20160918 THE FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLE OF SERVING AND GLORIFYING GOD
DETERMINES HOW WE USE OUR RESOURCES
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Amos 8:4-7 ©
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Listen to this, you
who trample on the needy
and try to suppress
the poor people of the country,
you who say, ‘When
will New Moon be over
so that we can sell
our corn,
and sabbath, so that
we can market our wheat?
Then by lowering the
bushel, raising the shekel,
by swindling and
tampering with the scales,
we can buy up the
poor for money,
and the needy for a
pair of sandals,
and get a price even
for the sweepings of the wheat.’
The Lord swears it by
the pride of Jacob,
‘Never will I forget
a single thing you have done.’
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm
112:1-2,4-8 ©
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Praise the Lord,
who raises the poor.
or
Alleluia!
Praise, O servants of
the Lord,
praise
the name of the Lord!
May the name of the
Lord be blessed
both now
and for evermore!
Praise the Lord,
who raises the poor.
or
Alleluia!
High above all
nations is the Lord,
above the
heavens his glory.
Who is like the Lord,
our God,
who has
risen on high to his throne
yet stoops from the
heights to look down,
to look
down upon heaven and earth?
Praise the Lord,
who raises the poor.
or
Alleluia!
From the dust he
lifts up the lowly,
from the
dungheap he raises the poor
to set him in the
company of princes,
yes, with
the princes of his people.
Praise the Lord,
who raises the poor.
or
Alleluia!
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Second reading
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1 Timothy 2:1-8 ©
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My advice is that,
first of all, there should be prayers offered for everyone – petitions,
intercessions and thanksgiving – and especially for kings and others in
authority, so that we may be able to live religious and reverent lives in peace
and quiet. To do this is right, and will please God our saviour: he wants
everyone to be saved and reach full knowledge of the truth. For there is only
one God, and there is only one mediator between God and mankind, himself a man,
Christ Jesus, who sacrificed himself as a ransom for them all. He is the
evidence of this, sent at the appointed time, and I have been named a herald
and apostle of it and – I am telling the truth and no lie – a teacher
of the faith and the truth to the pagans.
In every
place, then, I want the men to lift their hands up reverently in prayer, with
no anger or argument.
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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!
EITHER:
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Gospel
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Luke 16:1-13 ©
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Jesus said to his
disciples, ‘There was a rich man and he had a steward denounced to him for
being wasteful with his property. He called for the man and said, “What is this
I hear about you? Draw me up an account of your stewardship because you are not
to be my steward any longer.” Then the steward said to himself, “Now that my
master is taking the stewardship from me, what am I to do? Dig? I am not strong
enough. Go begging? I should be too ashamed. Ah, I know what I will do to make
sure that when I am dismissed from office there will be some to welcome me into
their homes.”
Then he
called his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, “How much do you
owe my master?” “One hundred measures of oil” was the reply. The steward said,
“Here, take your bond; sit down straight away and write fifty.” To another he
said, “And you, sir, how much do you owe?” “One hundred measures of wheat” was
the reply. The steward said, “Here, take your bond and write eighty.”
‘The
master praised the dishonest steward for his astuteness. For the children of
this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children
of light.
‘And so 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.’
OR:
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Alternative
Gospel
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Luke 16:10-13 ©
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Jesus said to his
disciples, ‘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
FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLE OF SERVING AND GLORIFYING GOD DETERMINES HOW WE USE OUR
RESOURCES
Today,
the world values creativity, resourcefulness, foresight, and shrewdness.
However, they have only one purpose in mind. They are concerned with
profits and remuneration. Few are concerned with the social implications,
fewer still with ethical values. In a competitive world, unscrupulous means are
employed to win contracts or eliminate competitors. Hence, creativity and
craftiness is highly valued.
What are the consequences?
When the pursuit of “maximum profit” is above ethical values, the poor suffers,
as Amos tells us. “By lowering the bushel, raising the shekel, by
swindling and tampering with the scales, we can buy up the poor for money, and
the needy for a pair of sandals, and get a price even for the sweepings of the
wheat.” Such practices still exist today, of course, in new forms of
cheating and manipulating the consumers’ needs. The rich monopolize
everything and consumers are at their mercy. The rich become so powerful
that they buy over the poor and politicians. As a result, we get corrupt
civil servants and governments who care for their interests and that of the
rich rather than the people’s interest.
In
truth, creativity, resourcefulness and people with foresight are also greatly
sought after by the Church as well. Surely we need priests and Church
leaders, lay and religious who are talented in teaching and have good
leadership skills such as creativity and initiative. This explains why “the
master praised the dishonest steward for his astuteness. For the children of
this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children
of light.”
However,
unlike the selfish and dishonest steward, we must use the talents, especially
our creativity and resources, entrusted to us for the service of building up
the kingdom of God and the Church of Christ. They must be put to good use, for
the service of humanity and not for selfish gains; for the promotion of the
higher values of human living and the true growth and full development of the
community. Jesus reminds 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.”
