No one can serve both God and Mammon
My dear Brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
Today it is really a difficult subject to preach on. Money in itself is not the problem here, but "The love of money is the root of all evil," We can not money as another God. We have only One God and there should be no Other God for us.
September 21st we celebrated the feast of St Mathew. Being a tax collector, he wanted to build a name, a fortune or a secure future for himself. He was a talented man skillful with the use of his pen, both in calculating numbers or in writing down words. To him, as any finance man, money could come easy. Then with wealth, he hoped to gain friends. A saying goes that "wealth is relative", that is, with wealth, relatives and friends appear left and right. Mathew’s dream was to reach out to people by means of a successful financial venture. Perhaps, before his face, a few would be friendly with him in view of some favors. Behind his back, he would be hated and verbally stabbed. This is the same case with those who think that with money you can gain the whole world. It is an illusion.
Mathew would have enjoyed his wealth, but there was emptiness within him. He was still worried about his future or the lack of loyal friends. He was secure at his post, but he was uneasy all the time. He was in search of God, a God not so judgmental, legalistic and condemnatory. He longed for a God with a human face. He was aware of his fragility and sinfulness. When Jesus saw and called him, Matthew immediately stood up, left his table and followed Jesus. Joy was written all over his face, even as he had to abandon everything, his wealth and his past. When he denied Money what he thought His God and followed the Real God he received the happiness in Life.
Remember that today is the first day of the rest of your life. And so is tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, and so on. We can not take anything with us when we say good bye to all what we have and what we are. What do I need to change so that when it comes time to settle my accounts with God He will commend me for being foresight and prudent and give me the reward He wants so very much to give me? Always remember, there will be a day of reckoning.
From the very beginning of our first reading today, we are hit with the reality of God’s love for the poor and his disdain for those who hurt them.
“Never will I forget,” those who “trample upon the needy and destroy the poor of the land!”
But who are the needy? Who are the poor of the land?
Poverty is an epidemic brought on by human greed alone, an epidemic St. Augustine addressed again and again during his lifetime.
“If you were giving something that was your own,” he once said, “then [your charity] would be pure largesse, but since you give what is God’s, you are repaying a debt.”
You see, you and I own nothing.
We have possession of some things and by civil law we “own” them. By right, all we are belongs to God and God alone.
Yet, it is not just about the material poor. There are many who are materially wealthy who are also quite poor.
There is poverty of spirit.
Many people walk through life not knowing how to connect to God; people who don’t know that they are children of the God who loved them into being. Reach out to them.
There is poverty of self-worth.
There are many among us who have been told by one or another that they are not “worthy” of attention or love. There are many more who think that they are not “good enough” to even speak of, let alone talk to, God.
There is poverty of kindness.
Rude people are everywhere. The silent treatment abounds. Rumors and Gossip fill minds with worthless drivel.
Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta said “Developed countries suffer from Poverty of understanding, poverty of will, of loneliness, of lack of love and spirit. There is no greater disease in the world today than this.”
God trusts you, here and now, to reach out to the poor and needy; those who have material, spiritual, emotional, and moral needs of every kind. All God asks is that you share a bit of your wealth with others, a bit of your bread with the hungry, a bit of your life with another.
One of Ignatius’ most famous prayer’s is his “Prayer for Generosity”
Lord teach me to be generous. Teach me to serve you as you deserve To give and not to count the cost To fight and not to heed the wounds To toil and not to seek for rest To labor and not to ask for reward Save that of knowing that I do your will.
And ultimately all that we do and all that we are is intended for the greater glory of God. And what could be more glorious than to respond to God and our neighbor with the same love and generosity that God has shared with us.
So what master do you serve? God or money? You cannot serve two masters. So who is yours? Jesus wants us to use our intelligence in order to make good choices.
But who are the rich? The standard American answer is, "People who have more money than I do,"
Ezekiel 16:49has some remarks about Sodom's sin that might surprise you. This was the sin of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, more than enough food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.
Jesus is clearly warning us that money can enslave us. Cruel master money can be over them that give themselves to it. Money had destroyed the relation, family, friendship even our sleep.
The money-culture presses in on us, afflicting us with "Money-Sickness" and often we don't recognize the symptoms until we are a terminal case.
In the first reading and in the Gospel, the lesson is that people are more important than money. When we mistreat people for the sake of monetary benefit, we harm our relationship with God. On the other hand, the proper use of money in the service of people strengthens our relationship with God. Our God is a God who is waiting for our Love and not for our Money. It is up to us my dear brothers and sisters. Do we want God and peace of Mind or lots of Money in all its sense and all the calamities with it?
