As the bright light of summer yields to the soft hues of fall, while students settle into school and parish activities kick into high gear, many Christians ponder over vacation expenses, tuition bills, the cost of new clothes and school supplies and other upcoming expenses. Life in Christ seems to be taken over by calculator and computer, yet the timely message of today’s readings is that our salvation is deeply intertwined with how we use the goods of this world.
This passage from Luke’s gospel is one of the most complex to be found in scripture. Its collection of somewhat disparate sayings is bound together by a common theme, the use and abuse of money. Jesus knew that living in the world requires each of us to use money wisely but he is quick to warn his listeners never to become so attached to money that it becomes their master. The late Archbishop Thomas Murphy often asked the question, “What do I own and what owns me?”
Money is a god that rules many lives. The pursuit of money for some people is the driving force behind all they do. A father once told his son, “Everybody has two personalities: the one we usually see and then the one when money is on the table.” That son later became a priest. He often quotes his father because he sees the harm that money can cause. Relationships and lives have been destroyed over money and money related issues. Many failed marriages can trace the start of their undoing to either the lack of or the pursuit of money.
If that priest’s father is correct, then one could say that our real character is revealed by our spending habits. Someone could learn quite a bit about your values by looking through your checkbook. Which master are you serving? God or money? As they so often do, the words of scripture have much to say about real life, offering us much wisdom on how best to live.
How do you use money? Do you consume just for the sake of consuming? Do you possess just to possess? Do you spend a bit more to get that item of clothing because of its logo? Do you go out on a Saturday night and spend $60 on dinner, $20 for a movie and $12 for an after movie desert and then place a few wadded one dollar bills in the Sunday collection?
What bothered Amos most in the first reading was the lack of connection his fellow Jews made between their religious beliefs and the way they were living their lives. He didn’t like what he saw. He made no claim to being a prophet, yet Amos forecast that Israel’s wealth would soon be its destruction. Although he did not live to see it, he was right.
The Israelites viewed their prosperity as a gift from God, ignoring Amos’ challenge that God would not forget how their wealth was being abused. Amos timeless words are meant to challenge us as well.
So, how are we using our wealth, our possessions, our money? In other words, how are we using what God has given us? The country singer, Garth Brooks, once said in an interview that he has more money than could be spent by his children’s children’s children. He wasn’t bragging. He was nervous. Garth felt that the prosperity and wealth he had achieved brought with it great responsibility and it does.
Few of us are wealthy monetarily. Nonetheless, we are called to be caretakers of the wealth God has given us. Israel ignored that responsibility and ultimately paid the price. Many Christians have done the same, arrogantly proclaiming, “I have worked hard for what I have and it is mine!” They are allowing money and material goods to become a rival god in their lives. Amos warns us that such an attitude can destroy us.
Jesus airs much the same caution in this confusing parable, which can leave us wondering if he is complimenting the steward for being dishonest. Actually, Jesus is commending him for his prudence and practicality, not his dishonesty.
This parable may be better understood if we keep in mind that neither the steward nor the debtors could claim ownership of the goods. They all belonged to the master. Using the language of the gospel, we could say that the earth and all its riches belong to God, the master of our universe. We are his stewards. How are we managing the goods that have been entrusted to us? Are we managing these goods in a way that benefits others or are we squandering them, thinking only of ourselves? Do we cling to the rights of private property or do we recognize our responsibility to share what we have to provide justly for the needs of the less fortunate?
We have a great deal of ambivalence about money yet our survival in this world demands a certain skill in acquiring money and using it well, that is, being a good steward of our resources.
Some people argue that money is evil but that isn’t so. Money is only a tool. In itself, money is neither good nor bad. A more accurate understanding of the saying that money is the root of all evil can be found elsewhere in the first letter to Timothy where St. Paul cautions, “the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains.”
No wonder then that Jesus is making the point here that no matter what problems we face, one thing is clear: if we are in love with money, we will not be in love with God. Or as Saint Bernard of Clairvaux wisely observes, “Theirs is an endless road, a hopeless maze, who seek for goods before they seek for God.”