Making friends with wealth

Readings for September 22, 2013

Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time 

Il-25 Ħadd matul is-Sena

Messalin C pp 397

Reading 1      -             AMos 8:4-7

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 our 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 LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Never will I forget a thing they have done!  This is the Word of The Lord.

L-1 Lezzjoni       -      Profeta Għamos 8, 4-7

Il-Mulej qalli:  "Isimgħu dan, intom li tikkalpestaw l-imsejken, intom li ttemmu l-foqra tal-pajjiż, u tgħidu: "Meta se jgħaddi l-qamar ġdid, ħa nbiegħu l-qamħ? Meta se jgħaddi s-Sibt ħa nferrgħu x-xgħir, inċekknu l-efa, u nkabbru x-xekel, u nqarrqu b'miżien falz, nixtru bil-flus il-foqra, u b'żewġt iqrieq l-imsejken? Inbiegħu sal-karfa tal-qamħ."  Il-Mulej ħalef bil-foħrija ta' Ġakobb: "Ma ninsa qatt xejn  minn għemilhom!" Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Responsorial Psalm                   -                      PSALM 113:1-2, 4-6, 7-8

R. (cf. 1a, 7b) Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor.

Praise, you servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD.
Blessed be the name of the LORD
both now and forever.                                                                        R/

High above all nations is the LORD;
above the heavens is his glory.
Who is like the LORD, our God, who is enthroned on high
and looks upon the heavens and the earth below?                       R/

He raises up the lowly from the dust;
from the dunghill he lifts up the poor
to seat them with princes,
with the princes of his own people.                                                R/

Salm Responsorjali                    -  SALM 112 (113)

                        R/                  Faħħru lill-Mulej, li  jerfa'  l-fqir.

Faħħru, qaddejja tal-Mulej,

faħħru isem il-Mulej.

Ikun isem il-Mulej imbierek,

minn issa u għal dejjem!                                     R/

Għoli fuq il-ġnus kollha l-Mulej,

ogħla mis-smewwiet hu sebħu.

Min hu bħall-Mulej, Alla tagħna,

li qiegħed fil-għoli, u li jħares 'l isfel,

lejn is-smewwiet u lejn l-art?                             R/

Hu  li jqajjem mit-trab l-imsejken,

u jerfa' mill-miżbla l-fqajjar,

biex mal-kbarat iqiegħdu,

mal-kbarat tal-poplu tiegħu.                              R/

Reading 2                     -                      1 TiMothy 2:1-8

Beloved:  First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, for kings and for 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 and to come to knowledge of the truth. For there is one God. There is also one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as ransom for all. This was the testimony at the proper time.  For this I was appointed preacher and apostle — I am speaking the truth, I am not lying —, teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.   It is my wish, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument.  This is the Word of The Lord.

It-2 Lezzjoni     -     1 Ittra lil Timotju 2. 1-8

Għażiż, nitolbok l-ewwel nett li jsiru suppliki, orazzjonijiet,  talb u radd il-ħajr għall-bnendmin kollha; għas-slaten, għal dawk li għandhom xi awtorita',  biex inkunu nistgħu ngħaddu ħajja fil-kwiet u fis-sliem, fit-tjieba u kif jixraq.  Dan hu   tajjeb u jogħġob lil Alla s-Salvatur tagħna, li jrid li l-bnedmin kollha jsalvaw u jaslu biex jagħrfu l-verita'.  Għax wieħed hu Alla, u wieħed hu l-medjatur bejn Alla u l-bniedem, il-Bniedem Kristu Ġesu', li ta lilu nnifsu bħala prezz tal-fidwa għal kulħadd; u  x-xhieda ta' dan ngħatat f'waqtha. Hu għal dan li jien kont magħmul xandar u appostlu – qiegħed ngħid is-sewwa, m'iniex niġdeb - biex ngħallem lill-ġnus il-fidi u l-verita'.  Nixtieq li l-irġiel jitolbu kullimkien,  jerfgħu l-fuq idejn safja bla għadab u bla glied.   Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Gospel                             -                      LuKe 16:1-13

Jesus said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property.  He summoned him and said, ‘What is this I hear about you? Prepare a full account of your stewardship, because you can no longer be my steward.’ The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me?  I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg.  I know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes.’ He called in his master’s debtors one by one.  To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note.  Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’ Then to another the steward said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘One hundred kors of wheat.’ The steward said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note; write one for eighty.’ And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently. “For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.  I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. 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.”   This is the Word of The Lord.

