Word to the Wise
Saturday, November 11, 2023 - Saturday in the 31th Week in Ordinary Time
[Rom 16:3-9, 16, 22-27 and Luke 16:9-15]"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 God and mammon." [Luke]
NOVEMBER 11 ST. MARTIN OF TOURS
The Gospel According to Luke is marked by caution from Jesus about the dangers of material wealth. The parables of Lazarus and the Rich Man [Luke 16:19-31] and the Rich Fool [Luke 12:15-21] show how numbing and corrupting wealth can be. It may not be a question of evil intention as much as building a wall between the one who HAS and the one who HAS NOT. The parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus speaks of a great "chasm."
Does this apply only to those who are "rich?" Is philanthropy only the leisure activity of the very wealthy? There are smaller varieties which find echoes in garages full of items long ago put aside. The old question: "Do I own my stuff, or does my stuff own me?" comes to mind. I know I have faced this question with each change of assignment, and I'm supposed to be living a "simple life!" Who is the master?
In a culture marked by individualism and consumption, Jesus' words have a hard time getting through. The "economy" becomes the master by slowly becoming our foremost concern individually or collectively. The New York Stock Exchange and Wall Street can become the temple of worship.
It is a matter of consciousness about what is the impact of Jesus' teaching on our habits of acquisition and consumption and the needs of those who lack even the basic necessities of human life. The "gospel of prosperity" that underlies some popular preaching can be very dangerous to the "economy of salvation." Who is our real "master?" AMEN