Their minds are occupied with earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. Okay, St. Paul, our citizenship might be in heaven but we still have to pay the bills, go to the doctor, worry about politics, deal with the family, drive to work. We might be citizens of heaven but we are residents of earth, with all that implies. The challenge then is to keep “earthly things” in the proper place, not as our central preoccupation but as chores to be done on the way. The parable of Jesus about the unjust steward provides his perspective on how to go about that. We are to use every strategy, every wile, every technique, every method we can think of to make our place on earth a bit more like our heavenly homeland. In other words, it is not sufficient to limit our involvement in the things of this world to praying for them but to add to that prayer actions, efforts, endeavors to make this place more compassionate, forgiving, welcoming, loving.
