by Msgr. Joseph Calise 

I ADMIT THAT I am not a technological wizard, but I am also not completely inept. I am comfortable on the Internet, and any communicating I cannot do face-to-face I accomplish via e-mail. However, my phone is not a multitasking computer that can give me driving directions – my phone makes phone calls and sends text messages. I cannot carry a computer, phone messaging system, GPS and game package in the palm of my hand. I will also admit that I was amazed when I saw a young lady pay for her triple caramel latte by waving her phone in front of a cash register. That technological I am not and, although we “never say never,” suspect I never will be.

One of the problems I have had using technology is that with all it can do, there are still things technology cannot do. I remember when I first began using e-mail, a friend asked why I was yelling. I had no clue that there was a special significance to all capital letters. I thought I was making it easier for him to read, whereas he understood the larger print to be an expression of anger. To my knowledge, written technology has not yet found an adequate way to express tone of voice. This is my quandary with today’s Gospel.

After Jesus gives a relatively easy to understand teaching, Peter asks, “Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?” Depending on the tone with which it is read, this question can evoke a lot of different images. For example, it can be reminiscent of the very dramatic scene in the movie Taxi Driver during which Travis Bickle, an honorably discharged yet mentally unstable veteran played by Robert DeNiro, challenges himself in a mirror with the phrase, “You talking to me?” in varied tones of voice that become increasingly menacing. Bickle took a challenge as a threat. The Sadducees and Pharisees saw challenge as insulting. This is precisely why Christ often spoke to them in parables – He knew that eventually they were going to want to use His own words against Him. They knew that His words were meant for them, but their pride prevented them from accepting His teaching as an invitation to grow in the righteousness they presumed to possess. Their translation of “is that meant for us” would sound more like, “How dare you speak to me that way.” This would be very much unlike the interpretation of the insecure who would be seeking assurance that the message was not for them or that of the proverbial “choir members” who would be unable to understand why they have to hear a message, much better suited for others, if they are already doing everything right. It all depends on tone of voice. Jesus’ response to Peter, however, leaves little room for misunderstanding.

Although the call to follow Christ is universal, our ability to respond is personal. Some of us have had parents for whom faith was a priority; some have been blessed with a solid education in the faith; some live in a society that promises and delivers religious freedom. Others have not received the same blessings but have found their spiritual journey made more difficult by the circumstances of their lives and the weight of the crosses they have been given to carry. But the call to follow is universal. Judgment will not decipher what gifts we were given or what challenges we faced but rather how well we used the gifts and faced the challenges. Those punished by the Master made the choice to do their own bidding rather than the task he placed before them; those who were rewarded did their jobs to the best of their abilities. The household master’s judgment was neither harsh nor easy – it was simply just. Those who did their best had their efforts rewarded; those who did not use their gifts could not be entrusted with even greater blessings.

For over 20 years (from 1980 to 2001), “Be All You Can Be” was the recruitment slogan of the U.S. Army. It challenged men and women of recruitment age to look inside themselves to discover the gifts they had and to see the Army as a potential way of making those talents flourish. Christ applies the same basic principle to our faith lives. Each of us has been gifted by the Lord and enabled to follow Him in love and service. The life of faith is a life of discovering what those gifts are and discerning how best to put them into practice not because of the fear of punishment but because of our desire to be found ready when the Master returns.

So, no matter how we hear the words, they are indeed intended for us – for all of us. For some they are a threat and for others a promise. The difference, of course, is how we choose to respond.