25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
19 September 2010
First reading Amos 8:4-7
Listen to this, you who trample on the needy
and try to suppress the poor people of the country,
you who say, ‘When will New Moon be over
so that we can sell our corn,
and sabbath, so that we can market our wheat?
Then by lowering the bushel, raising the shekel,
by swindling and tampering with the scales,
we can buy up the poor for money,
and the needy for a pair of sandals,
and get a price even for the sweepings of the wheat.’
The Lord swears it by the pride of Jacob,
‘Never will I forget a single thing you have done.’
Psalm: Psalm 112:1-2,4-8
Second reading 1 Timothy 2:1-8
My advice is that, first of all, there should be prayers offered for everyone – petitions, intercessions and thanksgiving – and especially for kings and others in authority, so that we may be able to live religious and reverent lives in peace and quiet. To do this is right, and will please God our saviour: he wants everyone to be saved and reach full knowledge of the truth. For there is only one God, and there is only one mediator between God and mankind, himself a man, Christ Jesus, who sacrificed himself as a ransom for them all. He is the evidence of this, sent at the appointed time, and I have been named a herald and apostle of it and – I am telling the truth and no lie – a teacher of the faith and the truth to the pagans.
In every place, then, I want the men to lift their hands up reverently in prayer, with no anger or argument
Gospel Luke 16:1-13
Jesus said to his disciples, ‘There was a rich man and he had a steward denounced to him for being wasteful with his property. He called for the man and said, “What is this I hear about you? Draw me up an account of your stewardship because you are not to be my steward any longer.” Then the steward said to himself, “Now that my master is taking the stewardship from me, what am I to do? Dig? I am not strong enough. Go begging? I should be too ashamed. Ah, I know what I will do to make sure that when I am dismissed from office there will be some to welcome me into their homes.”
Then he called his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, “How much do you owe my master?” “One hundred measures of oil” was the reply. The steward said, “Here, take your bond; sit down straight away and write fifty.” To another he said, “And you, sir, how much do you owe?” “One hundred measures of wheat” was the reply. The steward said, “Here, take your bond and write eighty.”
‘The master praised the dishonest steward for his astuteness. For the children of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children of light.
‘And so I tell you this: use money, tainted as it is, to win you friends, and thus make sure that when it fails you, they will welcome you into the tents of eternity. The man who can be trusted in little things can be trusted in great; the man who is dishonest in little things will be dishonest in great. If then you cannot be trusted with money, that tainted thing, who will trust you with genuine riches? And if you cannot be trusted with what is not yours, who will give you what is your very own?
‘No servant can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or treat the first with respect and the second with scorn. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.’
Reflection
By Pam Manzano
Money was tight for John Wesley. When he began his ministry in the 1700s, he had to budget to survive. After making calculations, he determined he would need about £40 (equivalent to roughly Php 2,700) to survive. Because there was little inflation during that time, John stayed on that yearly budget for the rest of his life. When he first made that decision, his annual income was about £44 enabling him to give away £4 that very first year.
When he became a famous minister and after he had written many books, his income often exceeded £2,000 per annum. But John still held on his budget and lived on £40. All the rest of the money was given to those who are neglected and poor or the charities who would help him tell others about God’s love.
John Wesley who started the Methodist Church decided at an early age that money would be his servant, not his master.
Money is a tool. It is a great resource when put to right use but is evil when we allow it to corrupt our minds. As 1 Timothy 6:10 aptly shares that the love of money is the root of all evil, we should not fail in letting money be a way for the evil to let us do things that will separate us from God’s love.
Possessions are a responsibility. What we have at the moment are things lent to us by the Great Provider. Their use is a test of our character, our values as well as our trust in the Lord. The Gospel tells us that he who can be trusted with little can also be trusted with a lot, and whoever is dishonest with a little is dishonest with a lot (Lk 16:10).
What we do with every little thing we have is all counted. And this little thing indicates how faithful we are when it comes with great things. If we prove to be not trustworthy with just the little things, how will God commission us to take responsibility for the greater things?
This week’s Gospel is another reminder for us that we need to be responsible and mature Christians when it comes to handling our possessions and knowing our limitations. Let us not forget that the worldly riches are tools sent by God to aid us in the great commission He bestowed upon us.
As the parable of the wily manager concluded: we cannot serve both God and worldly riches.
Lord, Great Provider, grant us wisdom and courage to not be tempted by the things this world could offer. Help us fix our eyes on You Lord that we may receive the true riches only You could give. This we all pray in Jesus’ mighty name, AMEN.
Eternal Consolation
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