25th Sunday in Ordinary Time C

 

25^th Sunday in Ordinary Time C

Readings: Amos 8:4‑7  1 Tim 2:1‑8 Luke 16:1‑13

In today's readings Amos and Jesus remind us that we cannot serve both God and money.  Rather than vindicating worldly affluence and power, the God of Amos and Jesus rejects greed and the oppression of the poor.  Let us pray in the words of this Sunday's responsorial psalm: “Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor./ He raises up the lowly from the dust;/ from the dunghill he lifts up the poor/ to seat them with princes, with the princes of his own people”  (Ps 113:7‑8). 

In God’s name, Amos threatens the greedy merchants who "trample upon the needy and destroy the poor of the land."  During their new moons and Sabbaths, mandated days of rest, these hypocrites calculate how long they must wait to resume their exploitation of the lowly.  Their plans to “diminish the ephah,” “add to the shekel,” and “fix . . . scales for cheating” are in direct violation of Israel's ancient laws in Deuteronomy. “You shall not keep two differing weights in your bag, one large and the other small; nor shall you keep two different measures in your house, one large and the other small.  But use a true and just weight, and a true and just measure, that you may have a long life on the land which the Lord, your God is giving you.  Everyone who is dishonest in these matters is an abomination to the Lord” (Deut 25:13‑16). Amos simply has the courage to announce the Lord's inevitable judgment against such violations of the covenant.  “The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: ‘Never will I forget a thing they have done!’”  (Amos 8:7).

1 Timothy warns us not to extend Amos' strident judgment to all persons in power.  Christians, although a religious minority in the Roman Empire, are instructed to offer intercession for all "especially for kings and those in authority."  Their maintenance of public order will enable Christians "to lead undisturbed and tranquil lives in perfect piety and dignity."  The necessity of such prayer is rooted God's desire for universal salvation and knowledge of the truth: “God is one.  One also is the mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all.”

In Gospel Jesus uses the shocking story of a dishonest steward to warn his disciples that they cannot serve both God and money.  Although we may find the steward's financial dealings devious, the parable forces us to identify with him when he is accused of “dissipating” (maybe simply mismanaging) the rich man's property.  When asked to render an account of his service, the steward realistically assesses his bleak situation in a soliloquy, a favorite technique in the Lukan parables (see Lk  12:17‑19; 15:17‑19; 18:4‑5).‘What shall I do next?  My employer is sure to dismiss me. I cannot dig ditches.  I am ashamed to go begging. I have it!  Here is a way to make sure that people will take me into their homes when I am let go.’ Scholars debate the exact nature of steward's arrangement with his master's debtors.  Is his reduction of their debts simply cheating his master?  Or, is he getting even with the master by canceling the usurious interest charged on his loans?  Finally, some have suggested that the steward waives the commission that would have been his for negotiating the master's business.  In any case, the steward, when faced with a desperate situation, acts "prudently," and even his master has to commend him for being enterprising. 

Jesus draws several lessons from this parable by contrasting and comparing the steward's worldly behavior in connection with the ephemeral goods of this age to the disciples' other‑worldly concerns with lasting goods.  First of all, he praises the steward's shrewdness and suggests that the disciples should pursue the kingdom with such decisiveness and initiative.  “The people of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.”  Three general morals follow; all are concerned with the disciples' use of and attitude toward money.  First, worldly wealth will fail; therefore it should be used to win heavenly allies who will receive you into eternal habitations.  Second, one who has not been trustworthy in handling paltry material wealth will not receive heavenly treasure.  Finally, humans are servants who must choose their master: God or mammon.  Enslavement to money precludes God from one's life.

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time C

 23^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time C

Readings: Wisdom 9:13‑18  Philemon 9‑10,12‑17  

 Luke 14:25‑33

Our capitalist culture advocates elaborate financial planning with the promise that the right "package" will guarantee us future security.  Today's readings debase all such human calculations and offer in their stead a wisdom which challenges us to be prepared to renounce all distractions for the sake of following Jesus.   Let us pray to the Lord for this wisdom in the words of the psalm: "Teach us to number our days aright/ that we may gain wisdom of heart" (Ps 90:12). 

The first reading from the Book of Wisdom puts on Solomon's lips a prayer for the gift of wisdom to govern the people of Israel.  This section contrasts the limited perspective of humans with God's mysterious plans.  "For who knows God's counsel,/ or who can conceive what the Lord intends?" (Wis 9:13).  We who are burdened with a "corruptible body" can scarcely "guess the things on earth," to say nothing of searching out "things in heaven."   But all is not hopeless.  God gives the gift of wisdom and sends the "holy spirit from on high" to those humble enough to ask for it.  When we have this wisdom, our path on earth is "made straight."

In his moving letter to Philemon Paul is asking that Philemon receive Onesimus, his runaway slave whom Paul converted in prison, as a full brother in Christ.  Paul's petition is filled with passionate language designed to move Philemon to accede to this request and possibly even allow Onesimus to return to Paul in prison.  He describes Onesimus as "my child whom I have begotten during my imprisonment" and reminds Philemon: "I am sending my heart!"  Paul was so fond of Onesimus that he considered keeping him to serve his needs in prison, but then he decided to return him to Philemon "so that kindness might not be forced on you but freely bestowed."  Paul goes on to suggest that Onesimus was separated from Philemon for the purpose "that you might possess him forever, no longer as a slave but as more than a slave, a beloved brother . . ."   In the Christian community the deep social division between slave and master has been obliterated so that Paul can conclude by telling Philemon, "If  then you regard me as a partner (in the gospel), welcome him as  you would me."

In the Gospel Luke presents sayings of Jesus which challenge "a great crowd" to steadfast discipleship.  Following Jesus must be more important than family, self, or possessions.  The twin parables of the tower builder and the king contemplating a battle emphasize wise planning. In worldly affairs, people weigh the costs before a serious undertaking because they do not want to appear foolish when they are not able to complete it.  No man wants to begin building a tower only to run out of money and become a laughingstock "because he began to build what he could not finish."  A king going to battle considers if his forces are adequate, and if not, sues for peace "while the enemy is still at a distance."   Likewise, Jesus' would be disciples must realize that in face of persecution and worldly allurements the cost of discipleship is very high.  Worldly attachments must be jettisoned.  Jesus concludes by saying, "Likewise, none of you can be my disciple if he does not renounce all his possessions."