As an
example of that little thing, Jesus spoke of money. He said, “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?” Indeed, what could be more valuable than
love and friendship? Money is neither good nor evil. It is our love
for money that is the root of all evils because it blinds us to justice and
love. Money is only a means to an end. Money cannot bring us
happiness in itself. That is why money that is acquired must quickly be
used. Money is called currency because it is useful only when it is in
circulation. Money kept in the bank is frozen. Misers are miserable
people because they can only enjoy looking at their bank balance grow but they
cannot spend it.
But
money can bring real happiness when it is spent especially for doing good
works. That is why it must be invested. But money should not be
invested only for monetary returns. We must invest them for the promotion
and increase of love, unity and happiness. Money must be spent on personal
growth, education and service to the poor. Money is meant to create
friendships and promote unity and love. Indeed, possess money and money
will possess us.
Thus
Jesus advised us, “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.” All talents, wealth in all its forms, personal or material,
must be used for our sanctification. This is the great thing, the genuine
riches that have been entrusted to us are for our salvation. No price can
be attached to our sharing in the life of God. We are not only working
for this world but for eternal life. We are called to make ourselves rich in
virtues not just materially rich. And even if we are blessed with riches and
wealth, it is for a greater purpose, for the extension of the kingdom of God.
How then can we act
rightly? We have to come back to the foundational principle and decision
to serve God or mammon. “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.” We cannot compromise with regard to this fundamental
option. The Jews, especially the religious leaders, tried to
compromise. They believed that riches were compatible with the love of
God. For them wealth is a sign of God’s blessings and therefore
holiness. A rich man is therefore a godly man; the poor are sinners and
thus cursed by God. This too is the thinking of those who preach the
prosperity gospel. But wealth is given to us so that we might be stewards
for the service of humankind; not for our selfish aggrandizement.
In the
Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius, in “the Foundation: fact and practice”, we
are reminded that in any discernment, we must first make a positive desire to
serve God and do everything for the glory of God. We must place God as
the foundation principle in spiritual life. He tells us “all the things
in this world are gifts of God, created for us, to be the means by which we can
come to know him better, love him more surely, and serve him more
faithfully. As a result, we ought to appreciate and use these gifts of
God insofar as they help us toward our goal of loving service and union with
God.”
Consequently,
“in everyday life, then, we should keep ourselves indifferent or undecided in
the face of all created gifts when we have an option and we do not have the
clarity of what would be a better choice. We ought not to be led on by
our natural likes and dislikes even in matters such as health or sickness,
wealth or poverty … but insofar as any created things hinder our progress
toward our goal, we ought to let them go … Rather our desire and our one choice
should be that option which better leads us to the goal for which God created
us.” So if we have more talents, more is demanded from us. If we are
rich, we have an obligation to help the poor. If we have no money, surely we
have hands to serve.
Today,
the liturgy gives us a few examples of how we should commit ourselves to
God. Christ is the exemplar in using His resources and talents for the
service of His Father. He gave Himself as a ransom for us. As St Paul
says, “For there is only one God, and there is only one mediator between God
and mankind, himself a man, Christ Jesus, who sacrificed himself as a ransom
for them all.”
St Paul is another exemplar
of being a spokesman for truth. Paul was known for his zeal, knowledge,
singular-mindedness and energy in persecuting the Church. After his
conversion, God used the charisms of Paul for the preaching of the gospel and
to be “a teacher of the faith” and the apostle of “truth to the pagans.”
Prophet Amos too was courageous in denouncing injustices without regard for his
safety. He used his prophetic gift for the service of the poor and oppressed.
Hence, he spoke out without fear against the injustices of his days.
Today,
we have Christians involved in humanitarian works, e.g. UNICEF, Caritas, human
rights organizations, women organizations and migrants support groups.
There are lawyers, doctors and professionals offering free legal and medical
service to the poor. We have conscientious Christians who stand up for
the rights of the poor, the marginalized and the oppressed. We have
civic-minded Christians who witness to the values of the gospel in their family
life, their place of work and in doing business.
If we
want to follow their examples, we must pray for discernment as to how we should
use our talents and resources for the service of God. Paul said,
“in every place, then, I want the men to lift their hands up reverently in
prayer, with no anger or argument.” But most of all, we must pray
for all those in positions of influence. St Paul wrote, “there should be
prayers offered for everyone – petitions, intercessions and thanksgiving – and
especially for kings and others in authority, so that we may be able to live
religious and reverent lives in peace and quiet.” Why? Because the
decisions our leaders make, be they civil, political or economic, will affect
not just our material well-being but also the ethical and moral lives of our
people, ultimately our salvation. In the final analysis, in all that we
do it must be for the greater good of humanity and for the glory of God.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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