| Readings: | Amos 8:4-7 1 Timothy 2:1-8 Luke 16:1-13 |
| Date: | September 21, 2025 - Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C |
Thirty-three years ago this past Friday, I was ordained a permanent deacon for the Archdiocese of Boston. And thirty-three years ago yesterday, I gave my first homily on these same readings. And even after all those years I continue to be impressed by how readings that were written 2 or 3 thousand years ago can be so relevant today.
All three of this morning's readings focus on the proper use of the things of this world. The prophet Amos chides the Israelites who go to public worship but spend their time there (metaphorically speaking) looking at their watches and saying, "When is this going to be over so I can get to the mall, go open the store, or get out on the golf course?" Of course none of that could have anything to do with any of us here at St.Isidore's!
Paul's letter to Timothy is very apropos in the current political climate in our country as he reminds us that we need government that respects human dignity if we are to have a climate of peace and justice here on earth.
Luke presents us with a parable and a handful of sayings on the right use of wealth. It is this parable of the 'unjust' steward that spoke to me about what I I was doing becoming a deacon thirty-three years ago and what I am doing serving as a deacon today. When I was much younger, my reaction to this parable was one of confusion. Here we have this steward whose master calls him in and gives him the first century Middle Eastern equivalent of "the package", an early retirement plan that he cannot refuse. He immediately turns around and discounts some of the accounts receivables owed his master in the hopes that one of these accounts will hire him in gratitude for the favor. And when the master finds out, he actually congratulates him for being so shrewd instead of having him beaten for cheating him. What's the message for us in this parable. Are we to think that Jesus is telling us to cheat our employers when it serves our needs?
No, that is not the message. While biblical scholars are still debating the definitive meaning of this parable, it was the interpretation given in an annotation in my St. Joseph's edition of the New American Bible that really caught my imagination when I read it. According to that footnote, the common practice of the time was for stewards like the one in today's story to add their own significant fee to the debt. So when the steward was reducing the receivables, he was not cheating the master, but simply foregoing his normal commission on the deal, what was rightly his, to secure his future.
With this understanding, I would argue that I am very much like the 'dishonest' steward. At the time I entered formation for the diaconate and continuing through to today, I have been blessed with a wonderful family, both immediate and extended. I have had some success in my career and a measure of respect in the community. I was at the point in my life when our culture says it is time to enjoy the spoils of my success. So what was I doing spending four years of my life studying, and reflecting, and praying to get into a vocation that pays nothing and whose name, diaconate, is derived from the Greek word for menial table servant? Basically, both then and now, I have come to the same conclusion that the dishonest steward did: the position I have reached in life is really not a secure one at all, and I need to use things that I have been blessed with in this world to avoid ending up digging ditches, or worse yet, shoveling coal, in the next. It is an understanding that, despite the efforts of our culture to tell us how important the right car, or clothes, or basketball sneakers, or country club is, these things are all elusive. The real wealth is our relationships with each other and with God. So here I am, continuing a journey as an ordained deacon, hoping to curry favor by foregoing my cut in the deal.
Just as Jesus used the very unlikely figure of a steward getting laid off to remind his disciples that they had a very serious choice to make about who they were to serve, I believe that God has called on me with all my faults and weaknesses, and strengths, to be a symbol for making the right choice. Each one of us has that same choice. Is it to be God? Or Mammon? That Greek word comes from a Semitic term that means 'a treasure a person trusts in'. There's the irony: what the world would tell us is solid and worthy of trust is really elusive.
So my prayer this morning is one of thanksgiving to all of you here for helping me get to a point in my life where I could make a choice to trust in God, and to continue making that choice. It is also a prayer of petition, that with God's help, I can continue to use some of my share of the things of this world to make some friends for myself among you so that when it really counts, we all end up in a position that has true lasting value.