Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C September 22, 2019

First Reading
Amos 8:4-7
Unfair business practices and injustice to the poor will be judged by God.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 113: 1-2,4-6,7-8
Praise be to God, who raises up the poor.

Second Reading
1 Timothy 2:1-8
Paul tells Timothy that prayer for those in authority is pleasing to God because God wills the salvation of all.

Gospel Reading
Luke 16:1-13 (shorter form, Luke 16:10-13)
Jesus tells a parable about a dishonest steward who is commended for his prudence; one cannot serve both God and money.

Jesus said to his disciples:
"The person who is trustworthy in very small matters
is also trustworthy in great ones;
and the person who is dishonest in very small matters
is also dishonest in great ones.
If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth,
who will trust you with true wealth?
If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another,
who will give you what is yours?
No servant can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve both God and mammon."


Background on the Gospel Reading

Today's Gospel sounds puzzling to contemporary readers, but it can be made less so by considering the economic system which stands behind the parable. A steward is dismissed because he is squandering his master's property. He is called dishonest because he is not serving the interests of the rich man, his employer. In response the steward, in an attempt to ensure favor for himself among the rich man's debtors, brokers repayment of the rich man's loans by foregoing the interest and fees that had been levied to line the steward's pockets. It is this action, in which the steward puts aside his greed and takes the longer perspective in order to enhance his security, which is commended by the rich man.

The passage concludes with three morals for the listeners. The first exhorts the listener to be prudent about the use of wealth. Like the steward in the parable, those who would follow Jesus must put transitory affairs in proper perspective. Christians should handle the affairs of temporal life with an eye toward eternal life.

The second concerns trustworthiness. Those who can be trusted in small things can also be trusted in great things. If Christians handle money and other passing things responsibly, then they can also be trusted with the affairs of the Kingdom of God.

Finally, Jesus tells his listeners that no one can serve two masters simultaneously. God must be put ahead of money.


Family Connection

Talk with your children about some things that they have done to show that they can be trusted. Talk a bit about what it means to be responsible. Responsibility often means that we put aside something of passing value for something of greater value.

Read together the short form of today's Gospel, Luke 16:10-13. Talk about the importance of responsible use of money and our material possessions. As a family, commit to one action that you will take this week to show that your family serves God and not money.


Sources: Loyola Press; Sunday Readings