The Author William Nicholson once wrote that “Self-sufficiency is the enemy of salvation. If you are self-sufficient, you have no need of God. If you have no need of God, you do not seek him. If you do not seek Him, you will not find him.”
Sadly, many people of faith, especially those of us who are privileged to have some degree of wealth, fall into the trap of self-sufficiency. Since we are able to provide for our own needs, without relying on others, we are tempted to think of our relationship to God in the same way. I see this most often in Confession, when people, after confessing their sins, say “I just need to do this” or “I just need to change that.” We act as if we need to be perfect to please God, and somehow convince ourselves that God will not love us unless we single-handedly turn our lives around, without any help or assistance. We find it very hard to accept our need for God’s grace, or to accept the fact that God loves us, even though we are sinners.
Worse still is the sense of entitlement that can emerge among people of faith, where people who possess knowledge or authority see themselves not as partners with God, but as supreme authorities over the People of God. This is exactly the fault of the tenants in the parable that Jesus tells in today’s Gospel. Instead of being interdependent partners with the landowner and giving him his due, they sought to keep everything for themselves – even going so far as to kill the messengers sent by the landowner to collect his portion of the produce!
As Jesus illustrates in the Gospel, the parallel between the tenants in the parable and the Jewish leaders is clear. We are called to avoid the same temptations in our life. We do not own the Church, and we are not masters over the people of God. We are called to cooperate with God’s grace, and allow him to lead us to salvation in his Kingdom, all while giving him his due during our lives on earth.
As we celebrate Thanksgiving in Canada this weekend, we are reminded that an attitude of gratitude helps us to be in the right relationship with God. It helps us to remember that everything we have comes from God, and that we can do nothing apart from his grace and love. Remembering this helps us to avoid the trap of self-sufficiency, and truly recognize our need for God in our daily lives.
Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Steven Huber, CSB