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| “Death and the Miser (detail)” by Hieronymus Bosch, c. 1490 |
Reading 1: Philippians
3:17—4:1
Join with others in being
imitators of me, brothers and sisters,
and observe those who thus
conduct themselves
according to the model you
have in us.
For many, as I have often
told you
and now tell you even in
tears,
conduct themselves as enemies
of the cross of Christ.
Their end is destruction.
Their God is their stomach;
their glory is in their
“shame.”
Their minds are occupied with
earthly things.
But our citizenship is in
heaven,
and from it we also await a
savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He will change our lowly body
to conform with his glorified
Body
by the power that enables him
also
to bring all things into
subjection to himself.
Therefore, my brothers and
sisters,
whom I love and long for, my
joy and crown,
in this way stand firm in the
Lord, beloved.
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Commentary on Phil 3:17—4:1
In the first part
of the reading St. Paul exhorts the community to imitate him and those who act
in accord with his teaching. He first
calls on the Christians at Philippi to imitate the evangelist himself. He then
(Philippians 3:17-20) identifies those who “…conduct themselves as enemies of
the cross of Christ.” They do so by focusing their efforts on themselves (their
stomach, their glory, earthly things). In contrast, the selection concludes,
the Christian should focus on spiritual gifts and the promise of the
resurrection.
The second part
of the reading is the promise to the faithful members of the community. The
promise is that, in the end, they will be conformed to Christ in spirit and
body.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
122:1-2, 3-4ab, 4cd-5
R. (1) Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
I rejoiced when they said to
me,
"Let us go to the house
of the LORD."
And now our feet are standing
within your gates, Jerusalem
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
walled round about.
Here the tribes have come,
the tribes of the LORD.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
As it was decreed for Israel
to give thanks to the name of
the LORD.
Here are the thrones of
justice,
the thrones of the house of
David.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
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Commentary on Ps 122:1-2, 3-4ab, 4cd-5
Psalm 122 is a song of
thanksgiving centered upon returning to the Temple in Jerusalem (Mosaic Law
required such a trip three times). The song rejoices in the visit to the holy
place, the seat of King David. The original singers would have been rejoicing
at returning to the one temple. For Christians, the New Jerusalem is the one
and only house of God in his heavenly kingdom, there the Lord sits in judgment.
In these strophes the image of “going up to Jerusalem” echoes the Lord’s return
in St. Paul’s quote of Psalm 68:18-19 in Ephesians 4:8.
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Gospel: Luke 16:1-8
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 he said, ‘And
you, how much do you owe?’
He replied, ‘One hundred
measures of wheat.’
He 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 the children of light.”
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Commentary on Lk 16:1-8
The common practice at the
time this parable was told was for the steward to receive interest or
commission on the amounts owed to their masters. Therefore, in this account,
when the dishonest steward reduces the amount owed to his master, he is really
just retrieving the actual amount owed, foregoing his own extravagant interest
– hence the master’s praise (Given that the steward was being dismissed this
“praise” was provided as an ironic statement to emphasize the logion). The
lesson (logion) taught by this story is that we are to be prudent with material
wealth.
Given the juxtaposition of
“children of this world” and “children of light” we also see a moral contrast
implying a rather Pauline thought that we may be viewed as foolish in our love
for one another as we do not deal shrewdly with others, but act out of
fairness, even charity.
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Reflection:
In times of economic turmoil
it is sometimes difficult to hear the pragmatic messages of Sacred
Scripture. People around the world have become
more and more concerned with maintaining their life-styles since the great
recession. In response to the intuitive human tendency toward greed, both Jesus
and St. Paul bring us the same lesson: we must be more concerned about our
spiritual wellbeing than with money (… and were money is concerned we should be
prudent).
In his letter, St. Paul calls
upon the church at Philippi to follow his own example; that example being one
of love for one another. We see his vision of the Christian community as one in
which all share what they have to the benefit of the whole community. He sees the unity of the church as the Body
of the Living Christ, that through the reconciliation brought by Jesus, the
Savior seeks “…to bring all things into subjection to himself.” (God’s great plan – see also Ephesians1:10)
The apostle contrasts this
vision of mutual fidelity and love with those who think only of themselves, “Their minds are occupied with earthly things.” And when
there is dependence on only their own abilities and the situation becomes dire,
there is nowhere else to turn and they despair.
We, on the other hand, depend on God to be with us, to support us in
times of difficulty. And if we are
fortunate enough to be involved with a supportive faith community, we share
difficult times with our brothers and sisters.
They buoy us up with their assurances and prayers. With God they bring us hope.
We are reminded of a
statement attributed to St. Augustine: “We must work as if it is all up to us,
and pray as if it is all up to God.” (I thought for a long time that this was
St. Ignatius of Loyola, but some good research by my brother seeker – Tim
Carpenter, found that he (Ignatius) was quoting St. Augustine
Today we pray that we may
follow the wisdom of St. Paul
Pax
[1]
ALTRE
[2]
The picture used today is “Death and the Miser (detail)” by Hieronymus Bosch, c.
1490
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This
re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
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