what about those who are losing their homes because they cannot afford those balloon payments? How about the farmer who cannot afford to work the fields?

We know so much more today about the hardships suffered by our neighbors here and abroad but despite the wealth our nation, there are many vulnerable and struggling people. Just look under the overpasses of our freeways or the long lines at the food banks across our country, or even look at those dear children who are dying of starvation and sickness in Africa.

At the Last Supper, Jesus reminds us all again. He says to his disciples and us: “Love one another as I have loved you.” At times, loving one another, loving our neighbor is really difficult. It is not easy to forgive a drunken driver who has killed a close relative, a drug addict who robs and steals from the elderly to feed their addiction.

We, as Christians, are at the heart of what happens to those vulnerable people across our city, county, state, nation, and across our world. If we truly love God, then we truly love others. If we do not give of ourselves fully with mind, heart, soul, how can we love ourselves or even love our neighbor? How can we help those who need us, yes, even the drunken driver and the drug addict?

Jesus shows us the greatest love possible. He doesn’t expect us to be crucified but he is asking us to live lives based on love.

My sisters and brothers, today and every time we go to Mass, we receive in us God’s total gift of love through the body and blood of his only Son, Jesus Christ. If we truly and honestly open ourselves to receive this love, then we are transformed through it by the gift and power of the Holy Spirit., to live our lives in God’s love.

What happens when we live our lives in His Love? We share this love with others whether those under the overpasses of our highways, those who have different religious beliefs, those who are persecuted, those who are hungry, those who have wronged us, those who are vulnerable.

Let us join together as the body of Christ to prepare ourselves to receive Jesus in our midst. He is waiting for us. On the cross he hung, between God and Neighbor, loving each with all his heart, mind and soul, inviting us to do the same.

This gospel passage often prompts reflections about civic duty for Jesus’ basic advice seems to be, “Pay the tax.” Notice, however, that he then adds, “Repay to God what belongs to God.” With those words, he focuses on our obligations to God. In effect, he is saying, “If you are so concerned about paying taxes, you should be more concerned about your obligations to God as your creator and Lord.” The Liturgy of the Eucharist, our prayer of thanksgiving, is our opportunity to repay God for the many ways we have been blessed.

The liturgy of the Eucharist dates back to the Last Supper. That night, according to Matthew, While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins.”

Luke adds that Jesus said, “Do this in memory of me,” and this the Church has done ever since. At first there was no formal ritual but in due time, one emerged so that there would be consistency in the celebration of the Mass. Granted, differences still exist from parish to parish, from country to country, even from one priest to another, but the flow of the Eucharistic Prayer remains the same. A priest takes bread and wine, representing the gifts you have repaid to God, invokes the power of the Holy Spirit to come upon these gifts and transforms them into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. The prayers we have been using emerged after Vatican II when the bishops mandated that the Mass be celebrated in the language of the community so that the congregation could fully participate.

At the start of the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the celebrant offers up bread and wine and says words rooted in an ancient Jewish prayer known as the Berekah. His words have changed somewhat but yours remains the same, “Blessed be God forever.”

After washing his hands, the celebrant invites you to stand for the preface. All of them, along with the prayer said beforehand, have been rewritten. In the Sanctus, we will proclaim “Lord God of hosts,” instead of, as we now do, “God of power and might.”

Before Vatican II, there was only one Eucharistic Prayer, known as the Roman Canon, which is often used on solemn occasions such as Christmas and Easter. The Council fathers added three more: the second prayer, the shortest, is usually used for daily Masses. The third is customarily used on Sundays. The fourth Eucharistic Prayer with its unique preface stands apart from the others since it summarizes salvation history.

The words of the consecration are slightly altered. Soon you will be hearing the word, chalice, rather than cup. Another notable change is the word, many, in place of all, when the wine is consecrated. Pope Benedict made the change to echo what Jesus said at the Last Supper. Historically, the Roman Canon has always said, “pro multis,” that is, “for many” at the consecration. This subtle change points out that while Christ died for all, not everyone has accepted his gift of salvation.

One significant change comes after the consecration. The celebrant now says, “Let us proclaim the mystery of faith” and together we do, often in song. Soon, he will simply say, “Mystery of faith.” He will listen as you voice one of three acclamations. This is now your prayer. One that has been used often, “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again,” has been dropped while the other three have been modified. The one we presently use will be changed to read, “we proclaim your death, O Lord, until you come again.”

The Eucharistic Prayer concludes with the doxology, that moment when the celebrant holds up the body and blood of Jesus Christ. He then invites you to pray the Lord’s Prayer, perhaps the best way to prepare ourselves for receiving Jesus. Because of its old English, this prayer wasn’t changed. Some Church scholars assert that the petition in this prayer, “Give us this day, our daily bread,” was coined with the Eucharist in mind, as though we are saying, “Give us this day that mysterious bread, which alone is enough for us today.”

After the Lord’s Prayer comes the sign of peace. Your words and mine had been altered but the purpose remains the same. We prepare ourselves to receive Christ by first offering a sign of reconciliation with those around us.

Resonating John the Baptist, the celebrant will then invite you to “Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world.” Your response to his prayer has taken on a familiar biblical line. “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” There will be no change to receiving Holy Communion. You are still expected to reverence the moment and respond, “Amen,” to the words, “Body of Christ,” and “Blood of Christ.”

How blessed we are! The Lord wants to feed us with his Body and Blood. He wants to give us food to sustain us. As our way of repaying God, we gather as a community to sing, thank, pray, and eat. We eat this meal together and count our blessings. We have so much to be thankful for as a faith community.

To the state, we pay taxes, but to God we are to give undivided service and worship. Isaiah speaks for God, “I am the Lord, there is no other,” so we give “the Lord glory and honor.” The Liturgy of the Eucharist embodies our response from the moment we offer our gifts to receiving the ultimate gift of Jesus Christ himself.