God and Business

The 25^th Sunday in Ordinary Time 

Il-25 Ħadd matul is-Sena

Missalin 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 if the Lord.

L-Ewwel Lezzjoni  -  Qari mill-Ktieb tal-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. or: R. Alleluia.

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 savedand 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 if the Lord.

It-Tieni Lezzjoni  -  Qari mill-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 if the Lord.

L-Evanġelju  - Qari skont San Luqa16, 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-sipd 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, jilqgħukom  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

Faithful Stewards of God's Gifts and Mysteries

Fr. Thomas Rosica

Sunday’s  Scripture readings see the proper use of material possessions as an essential ingredient in the life of faith. The three sayings of today's Gospel suggest a contrast between worldly wealth and eternal wealth.

Luke's parable of the dishonest steward (Luke 16:1-8a) must be understood in the light of the Palestinian custom of agents acting on behalf of their masters and the usurious practices common to such agents. The dishonesty of the steward consisted in the squandering of his master's property (1).

The master commends the dishonest steward who has forgone his own commission on the business transaction by having the debtors write new notes that reflected only the real amount owed the master (i.e., minus the steward's profit). The dishonest steward acts in this way in order to ingratiate himself with the debtors because he knows he is being dismissed from his position (3).

The second part of Sunday's Gospel (Luke 8b-13) involves some independent sayings of Jesus gathered by Luke to form the concluding application of the parable of the dishonest steward. The first conclusion (8b-9) recommends the prudent use of one's wealth (in view of the coming of the end of the age) after the manner of the children of this world, represented in the parable by the dishonest steward. The word used for dishonest wealth is literally " mammon of iniquity." Mammon is the Greek transliteration of a Hebrew or Aramaic word that usually means "that in which one trusts." Wealth is characterized as being dishonest.

The second conclusion (10-12) recommends constant fidelity to those in positions of responsibility. The third conclusion (13) is a general statement about the incompatibility of serving God and being a slave to riches. To be dependent upon wealth is opposed to the teachings of Jesus who counseled complete dependence on the Father as one of the characteristics of the Christian disciple (Luke 12:22-39). Mammon is used here as if it were itself a god.

Exact meaning of the parable

The exact point of the parable is unclear. It may ordinarily have been intended to urge disciples to a decision for the kingdom in a time of crisis, imitating the manager who acted decisively when faced with a crisis in his life. Jesus urges his disciples to be enterprising in their use of the world's goods, presumably by sharing them with the needy, and more generally, by using them according to God's will. The lesson is this: Just as people in business use prudence to secure their passing advantage, so too the followers of Jesus must use prudence to secure lasting advantage with God. As Christians we are stewards of what God has given us. We do not own it. In the kingdom, rewards and responsibilities will be given to those who demonstrated a faithfulness in their earthly entrustments.

Gift of friendship

Lately I have found a lot of parallels with the words of Cardinal Newman, a brilliant model of friendship. During his lifetime, Newman had an extraordinary capacity for deep friendship with many people, both men and women, as his 20,000 letters collected in 32 volumes attest. This personal influence has been exerted very powerfully upon millions of people who have read his works and discovered what friendship really means. He once wrote in a letter: "The best preparation for loving the world at large, and loving it duly and wisely is to cultivate an intimate friendship and affection for those who are immediately about."

Are we able to foster such friendships today? Can such intimate friendships exist for us? Men and women often have intense friendships with members of their own sex, friendships that have no sexual component; yet we are at a loss to speak about them or even afraid to do so. Today "friend" is one you add to a social networking profile on the Web; or it is a euphemism for a sexual partner outside marriage.

The French writer François Mauriac once wrote about friendship: "If you are friends with Christ many others will warm themselves at your fire. ... On the day when you no longer burn with love, many will die of the cold."  I am certain that the "kindly light" and flame in Cardinal Newman's heart gave and continues to give life and warmth to millions of people. I, for one, have found warmth and consolation at the feet of this great master for many years. The source of the unquenchable fire was Newman's deep friendship with Jesus Christ. We need Newman's kindly light and brilliant, holy example today more than ever.       //////////////////////