This past week, I went to see the blockbuster movie that is riding high at the top of the box office for the last few weeks - Avatar: The Way of Water. Amidst the hype of cutting edge movie technology and expert story telling by James Cameron and his team, there are brief tropes that are found in most stories - wisdom sayings or proverbs that flavor the story with the movie maker's insight. In the case of Avatar, one such line that was frequently repeated was "All energy is only borrowed, and one day you have to give it back."

The line is definitely informed by cultural voices inspiring the film that are anything but the dominant voice in Western society. Perhaps James Cameron picked it up from American Indian Spirituality or through study of Zen Buddhism, but its locus of origin doesn't make it "different" from the truth born in our own religious tradition. We might foster greater harmony between people if we stopped to recognize that God's gift of wisdom, especially mystical wisdom wrought on the edge of our rational selves, is universal.

Christianity has versions of this same theme if one takes the time to notice more closely. In Christianity we proclaim that Christ is the light of the World, the light that began all creation, infuses all creation, and will ultimately be restored in all creation. Therefor we have no light, no insight, no energy, that is not Christ's to begin with. Also recall our doxology at the Eucharistic prayer. We pray... through him, with him, in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit... (A lot of this mystical sense of the cosmic and universal Christ can be richly found in the Gospel of John, 1 John, and even Saint Paul's letter to the Colossians 1:9-20)

Another way we might articulate the quote from Avatar is to say "We believe God has given us all the gifts we need, we just need the wisdom on how use them." I said this exact quote last weekend from the church ambo before I even saw the movie. It is an often reported proverb when we talk about stewardship. It is especially relevant not only as we continue our Season of Stewardship, but also as we recognize Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. this weekend.

In our Season of Stewardship, we have been challenged by means of a recent letter from Fr. Sergio to pray about our gifts of TIME, TALENT, and TREASURE and how we might return those gifts to God. In some ways, it seems like it was God's plan all along. God wanted us (all creation) to work in collaboration with one another as a family. The only way to do this was to give differing gifts and differing amounts in order to promote the need for mutual sharing with one another. God wants dynamic collaboration between us and therfore, within the community there are enough resources to take care of ourselves, our families, our country, our world, our environment and yes, our church. There is enough for the hungry to be fed and those experiencing homelessness to be sheltered. Our gifts were given unevenly so that human beings would be responsible for the deeper richness that comes from vulnerability and generosity.

At the same time, it is in humanity's capacity to do the opposite, to hoard without regard to others, to withhold from others what they are owed as children of God. Poverty's many forms are not the mechanisms of God's plan, they are most clearly the symptoms of NOT following God's plan.

This weekend, we look with great admiration to the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who witnessed to a vision of life that was beyond the limits of individualism. He once said, "As long as there is poverty in the world, no man can be rich, even if he has a billion dollars." It points to a mutual responsibility we have to share our gifts through a spirit of generosity. If we don't, if we try to shroud our insecurities behind fear, racism, sexism, over-consumption, and indifference, we may purposefully or accidentally wound others, but we will most certainly and profoundly wound ourselves.

Yes. All the energy we have is borrowed, or as Christians might say it, "Christ is all and in all" (Colossians 3:11). There is nothing we have that does not have its origin in Christ or will make its return to Christ. The riches and majesty we are blessed enough to claim are here but for a moment. How will they be used during this brief time that we hold them?

As we pray about and consider how we can best support Saint Andrew Parish in the year ahead through sacrificial offering of our TIME, TALENT, and TREASURE, as we pray with our nation in the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, may generosity lead our response to stewardship and justice. This is not just the "way of water" or some catch phrase for a popular movie, but truly the way of God.

Super School Sunday, on January 29, kicks off Catholic Schools Week. The schedule is as follows:

• 8am- Prospective Family Tours Schedule a Tour

• 9am- Family Mass

• 10am- Pancake Breakfast in the gym- purchase tickets

• 11am- Current Family Tours

Do you have a friend or neighbor that is considering applying to the best school in Chicago? Sign up for a tour here: schedule a tour New student applications for the 23-24 school year are now open! Existing families, do not forget to register your new preschoolers. Applications are due February 1. 23-24 SAS Application