20151107 USING OUR RESOURCES FOR THE GLORY
OF GOD
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Romans 16:3-9,16,22-27 ©
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My greetings to Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus,
who risked death to save my life: I am not the only one to owe them a debt of
gratitude, all the churches among the pagans do as well. My greetings also to
the church that meets at their house.
Greetings to my friend Epaenetus, the first of Asia’s gifts
to Christ; greetings to Mary who worked so hard for you; to those outstanding
apostles Andronicus and Junias, my compatriots and fellow prisoners who became
Christians before me; to Ampliatus, my friend in the Lord; to Urban, my fellow
worker in Christ; to my friend Stachys; Greet each other with a holy kiss. All
the churches of Christ send greetings.
I, Tertius, who wrote out this letter, greet you in the
Lord. Greetings from Gaius, who is entertaining me and from the whole church
that meets in his house. Erastus, the city treasurer, sends his greetings; so
does our brother Quartus.
Glory to him who is able to give you the strength to live
according to the Good News I preach, and in which I proclaim Jesus Christ, the
revelation of a mystery kept secret for endless ages, but now so clear that it
must be broadcast to pagans everywhere to bring them to the obedience of faith.
This is only what scripture has predicted, and it is all part of the way the
eternal God wants things to be. He alone is wisdom; give glory therefore to him
through Jesus Christ for ever and ever. Amen.
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Psalm
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Psalm 144:2-5,10-11 ©
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I will bless your name for ever, O Lord.
I will bless you day after day
and praise your name for ever.
The Lord is great, highly to be praised,
his greatness cannot be measured.
I will bless your name for ever, O Lord.
Age to age shall proclaim your works,
shall declare your mighty deeds,
shall speak of your splendour and glory,
tell the tale of your wonderful works.
I will bless your name for ever, O Lord.
All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord,
and your friends shall repeat their blessing.
They shall speak of the glory of your reign
and declare your might, O God.
I will bless your name for ever, O Lord.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Ac16:14
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Open our heart, O Lord,
to accept the words of your Son.
Alleluia!
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Or
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2Co8:9
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus Christ was rich,
but he became poor for your sake,
to make you rich out of his poverty.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 16:9-15 ©
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Jesus said to his disciples, ‘I tell you this: use money, tainted as it
is, to win you friends, and thus make sure that when it fails you, they will
welcome you into the tents of eternity. The man who can be trusted in little
things can be trusted in great; the man who is dishonest in little things will
be dishonest in great. If then you cannot be trusted with money, that tainted
thing, who will trust you with genuine riches? And if you cannot be trusted
with what is not yours, who will give you what is your very own?
‘No servant can be the slave of two masters: he will either
hate the first and love the second, or treat the first with respect and the
second with scorn. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.’
The Pharisees, who loved money, heard
all this and laughed at him. He said to them, ‘You are the very ones who pass
yourselves off as virtuous in people’s sight, but God knows your hearts. For
what is thought highly of by men is loathsome in the sight of God.’
USING OUR RESOURCES FOR THE GLORY OF GOD
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Who does not want money? We all desire money,
although some desire more and some never have enough. Without money, we
cannot survive. Even religious organizations need money, otherwise how
can they build places for worship or engage in the work of spreading their
beliefs or do works of charity? In the gospel, the evangelist remarked
that even the religious leaders of the day too loved money. But why do
some people have such greed for money even though they already have so
much? In truth, money gives them security. This is understandable,
especially when you are not a believer in God. Money becomes the only
security. Of course, more than just acquiring things with money, we can also
acquire influence, power, prestige, and even control peoples’ lives and body
through money. So money can be a very powerful tool we can use for good
or for bad.
However, we must extend the interpretation of the gospel
text beyond money alone to all resources that we seek or have in life.
Some are not interested in money as such but they want power and glory.
Again such people are often very insecure. They need to perform better
than others; otherwise they become envious and fall into depression. They
need to control and be seen as “somebody.” So they are always acquiring new
academic honorific titles, portfolios and positions so that they are adored and
adulated by others.
The crucial question that the gospel is confronting us is,
how do we use this tainted thing? Do we employ our financial resources and all
other talents and positions we have for the love and service of God, the
building of His kingdom and for our fellowmen? This is what Jesus exhorts
us when He said, “use money, tainted as it is, to win you friends, and thus
make sure that when it fails you, they will welcome you into the tents of
eternity.” Money and all other resources must be used not so much for ourselves
but for the good of others. Money is but a means for us to exercise the
generosity of our hearts. By expanding our hearts to love people, we in turn
reap happiness and joy because the joy we give to others rebounds to us double
fold. As our hearts become more loving and caring, we grow in virtues and
become more and more like Christ our Good Shepherd. In this way, when we
complete our life on earth, God and all the saints in heaven will welcome us
“into the tents of eternity.”
So with respect to money or otherwise, we are merely
stewards of God’s gifts and no more. We do not own anything, since all
things come from Him alone. We possess nothing, since everything that is
given to us is given in trust. We are custodians and therefore even when
we are stripped of our possessions we can only say with Job, “Naked I came from
my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken
away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” (Job 1:21)
So how do we make use of the money entrusted to us?
