GOD’S WORD FOR THE DAY (based on Catholic Liturgical Readings)
DATE: 5TH NOVEMBER 2016
SATURDAY OF THE 31ST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
1ST READING: Philippians 4:10-19
PSALM: Psalm 112:1-2, 5-6, 8-9
GOSPEL: Luke 16:9-15
THEME: THE CHRISTIAN AND MONEY
There is an interesting thing about money – it reveals who a person is. If you want to know the character of a person, give him (her) money and observe him (her). Give a drunkard money and he would use it to buy drinks. Give a stingy person money and he would hide it somewhere and continue begging for money. Give money to a person who is committed to the values of the Kingdom of God and he would use it for the spreading of the Gospel.
In today’s Gospel text, Jesus draws insights from the Parable of the Dishonest Steward (Luke 16:1-8) and proffers them to his audience. Jesus lays particular emphasis on having the right attitude in financial matters. He tells his audience, “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other, or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Luke 16:13).
The text bemoans the attitude of the Pharisees who are charged with being “lovers of money” (Luke 16:14). It cautions the disciples (followers of Jesus) to seek eternal riches rather than the esteem of people and the temporal comforts of this world. There are three lessons that can be drawn from the text:
1. Generosity (cf. Lk. 16:9)
Generosity springs from the heart, and what comes from the heart touches the heart of another person. Being generous is a life insurance policy. This is because when calamity strikes, the beneficiaries of your generosity may offer you both spiritual and sometimes material support. Yes, “Whoever gives favours in return is mindful of the future; at the moment of falling, such a person will find support” (Sirach 3:31). God himself supports a generous person in difficult moments (cf. Ps. 41:1-3).
2. Honesty (cf. Lk. 16:10)
There are some Christians who are like chameleons when it comes to “money-matters”. They easily change colour when they see money. An apparently good Christian would change into a trickster/fraudster just to get some money. From personal experience I know how it feels when a fellow Christian dupes you. This is precisely what Jesus warns us against in this verse.
3. Detachment (cf. Lk. 16: 13)
Much as money is important for our human existence, we ought not to become slaves of it. We ought not to sacrifice our souls on the altar of money and exchange our salvation for the fleeting pleasures that wealth brings. Paul speaks of detachment when he writes in the First Reading, “I know how to live modestly, and I know how to live luxuriously too: in every way now I have mastered the secret of all conditions: full stomach and empty stomach, plenty and poverty” (Phil 4:12).
When we choose to serve God, money would serve us but when money becomes our master we cannot serve God. May we, therefore, seek to serve God and use money and not be used by money.
Prayer: Eternal Father, every good thing comes from you. I thank you for your blessings. Keep me in your grace and make me faithful in doing your will. Amen
Andrews Obeng, svd
DIVINE WORD MISSIONARIES
BIBLICAL PASTORAL MINISTRY
(Ghana Province)
“May the darkness of sin and the night of unbelief vanish before the light of the Word and the Spirit of grace. And may the heart of Jesus live in the hearts of all people” (St. Arnold Janssen).