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According to Roman mythology, the Roman god, Saturn, once visited a second Roman god, Janus. The hospitality Janus offered Saturn was so gracious that Saturn blessed Janus with the ability to see clearly into the past as well as into the future. For this reason, the ancient Romans named Janus the patron of the beginnings of the world, religion, human life, new historical ages, and economic enterprises because all of these emerge out of the past, but they also portend the beginning of something new. Yet, only Janus sees where these beginnings will lead. Likewise with doorways, gates, bridges, and passageways. Janus saw clearly what would transpire in the progression from past to future, from one condition to another, from one vision to another, from growing up to growing old and, at the moment of death, from passage in one sphere to another sphere. The problem, as we all know from the law of gravity, is that for every “gift” there is an equal and opposite “curse.” Fixed on both past and future, Janus was incapable of seeing the present. And, as one of Janus’ faces would attempt to look in a different direction, it would force the other face to have to look in different direction. Sometimes this caused a “tug of war” in that both faces would have to be satisfied when gazing upon something so that neither would tug the other away from what it was gazing upon. In the best of times, it was a “Ying-Yang” relationship. At other times, and in the worst of times, it was a perpetual “tug of war” with each face endeavoring to exercise control over the other. The struggle, of course, focused upon how best to view the present moment with clarity. This history explains why the statue of Janus found in the Vatican’s art museum depicts Janus as if the god is a set of Siamese twins conjoined at the head.
Today, we know of Janus by the month the ancient Romans named after him, January. This is the month of a transition, from looking back at the old year and of looking forward to the new year. We may be able to see somewhat clearly what the past year has brought, but unlike Janus, we are incapable of seeing precisely what the events of the past portend in terms of what the new year will bring. Likewise, we may be able so foresee with some accuracy what the new year may bring, but unlike Janus, we are incapable of seeing precisely what those events will be, how they will unfold, and what they will mean for us. Today, I’d like to suggest that the ancient Romans had an insight into a truth about human nature, a truth the ancient Romans attributed to the god, Janus. It also is a truth that many of us, as Catholics, experience but oftentimes are embarrassed or unwilling to admit. Put plainly, the truth is that many of us are very much like Janus. Why? Because we co-exist with two faces. It’s sort of like the joke where one friend asks the other friend, “Do you know the two thinks I like best about you?” “Why no,” the friend responds, asking in return. “What are they?” “Your faces,” the friend responded. But, unlike Janus, because we see neither the past nor the future with the clarity of sight Janus possessed, we are restless and anxious in the present, looking to and fro, backwards and forwards, all in hope of seeing more clearly where we have come from and where we are going. Yes, some of us perceive where the past has brought us and we can also glimpse into the future and what it may bring us. Yet, we oftentimes are not sure precisely which way to turn in the present—to hold onto the past or to risk moving into the future—because unlike Janus, God has not gifted us with omniscience. Our insight into the past and the future is blurred in much the same way people who suffer from cataracts have blurred and obscured sight. Consider how having two faces engenders restlessness and induces lots of useless anxiety in us, just as it did in the steward we just heard about in today’s gospel. Hired to superintend his master’s property, the terms of the contract likely required the steward to manage the property in the most efficient and effective way possible so that upon his return, the master would receive a decent (or, even better yet, a good) return on his investment. Restless and anxious, perhaps even fearful of not landing the job, the steward exhibits one face in order to get hired for the job and agrees to fulfill the terms of his contract for the salary the master agreed to pay for the steward’s services. Judging the man solely by this face, the steward is a virtuous businessman, one who cares very much about his master’s interests as well as those with whom he will conduct business. Once the steward lands the job and as he sets about fulfilling the terms of his contract, the steward then exhibits a second face as he deals with his customers. Presumably, the steward inflates the prices charged to his customers, keeping the overage and more for himself. This is nothing other than squandering his master’s property by undermining what is in his master’s best interests which presumably was the reason the steward was hired in the first place. The master then returns, only to discover the steward’s malfeasance. The master tells the steward that he is going to be fired. So, what should the steward to do to prepare for the future? Calculating his options, the steward decides to curry favor with those customers who are indebted to him. Not able to repay their debt, the steward demonstrates great generosity by canceling generous portions of the debts owed. In effect, the steward is taking out an insurance policy for himself in the form of all those past IOUs he can collect from all of those customers in the future. This second face is that of a man who cares not one whit about the contract he has signed or about those with whom he conducts business. All this man cares about is ensuring his comfort and security for the long term. But, note well: all of this was motivated by fear and anxiety about what he had done in the past and to prepare for the future. The steward knew exactly what he was doing because he was a very clever man, so clever in fact that the master praises him for prudence and creativity in dealing with his customers. Perhaps it was for this characteristic that the master hired the steward in the first place. At the same time, however, the steward was so clever that he was also dispassionate and calculating in making sure that he took care of himself by feathering his nest and building up a large nest egg. All of this represents ill-gotten gain, what Jesus called “dishonest wealth.” The steward is a “child of this world,” who knows how to deal with all of those people who were just like him. For the past month of Sundays, Jesus who has been teaching some pretty outrageous things. Four weeks ago, Jesus taught the parable about a man who was beaten, robbed, and left for dead. The home town folks pass him by, but a despised foreigner is the one who provides assistance. Three weeks ago, Jesus required that his disciples “hate father and mother.” Two weeks ago, Jesus appeared to be rude and ungrateful at the home of the Pharisee who had invited Jesus to dinner. Last Sunday, Jesus told the parable in which the forgiving father throws a party for his prodigal son, leaving his hard-working, loyal son out in the cold. Today, Jesus praises a dishonest scoundrel. “How could the man live with himself?” we may be tempted to ask. But, the question Jesus asks of his disciples by telling this parable is “How can you live with yourself?” The parable of the unjust steward points out a fundamental breach that exists within human beings and is created by human beings, a breach which makes it impossible for them to live in peace within themselves. “Why did the Jesus teach this parable?” Responding to this question, St. Augustine said in a homily: “He surely did not approve of that cheat of a servant.…” But, what Jesus did approve was the steward’s foresight. In a word, Jesus approved the man’s prudence in making decisions in the present moment. No two-faced person can experience the inner peace and unity that is forged by focusing solely upon what conscience dictates in the present. Expressed more concretely, it may be for some of us that while conscience dictates doing one thing, we do just the opposite. For others of us, it may be that conscience tells us that we bear an obligation to do something, yet we procrastinate by immersing ourselves in all sorts of peripheral nonsense, as if we bear no responsibility to anyone or for anything. For yet others of us, it may be that we’ve decided we can do nothing about the past and we so fear what the future could bring that we resign ourselves to do nothing in the present. So, we sit idly as events unfold. For this reason, all too many of us are restless and filled with useless anxiety about the past and the future and cannot live, as St. Paul told Timothy, in the present by “leading a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity.” Perhaps this reason also explains why many of us are unable to “pray [by] lifting up holy hands.” None of this is what God intended “in the beginning” when He created us. Rather, it is what we have created of ourselves in our vain attempts to be something we are not, omniscient about the past and the future, just like the false idol Janus. Unlike Janus, Jesus doesn’t have two faces. What we see when we gaze upon Jesus is what we get: the face of God. While Jesus teaches that his disciples need to be “clever” like the steward, this means his disciples must be prudent enough today to act like Jesus with a pure conscience, to fulfill our moral responsibilities, and to not sit idly by. This is the singular face of discipleship.
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HOMILY
