Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 135
Reading 1
Hear this, you who trample upon the needy
and destroy the poor of the land!
"When will the new moon be over," you ask,
"that we may sell our grain,
and the sabbath, that we may display the wheat?
We will diminish the ephah,
add to the shekel,
and fix our scales for cheating!
We will buy the lowly for silver,
and the poor for a pair of sandals;
even the refuse of the wheat we will sell!"
The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob:
Never will I forget a thing they have done!
Responsorial Psalm
R. (cf. 1a, 7b) Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise, you servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD.
Blessed be the name of the LORD
both now and forever.
R. Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
High above all nations is the LORD;
above the heavens is his glory.
Who is like the LORD, our God, who is enthroned on high
and looks upon the heavens and the earth below?
R. Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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.
R. Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Reading 2
Beloved:
First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers,
petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone,
for kings and for all in authority,
that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life
in all devotion and dignity.
This is good and pleasing to God our savior,
who wills everyone to be saved
and to come to knowledge of the truth.
For there is one God.
There is also one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus,
who gave himself as ransom for all.
This was the testimony at the proper time.
For this I was appointed preacher and apostle
— I am speaking the truth, I am not lying —,
teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
It is my wish, then, that in every place the men should pray,
lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Though our Lord Jesus Christ was rich, he became poor,
so that by his poverty you might become rich.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus said to his disciples,
"A rich man had a steward
who was reported to him for squandering his property.
He summoned him and said,
'What is this I hear about you?
Prepare a full account of your stewardship,
because you can no longer be my steward.'
The steward said to himself, 'What shall I do,
now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me?
I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg.
I know what I shall do so that,
when I am removed from the stewardship,
they may welcome me into their homes.'
He called in his master's debtors one by one.
To the first he said,
'How much do you owe my master?'
He replied, 'One hundred measures of olive oil.'
He said to him, 'Here is your promissory note.
Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.'
Then to another the steward said, 'And you, how much do you owe?'
He replied, 'One hundred kors of wheat.'
The steward said to him, 'Here is your promissory note;
write one for eighty.'
And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.
"For the children of this world
are more prudent in dealing with their own generation
than are the children of light.
I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth,
so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
The person who is trustworthy in very small matters
is also trustworthy in great ones;
and the person who is dishonest in very small matters
is also dishonest in great ones.
If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth,
who will trust you with true wealth?
If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another,
who will give you what is yours?
No servant can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve both God and mammon."
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
There is a war going on in God’s Creation today. We as Christians and Children of God are involved in this conflict in many ways. First, we live in a world which is focused on removing God from daily life and replacing Him with an increasing reliance on those who wish to control us and use us to gain more power and more influence, all the while garnishing more material wealth. There is an open invitation for us to pursue the same goals and enjoy the same pleasures that these individuals partake in. Moral values are decreasing while a pursuit of material pleasures is on the rise. Satisfaction in the moment is taking place of real spirituality.
The Canadian intellectual and clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson said,
“When society forgets its moral values nihilism and terror reign.”
Nihilism is, “the rejection of all religious and moral principles, in the belief that life is meaningless.” This comes about when there is a collective focus on pleasuring oneself and the pursuit of self-gain. If there is no God then there are no moral principles to follow. There are no real long-term consequences to our actions, except those imposed by society. If society is in moral decline, then the consequences are also in decline and more debauchery and bad behavior is accepted. When these things become more acceptable, then these behaviors then become encouraged through institutions like our schools, universities, multi-media, and political system. Shockingly, these things also become more acceptable through our religious bodies. What then develops are new quasi-religions and religious concepts that are watered-down and more acceptable to a society which does not want to be held accountable. These are again centered in stimulation of the moment and self-justification of actions instead of spiritual pursuits.
God reminds us through the prophet Amos that when we do not focus on our relationship with Him and our spiritual growth, we will fill our thoughts and actions with things that will ultimately corrupt us. Our words will become empty. Our actions will naturally be attracted to things of this earth instead of heavenly things. Acts of charity and good works will be displaced by self-centered, selfish things. God wants all to be saved and to live. He wants all to live a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity. A constant effort to improve ourselves and to pursue all things that come from God is the key to have this happen. All things good come from God. If we include God in our lives, then what comes from us will also be good.
We are then presented with a dilemma. If we are to live a virtuous life in a society that does not share our virtues, how do we do it? If we are outnumbered and overwhelmed by these forces of evil, how do we prevent ourselves from being corrupted? Jesus tells us we must recognize who our true master is. We then must be ready and willing to serve that master. To serve means, “to perform duties and tasks.” Jesus has already outlined what is expected of us and there is no avoiding it. To do these things, through His guidance, we need to accept these duties and treat them with a great importance, instead of a passing thought. We cannot be lukewarm. If we are, then we will be divided and sickened physically, mentally, and spirituality by us indulging in things that we know are wrong. Saint Augustine said,
“Lovers of the world, however, who are kept from good works by some evil desire, lie sick and listless, and it is this sickness that deprives them of any strength to accomplish good works.”
Lovers of this world have chosen their master and serve it by taking everything they can from it without giving thanks to God. God wants us to live in this world yet separate from it. When we follow God’s law and live our lives within His light, we can then fully appreciate what has been given to us without being engulfed in the immorality and selfishness which is a by-product of ignoring he who has given us everything including life itself. God permeates throughout His creation; thus, He permeates throughout us. When we recognize this, we can then be guided by Him. Our master is then with us, and we can do nothing but serve Him. Serving God and doing right by Him will then direct our thoughts and actions rightly.
Deacon Tom
No comments:
Post a Comment