9-21-24 25th Sunday, Ordinary Time
From the openings prayer (i.e., the Collect) of the mass, for this 25th Sunday of Ordinary time, we see the intent of the readings: “Oh God who founded all the commands of your sacred law upon the love of you and of our neighbor, grant that by keeping your precepts we may merit to attain eternal life.” Eternal happiness is about love. It is about who we love, and why we love them. These are the factors that drive us to act and live in a certain way.
Contained in that opening prayer we see that our happiness can never come down to solely acquiring possessions, or power, or money. The emphasis this 25th Sunday of Ordinary calls us also to reflect about the choices we make for ourselves in order live a life based on justice, love, and compassion towards others. The first three, possessions, power, or money are important to the world at large, but to God, by themselves, they are of little value. “What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life?” (Matt 16:26). In Matthew’s gospel there is a story of the rich young man who came to Jesus with a question- “What must I do to gain eternal life?” (Matt 19:16) To which Jesus responds initially by asking the man if he keeps the commandments. Affirming that he does, Jesus then says to the man “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to [the] poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Matt 19::21) But the man went away sad, for he had many possessions and riches. Or was it the case that these riches and possessions owned him? The emphasis here must be about the personal choices and goals we make for our lives.
“There is an old story about a wealthy man whose sensing his death is near, begged God for one final favor: to bring something he values very dearly with him to heaven. God with some reluctance, agreed- on one condition- that the man could bring only one suitcase laden with his supposed valuable item. When the man arrived at the pearly gates, Saint Peter meets him and asked to inspect the contents of his suitcase that the man was holding onto tightly in his hand. The man with great glee, happy to show St. Peter the things he valued the most, unzipped the suitcase to reveal solid gold bricks, gleaming and heavy. Peter blinked, looked again, laughed, and said “You brought paving bricks? That is what was so important for you to bring with you to heaven?”1 Peter's remarks underscore that the old-time folklore belief that the streets of heaven were paved with gold. We can laugh a little bit at the man's foolishness to choose to bring something that in God's Kingdom already lines the streets and gutters of paradise. We might call this story a little bit of holy satire.”2 It highlights how our possessions, our greed, our need for power over others can fool us into believing that such things have the capacity, perhaps the only capacity to make us happy.
In the first reading from the book of the prophet Amos we hear the prophet challenging the people of Israel to turn their hearts from their emphasis on greed and making money to one that honors justice toward all peoples. He warns them if they do not, then God will not forget what they have done. In the gospel this weekend, we see an interesting interchange between the landowner of an estate and his chief steward. The steward oversees the landowner’s property and its produce by the farmers who live on this property. Apparently the chief steward has been “cooking the books” in his favor, so to speak, by getting more than his share of the commission that was due him from the farmers. The landowner finds this out and indicates that the steward is going to be let go from his position. But before that happens, the steward decides to ingratiate himself with the farmers; by cutting in half the commission they normally would pay him. In that way, when he is let go by the landowner, the farmers would be more amenable to welcoming him into their homes until he can secure another position. Now, we need to appreciate here what is going on. At first glance it looks like the steward is cheating the landowner and making a place for himself among his farmers for when he is let go from his job. But, what some scriptural scholars point out is that steward, realizing his cheating by exacting exorbitant commissions from farmers has caught up to him. So, he has decided to discount the commission he normally would have received from the farmers by as much as 50%. He is not cheating the landowner but actually is giving up a part of his own commission so he can be in the good graces of the farmers. The landowner obviously noticing this, praises the steward for his shrewdness by creating a place for himself when he is finally let go from the estate. Jesus praises this steward not for his shady practices but for his shrewdness in knowing what to do to save for himself a place in which he will be secure until he can find another position of authority. Jesus notes that the children of this world (i.e., the powerbrokers of Jesus’ time) are more prudent in dealing with their own generation regarding money, power, or political position, than they are about caring for needy, the sick, the homeless. In a way, Jesus by using this parable is challenging his hearers and us, to be shrewd about deciding where we are going to place our values. Are they leading us to God or away from God?
Jesus tells us this parable about the crafty steward not because Jesus is necessarily putting down the place of money in our lives. He is fully aware that we need money to support ourselves, our family, our responsibilities. He too, was a carpenter, a businessperson in Capernaum, and needed money to meet his basic needs and to help his mom. Even as an iterant preacher with a band of disciples following him, a certain person in their group was put in charge of the money others donated to their cause (i.e., “……..Judas kept the money bag, Jesus had told him, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or to give something to the poor.” John13:29). This practical way of handling the monetary donations was necessary so that he and his apostles could continue their mission without being a burden on others. What Jesus is asking us to reflect upon I believe, through this gospel parable, is how do we use the resources that we have been given, whether they be great or small amounts of money, or power or the influence we might have over others, to bring about good for those we know and see and for those that we heard of, that need our support? Do we choose to use money and/or power or influence to bring about justice for persons who are less able than ourselves. Jesus does not appear to be condemning having money or the need for it in our own lives. Rather, he is condemning the glorification of money when it is the only goal we seek in our lives. “We come into this world with nothing, and we will take nothing out of it.” That is not meant to diminish life's joys but to call us to recalibrate our understanding of what money, power, or influence should be all about. The scriptures remind us about the things that last- faith, hope, and love. These do not depreciate; they do not corrode and they do not expire.”3
Perhaps then one of the important lessons to learn from this gospel this weekend that it is about a call to rethink our values and the efforts we put into our life. Are these efforts solely being directed to acquiring things, power, money, or influence? Or are our efforts directed to all the proper utilization of the money, power, or influence that we have at our disposal? The readings invite us to reflect and think about which is the best way to go about living the values that Jesus calls us to have? So, how do we know if we are doing the right thing with the gifts that God has given to us in our lives? When love is at the center of our decisions, at the center of our actions toward others; when our choices result in service to others: when God, not gold, power, or influence, is the one we serve;”3 then, we begin to see the glimmer of what the right choice for the direction of our lives is.
1. 1. Voicings.com (adapted)
2. 2.Ibid (adapted)
3. 3.Ibid
