Friday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time

“Death and the Miser” (detail)
by Hieronymus Bosch, c. 1490

 
Readings for Friday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
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.
 
"Paul knows that his witness will leave a more lasting impression than his words.  He appeals to readers to follow his example as he models his own life after Christ (1 Corinthians 4:9; 1 Corinthians 11:1)." [4]
 
"There is no better teaching than the teacher's own example," St John Chrysostom exclaims, commenting on this passage; "by taking this course the teacher is sure of getting his disciple to follow him. Speak wisely, instruct as eloquently as you can..., but your example will make a greater impression, will be more decisive.... When your actions are in line with your words, nobody will be able to find fault with you" ("Hom. on Phil, ad loc.")." [5]
 
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.
 
CCC: Phil 3:16-17 1156, 2633; Phil 3:18-21 2204; Phil 3:20 2217; Phil 3:21 2286; Phil 4:1 1807
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 122:1-2, 3-4ab, 4cd-5
 
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.
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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.
 
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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.
 
CCC: Lk 16:1 952; Lk 16:3 952
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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 lifestyles 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 well-being 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 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 an ostentatious lifestyle to demonstrate our success.  We are naturally more conservative with the resources that we have. 
 
Today we pray that we may follow the wisdom of St. Paul and the teachings of Jesus regarding what must be important to us.  We can be assured, if we truly value things of the spirit, the attainment of which we can control (by accepting them as a free gift from our Lord), we will find peace.  If our focus is on things of the world over which we have no control, we will lose the gift Christ holds out for us.
 
Pax
 

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[1] The picture used today is “Death and the Miser” (detail) by Hieronymus Bosch, c. 1490.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[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.
[4] Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, © 2010, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA. p. 361.
[5] The Navarre Bible: “Letters of St. Paul,” Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, p. 448.