You get what you put in: 31st Sunday of Ordinary Time

            One of the things I like most about running is that you get what you put in.  Having trained for distance races for many years, I usually know within a few seconds (or a few minutes depending on the length) what my time should be.  Barring inclimate weather or injury, I can toe the line with confidence of what my body is capable of doing.

This is unique to the sports world which relies heavily on execution.  A better team often gets beat by a team that plays better.  Pure talent doesn’t always win the game.  Or in hunting and fishing, you could spend all day on the lake or in the stand and not see anything. 

Faith is like running—what you put in is what you will get out.  Now this is not by your own doing, but by God’s grace.  So how much do you invest in your faith?

There are 168 hours in a week (this week we have 169 because of Daylight Savings Time).  Subtracting an average eight hours of sleep a night, we are left with 112 hours in which we are awake.  How do you spend this time?  How much of it goes to work?  Family?  Hobbies?  TV?  Your faith?  If coming to Mass is all you do, that is less than 1% of the time God has given you.

Know that the activities I listed above are not mutually exclusive to living out your faith.  In fact, by simply starting and ending your day-to-day activities with prayer, you offer what you do to God.

This is what St. Paul is referring to in his letter to the Thessalonians: “Brothers and sisters: We always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose and every effort of faith, that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, in accord with the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ.”

Our Gospel tells of a man who gave everything to God—Zacchaeus.  Notice, he took the initiative to find a place where he could see Jesus.  He responded to Christ’s call to host Jesus at his home.  And he even declared, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.”  We don’t know much more about Zacchaeus, but we can presume that his investment to Christ paid abundant dividends in grace.

This week, sow much in your faith that you may reap much in grace.  Do not be afraid to give everything to God as He will give you everything back and much more.