Has money become a means to serve God and man or have we become slaves to
money? Do we simply possess money or does money possess us? When
money possesses us, then we are slaves because everything we do is motivated by
the dollar. Everything we do is calculated in terms of what we can get
out of it rather than what we can put into it. When that happens, we are
truly slaves of money since money is the only motivation for what we do and why
we do.
But possessing money is different altogether. It is
all right to possess money so long as we remain masters. We must be able to use
them for what is good and contributive to the happiness of others. Most
of all, we must be able to use them for the glory of God, which means for the
use of the expansion of the Gospel, the work of evangelization, the building of
the Church and the Christian community and for the service of the poor.
That is why Jesus warns us, “No servant can be the slave of two masters: he
will either hate the first and love the second, or treat the first with respect
and the second with scorn. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.”
Furthermore, He said, “If then you cannot be trusted with
money, that tainted thing, who will trust you with genuine riches?” What are
these genuine riches if not the transcendent realities of life and not just the
mundane? The genuine riches refer to our faith, the way of the gospel
life, the virtues inspired by Christ, the way of faith and love. If we
cannot even be masters of money, how can God entrust us to handle spiritual
matters like faith, the Good News and His people placed under our care?
Isn’t this the question posed to us, “The man who can be trusted in
little things can be trusted in great; the man who is dishonest in little
things will be dishonest in great. And if you cannot be trusted with what
is not yours, who will give you what is your very own?” What is ours if not the
gift of eternal life and our faith in God?
St Paul was given the task of revealing the mystery of
salvation, the genuine riches that Christ spoke about in the gospel. He
gave his whole life to it, saving his own soul by saving the souls of others.
He wrote, “Glory to him who is able to give you the strength to live according
to the Good News I preach, and in which I proclaim Jesus Christ, the revelation
of a mystery kept secret for endless ages, but now so clear that it must be
broadcast to pagans everywhere to bring them to the obedience of faith.
This is only what scripture has predicted, and it is all part of the way the
eternal God wants things to be.”
That is why we have even greater responsibility with
respect to the transmission of faith, since we are dealing with real
riches. We read that “the Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and
laughed at him.” The truth is that people can make use of religion to
generate great profits too, whether in monetary terms or in terms of resources,
power and glory. There are some who make use of their spiritual powers to
enrich themselves materially and to control the lives of others.
This was the precaution that St Paul gave to Timothy when
he wrote, “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing
into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food
and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall
into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that
plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all
kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and
pierced themselves with many griefs.”(1 Tim 6:6-10) This explains why the Church exhorts priests and
religious to keep the evangelical counsel of poverty, otherwise money can cause
us to lose our passion for the gospel and be identified with the poor.
Truly, the greatest crisis in our time is one of
faith. Man has lost complete faith not just in humanity but in God.
Not only have political leaders lost credibility through scandals but religious
leaders too. When religious leaders fail us because of their lack of integrity,
the last bastion of faith is lost. It is not surprising therefore that many who
have been hurt by the Church leaders are cynical of religious leaders and
eventually of their religion as well. One cannot help but think that our
faith is man-made and a fake, and that truth and love and justice do not
exist. Neither does God!
By extension, even people from noble and honorable
professions like teachers, doctors, and those involved in the exercise of
justice and law and order can lose credibility when they are corrupt or when
they put money above truth and charity. In truth, people from such
professions must be the very ones who should uphold justice and charity above
everything else. But how many of such altruistic people do we see
today? Many today enter these professions for the wrong reasons, not to
save lives or to uphold justice but for the honour, recognition and for
material gains.
Parents too come under scrutiny over how they exercise
stewardship over the children entrusted to them by God. Parents must
remember that they do not own their children. They are given by God and
entrusted to them to care for and nurture on His behalf. So parents must
also ask whether they have helped their children to acquire the genuine riches
that Jesus spoke about. Many parents pressure their children into
pursuing careers that can bring home economic and personal benefits, and are
discouraging when they lean towards the helping professions that do not pay
well. Most of all, by their poor examples of love, charity and compassion,
parents too can be the cause of their children losing faith in God as the
Father of love.
Today, let us learn from the examples of St Paul and the
early Christians. We read how St Paul gave thanks to particular
individuals who have committed themselves and their resources to the spread of
the gospel, even at the risk of their own lives. “Aquila … risked death
to save my life: I am not the only one to owe them a debt of gratitude, all the
churches among the pagans do as well.” St Paul used his resources and influence
to build friendships not for his own the benefit but for the service of others.
Indeed, let everything we do be for the glory of God and
for the proclamation of the Gospel. With the psalmist we sing, “I will
praise your name for ever, Lord. Every day will I bless you, and I will praise
your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord and highly to be praised; his
greatness is unsearchable.” And with St Paul we pray, “He alone is wisdom; give
glory therefore to him through Jesus Christ forever and ever.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh
Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved
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