One significant theme in the writings of the Old Testament prophets, a theme we see in this Sunday's first reading as well, is the condemnation of the exploitation of the poor. Dishonest business practices are immoral in any situation, but they are especially reprehensible when the people defrauded lose everything. Most people in ancient times lived in a subsistence-based agricultural economy, with very little margin to protect against starvation. The passage from Amos lists several business practices that were used by some unscrupulous merchants to take advantage of such vulnerable families. Then, once a family's livelihood was destroyed, those who exploited them could force them into slavery, causing them to work for the benefit of others on their own ancestral lands. Amos and the other prophets decried such exploitative practices in no uncertain terms.
The Psalm for this Sunday goes further. In this passage, we see the depiction of a new social order, in which the poor are lifted up and are seated with princes. We see the creation of a new social order without the stratified economic divisions that have characterized most societies in history, where birth determined one's economic condition for life. The fullness of the vision might only come to fruition in Heaven, but God wants us to strive for bringing about a more just society already here on earth.
The Second Reading, taken from St. Paul's First Letter to Timothy, adds more, showing the centrality of Christ in human life. The positive transformation of society can only come through Christ. Basic human good will is not enough. A humanistic reliance on the human intellect alone will not work in the long run. We need the supernatural grace of Christ. As we face the accelerating decay of our society, where horrific shootings dominate headlines, where political assassinations are celebrated, we must remember that Christ alone is the answer. Christ alone can heal our society, reshaping it according to his perfect vision. To bring about such change, we must, as St. Paul indicates, be ceaselessly praying.
But, we might wonder, why then does Jesus speak of dishonest wealth? What could he have meant by the parable of the dishonest steward? The answer has to do with a phenomenon that, I think, we have all observed at one point or another. When we look at the lives of career criminals, we see that they put a great deal of ingenuity, dedication, and hard work into their evil pursuits. Surely if they would put the same into an honest occupation, they would succeed spectacularly.
Jesus is pointing out to the disciples just how hard the children of the world work to achieve their ends. He instructs us all to learn from the children of the world, not in terms of what they are pursuing, but in terms of their dedication to what they want. We should rival them in our dedication to Christ, in pursuing and seeking to build the kingdom of God.
A part of working toward the kingdom of God is being good stewards of the resources that God has entrusted to us and managing well the temporal affairs that are our responsibility, given our station in life. Historically, sometimes Christians have focused on Heaven at the exclusion of fulfilling their temporal responsibilities or they have sometimes focused so much on the temporal that they have neglected Heaven, which is our true home and desired destination.
But the Church has been clear that the eternal and the temporal are not either-or. Historically, the Church has held the focus on both in dynamic tension, which is captured succinctly by the Benedictine motto "ora et labora," meaning "pray and work." We are to work as if we were to spend all of eternity in this world. But we are to pray as if our lives were to end in this moment and we were about to meet God face to face.
The Gospel passage is also clear that we cannot serve two masters. If Christ is not our Master, someone or something else will be. In all things we do, in all that we are, we must be Christocentric, always putting Christ in the center of our lives. Christ is the source of all life, of all goodness, joy, peace, and true fulfillment. Therefore, the central task of our life is to make Christ the center of our lives. To do so, let us do as St. Paul urges us to do and pray always, day and night.
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The readings for the Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C, are:
Amos 8:4-7
Psalm 113:1-2, 4-6, 7-8
1 Timothy 2:1-8
Luke 16:1-13
The full text can be found at the USCCB website.
Photo Credit: Parable of the Unjust Steward by A. Mironov, from Wikimedia Commons.