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
My dear Brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
Today it is really a difficult subject to preach on. Money in itself is not the problem here, but "The love of money is the root of all evil," We can not money as another God. We have only One God and there should be no Other God for us.
September 21st we celebrated the feast of St Mathew. Being a tax collector, he wanted to build a name, a fortune or a secure future for himself. He was a talented man skillful with the use of his pen, both in calculating numbers or in writing down words. To him, as any finance man, money could come easy. Then with wealth, he hoped to gain friends. A saying goes that "wealth is relative", that is, with wealth, relatives and friends appear left and right. Mathew’s dream was to reach out to people by means of a successful financial venture. Perhaps, before his face, a few would be friendly with him in view of some favors. Behind his back, he would be hated and verbally stabbed. This is the same case with those who think that with money you can gain the whole world. It is an illusion.
Mathew would have enjoyed his wealth, but there was emptiness within him. He was still worried about his future or the lack of loyal friends. He was secure at his post, but he was uneasy all the time. He was in search of God, a God not so judgmental, legalistic and condemnatory. He longed for a God with a human face. He was aware of his fragility and sinfulness. When Jesus saw and called him, Matthew immediately stood up, left his table and followed Jesus. Joy was written all over his face, even as he had to abandon everything, his wealth and his past. When he denied Money what he thought His God and followed the Real God he received the happiness in Life.
Remember that today is the first day of the rest of your life. And so is tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, and so on. We can not take anything with us when we say good bye to all what we have and what we are. What do I need to change so that when it comes time to settle my accounts with God He will commend me for being foresight and prudent and give me the reward He wants so very much to give me? Always remember, there will be a day of reckoning.
From the very beginning of our first reading today, we are hit with the reality of God’s love for the poor and his disdain for those who hurt them.
“Never will I forget,” those who “trample upon the needy and destroy the poor of the land!”
But who are the needy? Who are the poor of the land?
Poverty is an epidemic brought on by human greed alone, an epidemic St. Augustine addressed again and again during his lifetime.
“If you were giving something that was your own,” he once said, “then [your charity] would be pure largesse, but since you give what is God’s, you are repaying a debt.”
You see, you and I own nothing.
We have possession of some things and by civil law we “own” them. By right, all we are belongs to God and God alone.
Yet, it is not just about the material poor. There are many who are materially wealthy who are also quite poor.
There is poverty of spirit.
Many people walk through life not knowing how to connect to God; people who don’t know that they are children of the God who loved them into being. Reach out to them.
There is poverty of self-worth.
There are many among us who have been told by one or another that they are not “worthy” of attention or love. There are many more who think that they are not “good enough” to even speak of, let alone talk to, God.
There is poverty of kindness.
Rude people are everywhere. The silent treatment abounds. Rumors and Gossip fill minds with worthless drivel.
Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta said “Developed countries suffer from Poverty of understanding, poverty of will, of loneliness, of lack of love and spirit. There is no greater disease in the world today than this.”
God trusts you, here and now, to reach out to the poor and needy; those who have material, spiritual, emotional, and moral needs of every kind. All God asks is that you share a bit of your wealth with others, a bit of your bread with the hungry, a bit of your life with another.
One of Ignatius’ most famous prayer’s is his “Prayer for Generosity”
Lord teach me to be generous. Teach me to serve you as you deserve To give and not to count the cost To fight and not to heed the wounds To toil and not to seek for rest To labor and not to ask for reward Save that of knowing that I do your will.
And ultimately all that we do and all that we are is intended for the greater glory of God. And what could be more glorious than to respond to God and our neighbor with the same love and generosity that God has shared with us.
So what master do you serve? God or money? You cannot serve two masters. So who is yours? Jesus wants us to use our intelligence in order to make good choices.
But who are the rich? The standard American answer is, "People who have more money than I do,"
Ezekiel 16:49has some remarks about Sodom's sin that might surprise you. This was the sin of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, more than enough food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.
Jesus is clearly warning us that money can enslave us. Cruel master money can be over them that give themselves to it. Money had destroyed the relation, family, friendship even our sleep.
The money-culture presses in on us, afflicting us with "Money-Sickness" and often we don't recognize the symptoms until we are a terminal case.
In the first reading and in the Gospel, the lesson is that people are more important than money. When we mistreat people for the sake of monetary benefit, we harm our relationship with God. On the other hand, the proper use of money in the service of people strengthens our relationship with God. Our God is a God who is waiting for our Love and not for our Money. It is up to us my dear brothers and sisters. Do we want God and peace of Mind or lots of Money in all its sense and all the calamities with it?
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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