God is God and I Am Not
An Everyday Stewardship Reflection for 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time 2016
I really loved watching Tim Russert, former NBC News Washington bureau chief and moderator of Meet the Press, who passed away in 2008. I guess what I loved the most about him was his tremendous sense of humility. He was a brilliant political mind, but he always conducted himself as a humble servant of the people, and being a devout Catholic, of his God.

There is a story about Russert’s audience with then Pope John Paul II. Saint John Paul II said to Russert, “You are the one called Timothy, the man from NBC? They tell me you are a very important man.”

The response? “There are only two of us in the room and I am certainly a distant second.” This story is quite something standing on it’s own merit, but many say that Russert was like that with most people, whether they be successors to St. Peter or not.

This type of gracious humility is so very important in our walk as good stewards. When it is through God’s gifts that we achieve a certain standing in the world, city, or our parish community, we must never lose sight of the generosity of God that made that possible. It is through and because of God that we are parent, son, daughter, spouse, friend, or companion.

The constant striving to keep God front and center allows us to more clearly see the opportunities to use our gifts because it is through this gracious humility that our grip on them is loosened.

People like the late Tim Russert serve as examples of the assertion, “God is God, and I am not.” To live in right relationship with God means that we have the chance to rejoice in the gifts given to us and share them freely, knowing that we are sharing with others not just ourselves, but God himself. By our stewardship, we become instruments of grace and windows into a reality much greater than ourselves.
 

Posted on August 25, 2016 by Tracy Earl Welliver - The Main Thing