Word to the Wise
Sunday, September 18, 2016 - 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time - C
[Amos 8:4-7; 1 Tim 2:1-8; Luke 16:1-13 or 16:10-13]SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2016 TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME [Amos 8:4-7; 1 Timothy 2:1-8; Luke 16:1-13] "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." [Luke] The parable of the Dishonest Steward, which precedes the quotation above, can cause irritation in some of my readers because it appears that Jesus is commending dishonesty. However, I think the parable should be seen in the light of the collection of sayings about honesty and trustworthiness. The rogue servant is unquestionably a rogue, but more like a Robin Hood than anything else, which would have made the story very attractive to the poor people to whom Jesus preached. The financial collapse that began in 2008 and its consequences uncovered the capital sin of greed in our capitalistic economy. Recent actions of pharmaceutical companies raising the prices of widely used important medications shows that the service of mammon is still a problem. The rogue servant unquestionably served mammon and served it well. Jesus wishes the "children of light" showed the same cleverness in staying away from mammon and serving the light. It is an interesting fact in my pastoral experience that people do desire to serve God more and pray more, but rarely do I hear them say that they want to detach themselves from their "stuff" as a way of achieving those goals. The competition between God and mammon can be subtle in a culture like ours. Asking ourselves about where our energy and time goes in regard to God and mammon can be a challenging spiritual exercise. AMEN
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