Todays Mass Readings Friday, November 7, 2014 Friday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 489 -------------------------------------------------- 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 122:1-5 --------------------------------------------------------------- R. (1) Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord. I rejoiced because they said to me, “We will go up to the house of the LORD.” And now we have set foot within your gates, O Jerusalem. R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord. Jerusalem, built as a city with compact unity. To it the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD. R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord. According to the decree for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the LORD. In it are set up judgment seats, seats for the house of David. R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord. ----------------------------------- 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.” ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meditation: The necessity of prudent foresight ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Do you make good use of your money and possessions? Jesus seemed to praise a steward (a manager entrusted with his masters goods) who misused his employers money. What did the steward do that made Jesus praise him? The steward was responsible for managing his wealthy landowners property. The steward very likely overcharged his masters tenants for their use of the land and kept more than his fair share of the profit. When the landowner discovered the stewards dishonest practice he immediately removed him from his job, leaving him penniless and ashamed to beg or do manual work. The necessity of prudent foresight to avert disaster Before news of his dismissal became public knowledge, the shrewd steward struck a deal with his masters debtors. In discounting their debts he probably was giving up his generous commission. Such a deal won him great favor with the debtors. Since the steward acted as the landowners agent, such a deal made his master look very generous and forgiving towards those who owned him money. Surely everyone would praise such a generous landowner as the town hero! Since the master could not undo the stewards cancellation of the debts without losing face and making his debtors resent him, he praised the steward for outwitting him and making him appear as a generous and merciful landowner. Jesus obviously thought that the example of a very clever steward would be a perfect illustration for a spiritual lesson about God and how God treats those who belong to his kingdom. Whats the point of Jesus parable? The dishonest steward is commended not for mishandling his masters wealth, but for his shrewd provision in averting personal disaster and in securing his future livelihood. The original meaning of shrewdness is foresight. A shrewd person grasps a critical situation with resolution, foresight, and the determination to avoid serious loss or disaster. Faith and prudent foresight can save us from moral and spiritual disaster Jesus is concerned here with something more critical than a financial or economic crisis. His concern is that we avert spiritual crisis and personal moral disaster through the exercise of faith and foresight. If Christians would only expend as much foresight and energy to spiritual matters, which have eternal consequences, as they do to earthly matters which have temporal consequences, then they would be truly better off, both in this life and in the age to come. God loves good stewardship and generosity Ambrose, a 4th century bishop said: The bosoms of the poor, the houses of widows, the mouths of children are the barns which last forever. True wealth consists not in what we keep but in what we give away. Possessions are a great responsibility. The Lord expects us to use them honestly and responsibly and to put them at his service and the service of others. We belong to God and all that we have is his as well. He expects us to make a good return on what he gives us. God loves generosity and he gives liberally to those who share his gifts with others. The Pharisees, however, had little room for God or others in their hearts. The Gospel says they were lovers of money (Luke 16:14). Love of money and wealth crowd out love of God and love of neighbor. Jesus makes clear that our hearts must either be possessed by Gods love or our hearts will be possessed by the love of something else. What do you most treasure in your heart? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted on: Fri, 07 Nov 2014 03:41:15 +0000
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