September 22, 2013

Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time 
Lectionary: 135
Reading 1

From the holy book of Amos 8:4-7

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!

Men worship the all mighty dollar to the extent they will take advantage of their brethren in order to make a profit.  They worship the all might dollar when they should be taking time to worship God and give thanks for their success.  But this is a grave sin before God.  

Responsorial Psalm PS 113:1-2, 4-6, 7-8

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.

A man can't have two masters. He will love one and despise the other.  Therefore, let us turn to God and despise money, that it may be well with us when we come before God in the Judgment.

Reading 2 1 TM 2:1-8

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.

St. Paul admonishes us to pray for our leaders even in earthly matters.  

This is good and pleasing to God our savior,
who wills everyone to be saved
and to come to knowledge of the truth.

Because God wants all men to be saved.  And our prayers will release the grace to accomplish conversions.

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.

Jesus Christ is the one mediator by nature.  He is God and man, therefore, in Himself He naturally bridges mankind to the Divine.  But we are mediators by grace.  In the first verses, St. Paul admonishes us to mediate between Christ and our fellow man.

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.

Therefore, wherever we go, we should pray for all people and remain in peace with our neighbors.

Gospel LK 16:1-13

Jesus said to his disciples,
“A rich man had a steward
who was reported to him for squandering his property.

This is the parable of the unfaithful steward.  The Rich Man is God.  We are all "stewards" of God's gifts.  Therefore it is about us and how we should handle that which God gives us.

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.’

God calls us to judgement.  Something like this could happen to a man who survives a heart attack.  An examination of conscience would be very important then.  But also, every night before we go to sleep.  Because we are not guaranteed to wake up.

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.’

Prior to this moment, the steward used all the masters resources for himself.  

He called in his master’s debtors one by one.

We are the steward.  We are also the debtors.  

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.’

From then on, the Steward began to use the Master's resources for the good of his fellow man.  In this way, he made friends who would help him out when he was in need.

Spiritually speaking, we are the Steward and we must use God's resources not just for us but for our neighbors.  In so doing, we will make friends who will use God's resources for themselves and for us and who will pray for us when we are in need.

And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.

God is well pleased when we treat each other with love.

“For the children of this world
are more prudent in dealing with their own generation
than are the children of light.

The children of this world are unbelievers.  And they party and have fun all the time.  Their motto is, " let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die."  

And frequently, Christians are morose and sad looking from too much fasting.  But, although fasting is good, we must learn to do things in moderation.  We must also be happy and rejoice in the Lord and His goodness.  And we must share that goodness with all whom we meet.  Then God will be well pleased. 

I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth,
so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

Dishonest wealth is a reference to things that we see as wealth but which aren't.  In other words, material things.  The things which men count as wealth will rot.  But we can use the material things to make friends in this life.  And when we die, we will find those friends waiting for us in before God's Judgment seat.  And they will there speak on our behalf for helping them when they were in need.

The person who is trustworthy in very small matters
is also trustworthy in great ones;

Those who can be trusted with little things can also be trusted with big things.

and the person who is dishonest in very small matters
is also dishonest in great ones.

Those who can't be trusted with little things certainly can't be trusted with big things.

If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth,
who will trust you with true wealth?

And if we can't be trusted with that which seems worthwhile but isn't, silver, gold and other forms of material wealth.  How can we be trusted with people's hearts and souls?

If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another,
who will give you what is yours?

And if we can't be trusted with that which belongs to God and everything belongs to God. How can we be trusted with our own heart and soul?  

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.”

We can't serve two masters.  We will love one and despise the other.  We either serve God and despise money or love money and despise God.   Therefore, let us turn to God and away from the materials of this world and we shall be saved.

The secondary reading below is a subset of the primary.  No add'l commentary necessary.

Or LK 16:10-13

Jesus said to his disciples:
“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.”