20211106 WHAT IS REALLY OURS?
06 November, 2021, Saturday, 31st Week, Ordinary Time
First reading |
Romans 16:3-9,16,22-27 © |
The mystery kept secret for endless ages must be broadcast everywhere
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.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 144(145):2-5,10-11 © |
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.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Ac16:14 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Open our heart, O Lord,
to accept the words of your Son.
Alleluia!
Or: | 2Co8:9 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus Christ was rich,
but he became poor for your sake,
to make you rich out of his poverty.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 16:9-15 © |
Use money, tainted as it is, to win you friends
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.’
WHAT IS REALLY OURS?
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Rom 16:3-9,16, 22-27; PS 145:2-5,10-11; LK 16:9-15]
In the world, people seek wealth, glory and power. They really believe that this is what makes us happy and successful in life. Wealth provides us all the comforts of life, glory will satisfy our ego, and power gives us security over others. So it is not surprising that people of the world strive to grow their wealth, extend their power and add laurel after laurel to their crown. But this is not just the temptation of the world. They have been deceived by Satan. As the Lord would say, “They do not know what they are doing.”
Unfortunately, so called religious people also seek the same things that worldly people seek. Pope Francis calls it spiritual worldliness. In fact, this is even more insidious because it is masked under religion. This was the case of the religious leaders who were condemned by our Lord in the gospel. When Jesus spoke the truth about possessions and money, St Luke noted, “The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and laughed at him.” They sneered at our Lord because in their perspective, riches and wealth were signs that God was blessing them because they were good and holy people. For them, to despise wealth would contradict their belief that blessings is a sign of holiness. Jesus said to them, “You are the very ones who pass yourselves 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.” Isn’t this the same attitude of those who believe in the prosperity gospel as well? The reason they come to God is not because they love God but because they love money and wealth. God is merely a means for them to be rich and powerful. When you take this motivation away, God becomes redundant to them. True love of God is to love God for God’s sake, sharing in His life and love.
Jesus in the gospel makes it clear that “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.” The word Jesus used was “slave.” Today, in the modern world, a person can multi-task and even take upon two or three jobs at the same time. He can work in the day for one organization and in the evening for another organization. But a slave in those days belonged entirely to the master. There was no free time, nothing that he could call his own. His life and everything he had, his time and resources all belonged to the master. God also demands our entire being. We are to love and serve Him with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. (Dt 6:5)
Jesus in no uncertain terms, said, “You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.” This is not to say that money is evil. Money is a means and an instrument for love and service. It is not the end itself. It is the love of money that is the root of all evil. St Paul wrote, “But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.” (1 Tim 6:9f) Truly, because of money, we cheat, we lie, we make use of people and take advantage of them, and we even kill.
Money, in the final analysis, does not belong to us. “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?” Money is given to us by God on trust. We are stewards of His money and whatever talents and possessions He has given to us. We do not own them because if we truly own them, we should be able to bring them with us wherever we go, even to the next life upon death. But St Paul reminds us, “we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it.” (1 Tim 6:7) This is the obvious truth of life which everyone knows but not everyone is fully aware and conscious of this all the time. We live as if we own these earthly things forever when it is for a while only.
So what is it that is truly our own? What is truly our own is the gift of eternal life. Only that belongs to us forever. Everything else on this earth does not last. Our health will fail one day. Our position in society will eventually be forgotten. Our name and all that we had done would no longer be remembered or be reduced to one or two sentences in the history books. Our wealth would have to be given away when we die. Our power will be diminished when we cannot even think or remember anything. So nothing lasts on this earth. This is why St Paul reminds us, “our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory.” (Phil 3:20f)
So, if we are really conscious that this world’s possessions do not belong to us but entrusted to us for the use of the world, we should be good stewards and use them to build community, strengthen friendships, motivate people to do good by showing appreciation, and to help the poor and the needy. As Jesus 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. 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.” Indeed, this is what money is meant for, to help us all to enjoy the little pleasures of life, but most of all to be in the company of good friends who treat us like their family members; and family members treat us like their friends. When money is used to build relationships, strengthen communion and love, then such money is well spent. If we cannot even use the money, that tainted thing entrusted to us rightly, how could God entrust us with real riches. It would be like throwing pearls before swine. (Mt 7:6)
However, the Lord is not asking us to use money to bribe people. This is not what the Lord intended when He said we should use money to make friends. Using money to bribe people is for our self-interests, to gain power, influence and often using unscrupulous means to enrich ourselves further. When we give and make use of money to “buy” and “tempt” people to be our accomplices in crimes and dishonesty, this would of course be the wrong means of using money. Such use of money benefits a few greedy people and does not motivate them to do good or build sincere friendships and trust. Money must be used to promote mutual understanding, friendship, love and support.
In today’s first reading, St Paul is the exemplar of how one should make use of one’s earthly goods and resources for the glory of God and His kingdom. In the final chapter of his letter, he made it clear that he was totally committed to Christ in the proclamation of the Good News that was revealed to Him. “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.” Receiving the Good News with joy and gratitude, he felt compelled to share all this revelation, especially with the Gentiles so that they could also render the obedience of faith, that is, an obedience that comes from the love of God and trust in His message; not an obedience that is coerced from fear. Everything that St Paul had was used for the proclamation of the gospel to all. “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.”
But he did not do it alone. He built beautiful friendships with many of his collaborators in the mission. In this letter, we read of his greetings to all those who have helped him in his ministry, such as Prisca and Aquila, his fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked death to save his life. Then to all those who allowed their houses to be used for gatherings. Many women too were mentioned because they also had been instrumental in working with him to bring the gospel to all. Indeed, we have a whole list of names who were side by side with him. Great is the knowledge that as Christians we are never alone but we belong to a family where our brothers and sisters are supporting us as we work and labour in the vineyard of the Lord. There is nothing more rewarding than to belong to a loving and supportive family of faith.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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