In 1Corinthians 4:1-5, Paul tells us that we should think of him and of ourselves as “servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries.” Is that the thought we all wake up with in the morning? 

Servants, maybe. But “stewards”—what is that? 

A steward is, by definition, the one who is responsible. That is why Paul continues: “The first thing required of stewards is that they prove trustworthy.” Worthy of trust. Because trust has been placed in them. 

What trust has God placed in us? To take responsibility for what? Paul has said it: we are “stewards of God’s mysteries.” We are responsible for “managing” the “mysteries” revealed and entrusted to us as Christians. What does that mean? 

It means, first, that we preserve them. Paul summed up his life: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” That is not a small accomplishment, especially in our day when so many have ceased to gather or “assemble” with us for Eucharist. (Some say they have not  “left the Church,” just “left it alone” for awhile. But since “church” (Greek ekklesia, Hebrew qahal) means “gathering” or “assembly,” in practice they are dangerously similar. How real is a faith that does not embrace Eucharist?) 

But just to “keep” the faith is not enough, as Jesus has made penetratingly clear. We have to do something with the grace and gifts entrusted to us. Grow them, develop them, use them for others. If not, we are “worthless servants” and unfaithful stewards. (See Matthew 25:14-30; 1Peter 4:10; Luke 17:10.) 

The Responsorial Psalm tells us: “The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.” True. But it is nurtured and extended to others by those consecrated in Baptism to be “stewards of his kingship.” When “the Lord comes,” he will judge how trustworthy we have been. Paul did not presume to judge himself, but he did share with Timothy his confidence that “there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” If we can go to bed saying that, we are probably waking up as “faithful stewards” in the morning. 

In Luke 5:3-39 Jesus defines himself as Bridegroom, the Church as his Bride, heaven as a wedding feast, religion as longing for union with him, and religious practices such as “fasting,” in its many forms, as an expression of that longing. The “new wine” that inebriates us at the wedding feast is grace, the divine life of God, for which we need to become a “new creation” by dying and rising with Jesus in Baptism. That is a summary of the “mysteries” entrusted to our stewardship. To be “faithful,” we need to find our identity in them as Christians, ponder them as disciples until we understand them, make them visible in our lifestyle as prophets, express them in ministry to others as priests, and, as stewards of the Kingdom, restructure our society and culture to be in harmony with them. 

The Responsorial (Psalm 37) gives focus: “The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.” 

Prayer Prompt: What trust has God placed in me? To take responsibility for what? Paul has said it: we are “stewards of God’s mysteries.” We are responsible for “managing” the “mysteries” revealed and entrusted to us as Christians. What does that mean in my life? 

— Fr. David M. Knight

View today’s Mass readings, Lectionary #435, on the USCCB website here

Fr. David M. Knight (1931-2021) was a priest of the Diocese of Memphis in Tennessee, a prolific writer, and a highly sought after confessor, spiritual director, and retreat master. He authored more than 40 books and hundreds of articles that focus primarily on lay spirituality and life-long spiritual growth.