Saturday November 6

THIRTIETH-FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

POSSESSIONS AND THE GOSPEL

 

Introduction

Paul concludes his letter to the Romans with various greetings and a hymn of praise to God.

After the Lord’s parable on the unjust steward, Luke adds several statements from various sources, some allegorical reflections of the early Christian communities, some his own comments, all rather remotely related to the parable. Behind these lies his attitude toward poverty and the use of the goods of this earth.

 

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,
you tell us today, through your Son,
that we cannot be at the same time
your friends and the friends of money.
Make us see more deeply,
that we are money’s friends,
when we are unjust to others
or tolerate injustice by our silence.
But make us also more deeply aware,
that we are your friends when we value simple living,
when we are not greedy for money or social status,
but when we invest in people
and use your gifts for serving them
and building up your kingdom.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord.

 

Reading 1: ROM 16:3-9, 16, 22-27

Brothers and sisters:
Greet Prisca and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus,
who risked their necks for my life,
to whom not only I am grateful but also all the churches of the Gentiles;
greet also the Church at their house.
Greet my beloved Epaenetus,
who was the firstfruits in Asia for Christ.
Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you.
Greet Andronicus and Junia,
my relatives and my fellow prisoners;
they are prominent among the Apostles
and they were in Christ before me.
Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord.
Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ,
and my beloved Stachys.
Greet one another with a holy kiss.
All the churches of Christ greet you.

I, Tertius, the writer of this letter, greet you in the Lord.
Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole Church, greets you.
Erastus, the city treasurer,
and our brother Quartus greet you.

Now to him who can strengthen you,
according to my Gospel: and the proclamation of Jesus Christ,
according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages
but now manifested through the prophetic writings and,
according to the command of the eternal God,
made known to all nations to bring about the obedience of faith,
to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ
be glory forever and ever. Amen.

 

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 145:2-3, 4-5, 10-11

(1b) I will praise your name for ever, Lord.
Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.
R. I will praise your name for ever, Lord.
Generation after generation praises your works
and proclaims your might.
They speak of the splendor of your glorious majesty
and tell of your wondrous works.
R. I will praise your name for ever, Lord.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your might.
R. I will praise your name for ever, Lord.

 

Alleluia: 2 COR 8:9

Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus Christ became poor although he was rich,
so that by his poverty you might become rich.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel: LK 16:9-15

Jesus said to his disciples:
“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 God and mammon.”

The Pharisees, who loved money,
heard all these things and sneered at him.
And he said to them,
“You justify yourselves in the sight of others,
but God knows your hearts;
for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God.”

 

Intercessions

– That governments may not promote or allow, for paying national debts or private gain, the destruction or plunder of natural resources, like forests that are the pride and riches of the nation, we pray:

– That our families may promote sober living, we pray:

– That parents may teach their children that there are higher values than money and possessions, we pray:

 

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God, you break for us here
the bread that satisfies the poor
and pour for us the wine of joy
of Jesus, your Son.
With him, and by the wisdom and strength
of his Holy Spirit,
may we place ourselves and all our gifts and creativity
in the service of people,
that your kingdom may grow
in us and among all people
and by your grace stand for ever.

We ask this through Christ, our Lord.

 

Prayer after Communion

Almighty all-rich God,
what you create you give away
and entrust it to us.
We try to keep riches and power
firmly in our own hands.
We thank you that you are different,
generous and unobtrusive,
hidden behind your gifts.
Teach us that we do not become smaller
when we make one another great
nor poorer if others are well-off.
Let us be of the mentality of him
who gave up power and might for our sakes,
Jesus Christ, our Lord.

 

Blessing

Jesus wants us to be thankful for God’s gifts by acting responsibly with what we have, and that includes sharing. After all, we have been given much. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

 

Commentary

This reading is a collection of attempts to raise the tone of the parable of the unjust steward. Some of them are so desperate that they actually make the opposite point. For example, “If you have not been trustworthy in handling filthy money, who could entrust you with true wealth?” But in the parable, the owner didn’t blame the unjust steward, he commended him. A more recent, and equally desperate, attempt was to suggest that there must have been a scribal error: that the word translated as “with” should have been “and not.” That would make things nice again, “Make friends and not the Mammon of iniquity.” Everything back in its right place. Some critic, commenting on Shakespeare’s lines, “Books in the living brooks, sermons in stones and good in everything,” suggested that the text was corrupt: that it should have read, “Stones in the living brooks, sermons in books….” Everything back in its place! Critics are sometimes far too clever.

But we can still take the messages of these early Christians, even if they have little to do with the parable. 

Take this one, “You cannot serve God and wealth.” It is common experience that those who have most want most. This must be because they don’t really have what they have: it doesn’t fulfill them, it only baits them into further accumulation. Greed is a bottomless pit and nothing will ever fill it. Many misers even live very poor lives—in order to die rich! Whatever oversees your whole life, right into the arms of death, must be a religion. It’s the other religion, God’s main rival.