25th. Sunday Year (C)
(Amos 8:4-7;
1Timothy 2:1-8; Luke 16:1-13)
He who is trustworthy in very small matters is also
trustworthy in great ones; and he who is dishonest in very small matters is
also dishonest in great ones.
This teaching is applicable to many aspects of life
and training: for example, when learning to play the piano I was told that if I
could play the piece slowly, in a controlled manner with no mistakes, then I
would soon be able to play it at speed; and in all forms of endeavour --
intellectual, technical and athletic -- it is essential to acquire the basic
skills if one hopes to attain to any degree of true proficiency. There is, however, one decisive sphere in
our human experience where it is supremely necessary and beneficial: that is,
in parental upbringing of children in those ‘very small matters’ which are the
most easily corrected before any bad habit has been formed.
Although most parents would say they agreed
with the principle, nevertheless, far too many seem to have difficulty in their
practical application of it; since, for whatever reasons, they do not want, or
do not feel themselves able, to closely observe and lovingly guide their
children in certain basic aspects of humanity that promote and protect
happiness as individuals and peace and cohesion as members of society. As a result they allow their children to grow
up without any clear understanding of right and wrong, and no appreciation of
the need for and dignity of good manners for life in society. Never having learned to practice loving
obedience towards their parents, such children grow up with little respect or
reverence for the elderly or those in positions of authority; and being unversed in the practice of discipline and
self-control, they have little awareness, and even less appreciation, of the
rights of others, especially the humble, the weak and needy.
Parents who thus -- instead of being confidently aware
of their own dignity as Catholic and Christian parents and trustfully facing up
to their responsibilities -- consistently speak soft and self-excusing words
such as "He is only a baby, she only young", and thereby allow
children in their care to grow up unruly, disrespectful, disobedient, selfish
and cheeky, will, inevitably, be themselves found responsible, in their
measure, for the subsequent excesses of the lout and the mugger, the addict and
the drop-out, the lawless and the violent adult, gradually formed and finally
turned out by their school of self-absolving, careless, indulgence over many
years. As a result, many in positions of
authority and obligation with regard to children will have a very severe
judgement to face because of their failure to recognize and teach the truth
contained in those words:
He
who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in
much; and he who is unjust in what is
least is unjust also in much.
Having already glanced at the roots of crime in our
modern society, we are now invited to turn our attention to worldly
wealth. In our Gospel reading Jesus went
on to tell us:
If you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who
will trust you with true wealth?
This "dishonest" wealth, of which Jesus
speaks, is often called "worldly wealth" which is – often enough in
the case of great acquired wealth – dishonestly acquired, and always dishonest
or unrighteous in so far as it tempts those who seek it into sinful,
unrighteous ways, as we heard in the first reading:
Hear this, you who trample upon the needy, and destroy
the poor of the land! "When will the
New Moon be over,” you ask, “that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath, that we
may display the wheat? We will diminish the ephah, add to the shekel, and fix
our scales for cheating! We will buy the
lowly for silver, and the poor for a pair of sandals; even the refuse of the
wheat we will sell!"
The true riches, on the other hand, of which Jesus
speaks, are those given us by God, as Jesus promises elsewhere (Matthew 25:34):
Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come,
you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world.’
Our Western society, and in particular, current
American society, is marked by, and hated for, its abuse of wealth:
When will the Sabbath be past that we may sell grain
and trade wheat, making the ephah small and the shekel large, falsifying the
scales that we may buy the lowly for silver?
Whilst we cannot deny that unsavoury side of our
western world, especially when it is represented by certain multi-national
companies, nevertheless, it is by no means an exclusively western evil,
for when we look at so many of the ruling classes or the ruling authorities in
all parts of the world we see individuals and groups who are just as ready and
eager as any western tycoon to abuse wealth for the satisfaction of their own
lusts for pleasure and power, without any real consideration for the needs of
their own people. However, not just
rulers and those in authority, not only multi-national companies, but indeed, all
of us, need to look at our attitude to worldly wealth, for there are many
so-called Christians who gladly put wealth first of all in their list of wishes
to be fulfilled by some genie out of a bottle; and, in that respect, they too
will not be without some share in the guilt of those whose more manifest abuse
of wealth they like to vocally condemn.
We must first of all realise that worldly wealth is
not, of itself, an evil. It does,
indeed, lead easily to evil, but, of itself, it can be accepted on trust for
the good of others. We have had
examples of this in our own society over the centuries; and in the early
Church, some very wealthy members of Roman society, on becoming Christians,
used their wealth to help fellow-Christians.
Indeed, the very making of honest wealth, can be good: for Christian
business men and women can indeed do great good by providing work for
others. What is evil, however, is a
desire for worldly wealth which would overstep the commands of God and override
the rights of others, and in this respect, I repeat, many ordinary Christians
are as guilty in their own hearts and little lives as those they may curse with
their tongues. How many men will call a
businessman a fat cat with indeed a measure of hatred in their attitude even
though he provides work for many, while wholeheartedly cheering and childishly
praising much wealthier and perhaps totally self-centred footballers? In this matter we must remember again the
words of Jesus:
If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to
another, who will give you what is yours?
