Homily for the week of September 11, 2010

Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2010

Amos 8:4-7

Psalm 113:1-2, 4-6, 7-8

1 Timothy 2:1-8

Luke 16:1-13 or 16:10-13

LOOK OUT FOR NUMBER ONE! That advise seems to be in direct opposition to the teachings of Jesus. Yet if you followed well what I just read it seems that this is what Jesus is advising. It is a story about a steward. A steward is another name for a person who is in charge of the money and property which belongs to someone else. Today a steward could be compared to a business manager or administrator or bookkeeper or banker. He is the one who sends out the invoices and collects the money. He is the one in charge. In today's Gospel Jesus tells us a story about a steward who is in trouble. Someone accuses this steward of wasting the boss's money. The boss believes the story, so he fires the steward.

Naturally, the steward worries about how he is going to feed his family after he gets fired. So he comes up with a solution. While he is still employed he makes deals with those who owe the owner various amounts of money. He changes their invoices. By cleverly reducing their debts, he increases his own chances that the debtors will be good to him when he is jobless. The story ends with an unusual twist. He looses his job because of this, but instead of the owner being angry at this steward, he congratulates him for being so clever. For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.

That may puzzle you at first. Was Jesus endorsing the underhanded ways of keeping favor or gaining honor? Jesus was praising the steward's cleverness and industriousness. Before we write off the guy as a crook, we need to understand first century Jewish business practices. When we go to a bank to borrow money to buy a house or a car or pay for college the interest on the money we borrowed will probably double our debt. The payments we make include the amount we borrowed as well as the interest. That is how our capitalistic society works. But charging interest was forbidden by Jewish laws. However the boss or owner of the business could charge the interest up front. Those who were listening to Jesus knew what he was talking about. They had been cheated very often by wealthy owners of business. They knew that Jesus was trying to correct what was wrong. Jesus was not approving of cheating or stealing.

In fact, all of our readings today speak of how we are to use what God has given us. We hear the prophet Amos voicing the anger of God at those who get rich by making others poorer. That is not something that exists only in the pages of the Old Testament; it goes on in our world today. Every day TV news is saturated with reports of corporation and bank bosses that get exorbitant bonuses. It was also talked about by Jesus.

Each one of us are stewards of God's gifts to us. Stewardship implies care, proper usage, sharing them and always a reverence for the gifts as belonging to the “master" who is God. In a sense all we have is on loan to us by God. We are offered so many opportunities to act justly, love tenderly and do those things which are of virtue. Many of these are not earthshaking or spectacular. They will probably not be remembered by history, but God will remember these too for eternity.

Jesus is urging his disciples to use faithfully all that has been given to them, however small. We are to make the best of all our possessions and gifts of personality. If we begin by being dishonest in little things, we shall apply the same standards to big ones. Truth is not measured by the importance of what is being said. The quest for money can rule us even if we are not particularly rich.

Each day we make choices as to what is important. In choosing not to be possessed by what we have, we allow God to be present. What do we have? Each of us regardless of age have been given three things over which we are managers: TIME, TALENTS AND TREASURES. How do we use the time, the talents and the treasures which are on loan to us from God. When we die regardless of the age or circumstances, will we leave this world a better place? It is only by freely giving of our time, talents and treasure, without expecting repayment, that we can make a deposit in our heavenly bank.

How often, however, do we try to serve two masters. Serving two masters will divide and conquer the heart and soul. As “children of the light” we take the small steps of faith and justice and God gives the increase. Even the youngest and the poorest among us have been entrusted by God with an abundance of possessions and gifts and personal qualities. The first of these is our life, our physical abilities, our intelligence and our religion. Can we be trusted by God to act as good stewards, or do we waste what we have been given? Will we waste our money? Time? Health? Intelligence? Is our cleverness given to God’s service? How are we with the small stuff?