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| “St. Charles Borromeo” by Orazio Borgianni, 1610-1616 |
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 in an individual's life.) 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.
(#478) 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 lesson or logion.)
The moral taught by this story is that we are to be prudent with material
wealth accumulated through the use of God’s gifts. Avoiding greed, to which
wealth can easily lead, will establish the person in a positive light in the
next stage of existence.
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 where 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. Great minds think alike.) In these difficult times, the parable taught
by Jesus about the dishonest steward has merit.
If we put our emphasis on things of the spirit, material things become
of secondary importance. We do not need
the ostentatious life-style to demonstrate our success. We are naturally more conservative with the
resources that we have. Good advice as
we seem to be approaching difficult times.
Today we pray that we may
follow the wisdom of St. Paul
Pax
[2]
The picture used today is “St. Charles Borromeo” by Orazio Borgianni, 1610-1616
[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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