The wealth of this world is possessed not by
all men but only by a
small minority; nevertheless,
the natural riches of this world from which all personal wealth arises are most
certainly given by God
directly for all men.
Moreover, all the natural endowments of human nature together with the
multitude of personal talents bestowed upon individuals are again given by God
and intended indirectly, mediately, for
all men: the talents of Beethoven and Handel, for example, while supporting
and fulfilling their individual lives and aspirations, were also and supremely
meant and bestowed to afford joy, comfort, and uplift, to all men. In other words, whatever our situation in
life, we all have gifts and corresponding responsibilities for those gifts:
parents, teachers, the wealthy and the workers, those in authority and those in
humble service, all of us have something which is not just for ourselves but
for the good of others too, for the good of society, and of the world; and we
Catholics are commanded and called
to use such blessings -- our wealth of whatever sort -- for the good of others
as well as for ourselves.
We come finally to the question of authority and
power, so closely allied to and connected with wealth. Here we are not to judge so much as to pray,
for we need men and women who are able to bear authority and exercise
power. Governments are vital for
policies but individuals are essential for decisions; and we must never forget
that our specifically Christian duty -- a more serious and more essential duty
than that of monitoring and criticising lots of things we do not, and cannot,
fully understand -- is the duty of prayer for those at the helm of the
nation. Politics is supremely important
for the well-being of millions, and it is also extremely involved: it is a
devious skill at the best, where good intentions can easily be poisoned by a
lust for power, or diverted by scheming and flattery, and where opportunities
for self-serving abound, whilst true friends are rare if only because they are
not easily to be discerned among the many pretenders surrounding those in high
positions. All this results in our
joking frequently about politicians, but we can never dispense with them as a
whole; and because the world in which they live and work is both dangerous and
at times, evil, the most sincere prayers of Christians are truly needful for
such men and women to persevere faithfully seeking to uphold Christian values
and/or diligently serve the true good of the whole of society:
First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and thanksgiving be offered for everyone, for kings and all in
authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and
dignity. This is good and pleasing to God our saviour who wills everyone to be
saved.
Our readings today have shown themselves to be very
pertinent for our present-day situation; indeed, their ultimate message is
pertinent for all times and for all societies:
He who is trustworthy in very small matters is also
trustworthy in great ones; and he who is dishonest in very small matters is
also dishonest in great ones.
The greatest temptation for individuals, and the
gravest danger for society in general, arises when the requirement of
faithfulness in small things is disregarded: whether such negligence be that of
ordinary people thinking their failings make no difference to the overall
picture, or that of the powerful and influential who believe such faithfulness to
be a subject suitable indeed for their public and condescending commendation of
others, but not one for personal observance in the intimacy of their own lives
and detailed administration of their public office.
Our first reading, however, gives us the ultimate
sanction against the evils we have called to mind today:
The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Never will I
forget a thing they have done!
Dear People of God, we should ever so frequently call
to mind, realise, what we have always known and what is for the most part left
cosily tucked-up and unnoticed at the back of our minds as individuals and
indeed as the Church as a whole which today seems afraid to condemn evil
for fear of offending its perpetrators!
People of God, the essence of Christianity is REPENT
(hatred of sin, evil) and BELIEVE IN THE GOSPEL (Love of God in Jesus). Both aspects are essential to make a salvific
whole; and the supremely Christian hatred of sin is FEAR OF THE LORD:
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; prudent
are all who live by it.
Fear of the LORD warms the heart, giving gladness and
joy and length of days. He who fears the
LORD will have a happy end; even on the day of his death he will be
blessed. The beginning of wisdom is fear
of the LORD, which is formed with the faithful in the womb. (Psalm 111:10; Sirach 1:10-13)
Jesus and the Old Testament are one: Moses speaks of
Jesus in the Scriptures Jesus tells us, and at the Transfiguration both Moses
and Elijah are with Jesus speaking of and preparing Him for, His forthcoming
Passion, Death, and Resurrection; and Jesus Himself, Who repeatedly said that He
had come not to do His own will but the will of the One Who had sent Him, had a
divinely Filial fear of the Lord:
Abba, Father, all things are possible to You. Take
this cup away from Me, but not what I will but what You will. (Mark 14:36)
Let us all therefore, dear People of God, whatever our
station in life, remember with the Psalmist that the God we serve and the
Saviour we follow:
Raises up the lowly from the dust, and from the
dunghill He lifts up the poor, to seat them with princes, with the princes of
His own people.
For, despite our differing earthly stations, our
personal responsibilities are all needful and obliging, because their reward is
for the present blessing of the whole of our society, and ultimately for our
own personal share in eternal glory.
