XXV Sunday in OT[C]: Am 8: 4-7; I Tm 2: 1-8; Lk 16: 1-13

XXV Sunday in OT[C]: Am 8: 4-7; I Tm 2: 1-8; Lk 16: 1-13

Introduction:  All three readings for today’s liturgy pertain to the subject of faithful stewardship. Condemning the crooked business practices of the 8^th century BC of Jewish merchants of Judea, the prophet Amos, in the first reading, reminds the Israelites to be faithful to their Covenant with Yahweh by practicing justice and mercy as God’s faithful stewards. He warns us against having the making of money by whatever means as the goal of our life. The second reading, from I Timothy, instructs the first-century Judeo-Christians to become true stewards of the gospel of Jesus, the only mediator between God and man, by preaching the “Good News” to the pagans and including them in intercessory prayers. Today’s Gospel challenges us to use our blessings -- time, talents, health and wealth -- wisely and shrewdly, so that they will serve for our good in eternity.  We are on the right road only if we use our earthly wealth to attain our heavenly goal.

Exegsis: The parable of the crooked steward or dishonest manager has shocked good Church people for centuries.   St. Augustine said, “I can’t believe that this story came from the lips of our Lord.” Jesus tells a paradoxical story about the steward (manager), of the estate of a rich absentee landlord. The steward was an out-and-out rascal. But his boss praised him for his rascality because he acted with foresight. Facing the coming return of his master and an audit of his accounts, the steward cleverly converted the debtors of his master into his own debtors.  He bought "friends" with his master’s money, and used these "friends” to secure a means of livelihood for the rapidly and certainly approaching point when he would be dismissed (for his previous embezzlement). In Luke’s account there are four morals drawn from the story to unfold its meaning.  The parable advises us to take inventory of the resources placed in our charge: time, talents, opportunities, health, intelligence, education, and other advantages.  It also challenges us to use these resources wisely so that they will serve for our good in eternity. 

Anecdote: Søren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher, once told about a make-believe country where only ducks lived. On Sunday morning all the ducks came into church, waddled down the aisle, waddled into their pews and squatted. Then the duck minister came in, took his place behind the pulpit, opened the Duck Bible and read, "Ducks! You have wings, and with wings you can fly like eagles. You can soar into the skies! Ducks! You have wings!" All the ducks yelled, "Amen!" and then they all waddled home. [Jim Burns, Radically Committed (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1991).] No one flew or even tried. Friends, there’s just too much truth to that little fable. Using the parable of a rascally manager in today’s Gospel, Jesus challenges us to see that it is time for the children of light to quit waddling. It's time for us to soar by ingeniously using our God-given talents and blessings for the welfare of others, thus glorifying God and becoming eligible for our eternal reward. May we be the people that Jesus praises because we saw something that needed to be done and we did it.

Lessons of the parable as presented by Luke:  1. Let the children of light acquire the prudence of the children of this world (verse 8).  Christians should be as prudent and resourceful in acquiring goodness as the steward was in acquiring money and making his future safe.  2. Invest temporal goods to acquire eternal welfare.  A man can use his wealth not only to make life easier for himself, but also for his fellow-man.  3. Integrity and fidelity are the true yardsticks for promotion and eternal reward (verse 10).  How we treat what belongs to another is a test of our fitness to be entrusted with our own possessions.  4. "No servant can serve two masters" (verse 13).  We cannot serve God on a part-time basis.  Once a man chooses to serve God, every moment of his time and every atom of his energy belong to God.

Joke:  Abraham wanted a new suit, so he bought a nice piece of cloth and then tried to locate a tailor.  The first tailor he visited looked at the cloth and measured Abraham, then told him the cloth was not enough to make a suit. Abraham was unhappy with this opinion and sought another tailor.  This tailor measured Abraham, then measured the cloth, and then smiled and said, "There is enough cloth to make a pair of trousers, a coat and a vest, please come back in a week to take your suit." After a week Abraham came to take his new suit, and saw the tailor's son wearing trousers made of the same cloth.  Perplexed, he asked, "Just how could you make a full suit for me and trousers for your son, when the other tailor could not make a suit only?" "It's very simple," replied the tailor, "The other tailor has two sons."

Practical Applications: 1) We need to be faithful in little things of life: As Blessed Mother Teresa used to recommend, “Do little things with great love.”

2) We need to act shrewdly, trusting in the power and assistance of God.  The manager in Jesus’ story used all his resources to secure his future.  At our disposal we have hope in God’s justice, faith in God’s assistance, and trust in God’s grace. We have the Holy Mass and the seven sacraments as sources of divine grace, the holy Bible as the word of God for daily meditation and practice, and the Spirit-guided Church to direct us. These are the best possible resources; we need to use them in such a way that it will be said of us,"And the master commended them because they acted so shrewdly."

Introduction:  (XXV)Twenty Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Message:  Amos cries out against those who exploit the poor for the sake of extortion and greed.  They seek to serve only themselves rather than the Lord.  By giving ourselves to God rather than money, we can truly pray with blameless hands for all those in need, especially the poor whom the Lord will raise up.

Saints and Events in this week:  23-Monday-Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, priest also known as Padre Pio; 26-Thursday-Saints Cosmas and Damian, martyrs; 27-Friday-Saint Vincent de Paul, priest; 28- Saturday-Saint Wenceslaus, martyr; Saint Lawrence Ruiz and companions, martyrs;