Word to the Wise
Friday, September 22, 2017 - Friday in the 24th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Tim 6:2c-12 and Luke 8:1-3]For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains. But you, man of God, avoid all this. Instead, pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness Compete well for the faith. [1 Timothy]
The well-known columnist, David Brookes, some months ago published column in which he spoke of the difference between a vocation and a job. The essential difference lies in the fact that a job is something one DOES. A vocation is something someone IS. In our own culture, one of the first questions we ask in introducing ourselves to someone is, "What do you DO for a living?" As for who that person IS, we settle only for their name. The difference is not as subtle as it may seem. The question about what one DOES, carries with it the (usually unasked) question, "How much do you make?" The bit of information about what the person DOES can give a hint as to what they MAKE. It is a question of money. St. Paul points to the love of money as the "root of all evil." I think I would put "power" up there with money, since money gives the potential consumer, "purchasing power."
I live in a university community, and when I'm not on the road to preach a retreat or parish mission, I am in the midst of students at various points in a university education from bachelor's to doctorate degrees. Their time here is a time of dreams and hopes. Their parents and friends, of course, will ask them, "What do you hope to DO with that degree?" The unspoken (well..maybe spoken sometimes) question is, "How are you going to support yourself?" What seems to be pushed to the background is what St. Paul is urging Timothy to BE. The degree is oriented to the job and not to the kind of person that engages in work. One becomes defined by their income.
One of the programs offered at our Catholic Student Center is called ESTEEM. It's a national program that aims in helping graduating seniors to meet the challenges of faith after university experience. I have given a few presentations to them, and I know from past experience how those challenges to faith can be very difficult because the work culture focuses not on character but on performance. When performance becomes demanding, everything else takes a back seat, including marriage and family and friends. The question of vocation calls out for saying that we are first Christians and people who treasure family and friends. If money becomes as important as those are, we are in trouble. AMEN
config
view
logs
3840.0 KB
93 ms
4