L-Evanġelju  -   Luqa 16, 1-13

F'dak iż-żmien, Ġesu' qal lid-dixxipli tiegħu: "Kien hemm raġel għani li kellu amminstratur, u  lil dan xlewh lil sidu li kien qiegħed iberbaqlu ġidu. Għalhekk is-sid sejjaħlu u qallu: "Dan x'inhu li qiegħed  nisma' fuqek?  Agħtini kont tal-amminstrazzjoni tiegħek,  għax ma tistax tibqa' iżjed amminstratur tiegħi." L-amministratur bejnu u bejn ruħu qal:  "Issa x'sejjer nagħmel, ladarba sidi se jneħħini mill-amminstrazjoni?  Immur nagħżaq?  Ma niflaħx!  Nittallab?  Nistħi.   Naf x'nagħmel, ħalli meta nitwarrab minn fuq din l-amminstrazzjoni, insib lil ħaddieħor li jilqagħni għandu." U wieħed wieħed bagħat għal dawk li kellhom jagħtu  lil sidu."Kemm għandek tagħtih lil sidi?"    staqsa  lill-ewwel wieħed. "Mitt barmil żejt,"  wieġbu dak. Qallu l-amminstratur:"Oħroġ il-karti tiegħek, oqgħod  bilqiegħda malajr u ikteb ħamsin."Lil ieħor staqsieh: "U int, kemm għandek tagħti?"   "Mitt xkora qamħ."  wieġbu.   Qallu:  "Oħroġ il-karti tiegħek u ikteb tmenin."  U s-sid faħħru lil dak l-amminstratur ħażin talli ħadem  b'rasu.  Għax ulied din id-dinja jimxu bil-għaqal aktar  minn ulied id-dawl ma' min hu tal-qatgħa tagħhom. U jiena ngħidilkom; agħmlu għalikom infuskom ħbieb  ta' qligħ il-ħżunija, ħalli meta jonqoskom, jiqgħukom   fl-għerejjex ta' dejjem.  Min hu fidil f'ħaġa tassew żgħira,  hu fidil ukoll fil-ħafna;  min hu diżonest f'ħaġa tassew  żgħira, hu diżonest ukoll fil-ħafna.  Jekk mela ma wrejtux  ruħkom fidili f'dak li hu ta' ħaddieħor, min se jagħtikom dak li hu tagħkom? Ebda qaddej ma jista' jaqdi żewġ sidien, għax jew ikun jobgħod lil wieħed u jħobb lill-ieħor, jew jintrabat ma' wieħed u jistmell lill-ieħor.  Ma tistgħux taqdu lil Alla u lill-flus."  Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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COMMENTARY:

Father Cantalamessa on Dishonest Wealth

Here is a translation of a commentary by the Pontifical Household preacher, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, on the readings from this Sunday's liturgy.

* * 

Make friends with wealth

This Sunday's Gospel presents us with a parable that in certain respects has important contemporary relevance: the parable of the dishonest steward. The central character of the parable is the farm manager of a landowner, a well-known figure in our Italian countryside when the sharecropping system was still in existence.

Like all good parables, this one is like a miniature play, full of movement and scene changes. The actors in the first scene are the steward and the master and the scene ends with the master firing the steward: "You can no longer be my steward."  The steward does not even try to defend himself. His conscience is not clear. He knows that he is guilty of what the master has discovered.

The second scene is a soliloquy of the steward, who is now alone. He has not yet accepted defeat. He immediately thinks about what he can do to get himself out of this situation and save his future.

The third scene -- steward and tenant farmers -- reveals to us the plan that the steward has devised. He asks the tenants, "And how much do you owe?"  "One hundred measures of wheat," is one reply.  "Here is your promissory note," he says. "Take it and write down eighty." A classic case of corruption and falsehood that makes us think of similar situations in our own society, often on a much larger scale.

The conclusion is disconcerting: "The master praised the dishonest steward for acting prudently."

Is Jesus approving and encouraging corruption? We need to recall to our minds the particular nature of teaching in parables. The moral doctrine that is aimed at is not in the parable taken as a whole, in every detail, but only in that aspect of the parable that the narrator wishes to pick out.   And the idea that Jesus intended to bring out with this parable is clear. The master praises the steward for his resourcefulness and for nothing else. It is not said that the master changed his mind about his decision to fire the man.

Indeed, given the initial conduct of the master and the quickness with which he discovers the new scam we can easily imagine the outcome, which the parable does not report. After having praised the steward for his astuteness, the master orders him to immediately restore the fruit of his dishonest transactions or pay it off in prison if he lacks the means.

It is cleverness that Jesus also praises, outside the parable. In fact, he adds: "The children of this world are more clever in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light."

That man, when he was faced with an emergency situation in which his whole future was at stake, showed a capacity for radical decision-making and great resourcefulness. He acted quickly and intelligently -- even if dishonestly -- to save himself. This, Jesus observes to his disciples, is what you too must do, to save yourselves, not for a worldly future but for an eternal future.
 "Life," Seneca said, "is not given to anyone as a possession but as something that we are stewards of." We are all "stewards," so we have to act like the man in the parable. He did not put things off until tomorrow; he did not "sleep on it." There is something too important at stake to be left to chance.

The Gospel itself makes different practical applications of this teaching of Christ. The one that it insists the most on is the one regarding the use of wealth and money: "I tell you, make friends with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings."

In other words, do as that steward did; make friends with those who, when one day you find yourself in trouble, will welcome you. These friends, we know, are the poor.

We know this from what Christ says about his being the recipient of what we do for them. The poor, St. Augustine said, are, so to speak, our couriers and porters: They allow us to begin transferring our belongings now to the house that is being built for us in the hereafter.

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