 |
| “St. Charles Borromeo” by Orazio Borgianni, 1610-1616 |
Commentary:
Reading 1: Philippians 3:17—4:1
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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 122:1-2, 3-4ab, 4cd-5
R. (1) Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Luke 16:1-8
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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
No comments:
Post a Comment