TWENTY FIFTH SUNDAY Year "C"

Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)
Amos 8:4-7
Psalm Am 8:4-7
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Luke 15:1-32
There are often striking parallels in the writings of the Prophets, with similar conditions to our own times. In our First Reading today, the prophet Amos condemns the greed of "those who trample upon the needy and destroy the poor of the land" and also "We will diminish the ephah, add to the shekel, and fix our scales for cheating!" (Amos 8:4-5) How like this is in our own times in which the greed of many in the nations of the world, is the root cause of debasing poverty! 

Our newly canonized saint, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, spent most of her life trying to restore the dignity of those lying at the side of the streets left to die. In his homily at her canonization this past September 4th, 2016, Pope Francis sounded like Amos when he said of Mother Teresa, "she made her voice heard before the powers of this world, so that they might recognize their guilt for the crime - the crimes of poverty they created."
In the Gospel, the unjust steward puzzles us. Why is he commended for making friends of the "mammon" of iniquity? He even hoped that his master who had just fired him for "cooking the books" would notice how very clever he was! Yes, the master noticed and commended him for his wily ways! Jesus tells His disciples that if they (the children of the light), were as clever and industrious as the children of darkness, they could have gained spiritual treasures for eternal life instead of earthly wealth.

"You cannot serve both God and money" (Matthew 6:24) Jesus said. Greed is not really a private sin. By inordinate love for money, we make it into a god. We worship it instead of God. Christ spent His whole life in service, especially to the poor and downtrodden. 
As Pope Francis commended Mother Teresa for seeing the face of Christ in the poor and the sick, so he tells us that our mercy and love of the poor unlocks real justice. As Christians, there is no alternative to charity. Mother Teresa's mercy was "the salt which gave flavor to her work, it was the light that shone in the darkness of the many who no longer had tears to shed for their poverty and suffering."
As Jesus stooped down to us many times in our needs, so we can do a little more "stooping down" to aid the misery and poverty which pervades our world. It's a question of good stewardship. And the Lord will one day commend us with the abundant treasure of eternal life.

THE WILY STEWART

Luke 16, 1-8

A big landlord has come to discover that his general manager (steward) has mismanaged his goods and demands that he put his accounts in order prior to his dismissal. The manager, who up to now, has grown fat over his job and lived as a gentleman, is worried about his future. He certainly is not going to beg, still less to dig in the fields. And yet, these are the only honest solutions, especially the second one. But being a fat cat, he resorts to the only so-called honourable means, the only solution befitting a so-called gentleman: CHEATING.

He calls for his master’s debtors one by one and proposes a simple plan; he will turn over to the boss smaller bills than those actually owed, on condition, however, that they will not forget to show him gratitude for the favour.

Despite all precautions, this scheme too is discovered by the boss, but internally he cannot help admiring his shrewd cleverness. The landlord praises the manager not for his dishonesty but for his prudence and forethought.

Our Lord Jesus concludes the parable by holding up as an example for us, not the fraudulent behaviour or the avarice or the cunning of the manager, but the alacrity or swiftness with which this worldly man provides for his future. His smartness and circumspection, you could say.

If only in serving God we could imitate the enthusiasm of men who strive for worldly things. If we could even imitate the zeal of those misguided people who try to destroy God’s kingdom.

God is the great landowner; we are his stewards. Whatever we have is his, not ours. We must make use of things in order to serve people; not use people in order to gain things. Whatever we have is his, not ours. He puts it at our disposition that we may, so to say, trade with it. He grants us a lease of it, but only when he pleases and as long as he pleases. The more we have received, the greater the interest that will be exacted of us. Apart from material wealth (if we have it), God has entrusted to us other talents: health or illness (mysteriously also a gift), poverty, time, the Church, the sacraments. And everybody has the capacity to love – the greatest and best talent of all!

God has appointed us to go and bear fruit…for eternity, in earnest, with eagerness, grabbing every occasion, exploiting for good every situation.

We must go forward in the spirit of love, asking God this question:

“What can I do to please you, my Father?”