27th Sunday in Ordinary Time C

INTRO: I HAVE BEEN TATALLING LATELY ON MY FAMILY in these homilies, but I cannot help it! So, here is a set of twins, right?
One is short and the other tall
One was under-weight at birth, the other JUST FINE
One today has gray hair, the other does not
BUT IN SCHOOL
He always went the EXTRA MILE, doing extra work and had it done so QUICKLY
Here I am getting by and always needing TONS more time to accomplish what was necessary!

You figure it out, one of us was an OVER-ACHIEVER in school and the other one an UNDER-ACHIEVER!

You can quietly ask that question about yourselves…. IN LIFE are an under-achiever OR an over-achiever?

All throughout time there are both these kinds of individuals in our world…UNDER-ACHIEVERS & OVER-ACHIEVERS and Jesus knew it!

Remember in the days of JESUS, there were the VERY STRICT LAW-ABIDING individuals…Scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees…everything by them was done by the book, EXACTLY with no sway one way or another. These kinds of folks were considered the UNDER-ACHIEVERS. Did only what was told to them to do.

While not particularly bad, JESUS was trying to raise the bar on these individuals, to raise the standard of doing more than what was necessary to that which comes from the HEART, which would make them an OVER-ACHIEVER!

This is seen in the Servant of today’s Gospel. Jesus cautioned the servant who only did what he or she was told to do. JESUS wanted the servant (and all of us) to begin becoming OVER-ACHIEVERS, to do more than what is expected of us.

As kids we were told to clean our rooms. What if we did that and then, without being told, emptied the dishwasher???

What if we went to weekend Mass and then added to that, without being told, to contribute time and talent at a homeless shelter or food kitchen???

What if we helped out a neighbor, cutting their grass or shoveling their snow and then called them up and say I am making a dinner for you???

You see in these actions there was GOING BEYOND the expectation. There was THINKING CHARITABLY OUT OF THE BOX for the sake of another.

The CHURCH, the WORLD needs this kind of action from us.

CONCLUSION

The HOLY COMMUNION that we receive was that exact act of Jesus GOING BEYOND for the sake of our salvation. Give appreciation and praise to God today and think about YOU… GOING BEYOND, becoming an OVER-ACHIEVER!