The Scripture readings we hear at mass and the liturgy we celebrate are meant
to go beyond what we do in our Eucharistic celebration. The message of the readings and the meaning we take away from the Eucharist
should influence our lives, they should influence how we live out our faith
day-in and day-out. Yet, even when this is our intent, it may be difficult for us to be clear as to
what we are to take with us from mass, especially as we hear a message in
today's readings that we might struggle to understand and wonder what meaning
it has for us in our daily lives of faith.
Today, the prophet Amos boldly decries the rich who crush and exploit the poor,
yet, who still claim to follow the values of their faith. Then, Jesus
tells us the parable of the dishonest steward who uses his shrewdness to plan
for the future after being dismissed from his job. When you think about it, money, wealth, and what we do with our treasures are
at the center of a lot of Jesus' teachings. When we look at our modern world today, we see many who struggle with money
issues, from a lack of money for daily survival, to how we spend our money,
save for the future, and how we share our treasures with others. How we spend our money and resources is intimately connected to our faith and
our values, which is why we struggle with this issue so much and why Sacred Scripture
devotes so much time to this issue.
Jesus praises the dishonest steward in today's parable, but it's not entirely
clear why. It seems to me that Jesus is praising the steward for his shrewdness, not for
his dishonesty. We don't know why the steward is dismissed from his job, but once he knows he's
going to have to fend for himself, he realistically looks at his situation,
evaluates his options, and shrewdly plans for his future. The steward reduces the amount the debtors owe his master on their promissory notes:
he could be reducing it by the amount of interest they owe, just allowing them
to pay back the principal, or he could be removing the amount of his commission
from the loans so that they might in turn help him out after he leaves his job.
So, why would Jesus tell his disciples this parable? I don't think he's telling us to be dishonest or for us to cheat others in
order to fend for ourselves, but, perhaps he's telling us to use greater wisdom
and shrewdness in the way we interact with the world, in the way we use our
earthly riches. Many of the youth in our parish used some of their summer break and their own
earthly treasures to reach out to others in need. From Catholic Heart Work Camp in both St Louis and Jamaica, to going up to Mound
Bayou in the Mississippi Delta, to bringing Vacation Bible School to parishes
that would not be able to have it on their own, to help out at our own Vacation
Bible School here at St James, our youth have done so many things to reach out
to others. I think Pope Francis would be so proud of our youth – he would see our youth
using their talents, their personalities, their enthusiasm and most
importantly, their faith and their love of God to reach out to touch the lives
of others, especially those in need. Amos was representative of the prophets of Ancient Israel – they preached that we are to
reach out to the poor rather than to oppress them and exploit them. Our youth have lived out that message in their lives as modern-day Catholic. We are now going to hear from Dawn and some
of our youth as the share from their hearts what their missionary experiences
have meant to them.
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