"NO SERVANT CAN SERVE TWO MASTERS".

TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME. YEAR C.
September 23, 2007.
(First Reading: Amos 8:4-7) (Psalm 113: 1-8)
(Second Reading: 1 Timothy 2:1-8)
(Gospel Reading: Luke 16:1-13)

"NO SERVANT CAN
SERVE TWO MASTERS"

The teachings of Jesus concerning our relation with God and our relation with worldly possessions, are clearly presented in today's gospel reading.

Jesus states (Luke 16:13): "No servant can serve two master" and "You cannot serve God and mammon"(1).Those who serve God, that is to say, those who put their trust in God are called by Jesus "the children of light" (Luke 16:8), and those who serve worldly possessions, that is, those who place their trust in their worldly possessions are called "the children of this world" (Luke 16:8).

In a world like ours in which material possessions play so determinant a role in the lives of peoples, it is necessary to reach an understanding on the proper use of material possessions:
1. Material possessions (as well as material resources) are only necessary in that they serve to maintain human life, to meet material human needs at the highest level required by human dignity.

In the gospel reading Jesus refers to the administration of material possessions as the handling of "very small matters" (Luke 16:10), for, indeed, the trustworthy handling of material possessions is only a very small matter compared with the trustworthy handling of our relation with God.

The person (or the nation) who is trustworthy in handling material possessions is the one who uses them not only for the satisfaction of his own needs but for the needs of all human beings. Whereas, if he were to use said possessions in order to oppress other human beings, then he is no longer trustworthy.

A just economic system is, then, the one that follows the trustworthy administration of material possessions as indicated above.

2. Material possessions are never to be administered in a way that produces their accumulation beyond what is necessary to meet all human needs at the highest level required by human dignity, lest said possessions become wealth (mammon) and therefore, an outward sign of the dispossession of the goods belonging to others(2). With wealth (mammon) comes greed, and with greed, oppression.

The book of the prophet Amos (Amos 8:4-7) tells us that wealth (mammon) is accumulated:
- by those "who trample upon the needy and destroy the poor of the land",

- by those who fraudulently sell at the highest possible price goods or services which have been reduced to the lowest possible quality. Amos writes: To sell their grain, they "will diminish the ephah, add to the shekel, and fix [the] scales for cheating",

- by those who will bribe corrupt authorities in exchange for impunity. Amos says: They "will buy the lowly man for silver",

- by those who will pay the lowest salaries to the worker in order to pocket for themselves the larger portion of the worker's fair salary. Amos says: They will buy "the poor man for a pair of sandals"(3).

The prophet Amos reminds us of what the Lord God says concerning those who accumulate possessions, those who serve mammon: "Never will I forget a thing they have done!"

Today's gospel reading shows us that the Lord Jesus uses the example of the dishonest administrator in order to denounce the misuse of material possessions and human talents - not to condoned dishonesty or thievery.

The message of Jesus is clear in that the children of this world (the administrator among them) do not hesitate to demonstrate readiness for worldly trickery in the process of accumulating wealth (The children of this world use the methods of mammon, because they serve mammon); whereas the children of light seem to be not so ready at grasping the way of God, that is to said, the way of life wherein material possessions are to be used only for the human needs of ALL human beings.

In this gospel reading Jesus is urging the children of light to employ their human talents, their imagination, their creativity, their ingenuity in devising means to spread the "light" to all human beings(4).

Saint Paul in his First Letter to Timothy urges us to serve one "Master" (God): "First of all, then, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgiving be offered for everyone, for kings and for all in authority [including the children of this world], that we may live a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity" (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

Saint Paul asks the children of light to find and use effective means to turn the children of this world into children of light. Indeed, this a worthy challenge for the administrators of light.

Saint Paul seems to be confident that those who serve mammon will, one day, renounce to it, and become children of God, for "No servant can serve two masters".
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Footnotes.
(1) The word mammon (From the Greek mamonas and Aramaic mamona) is used in biblical documents to designate property, not only money but any worldly possessions accumulated in the hands of a few through the dispossession of others. It does not refer to possessions strictly used for the satisfaction of human needs, but rather to designate the excess wealth that conveys power and dominion over other human beings. In this gospel the term mammon is personified almost in the manner of a god, the "unjust mammon" , the "dishonest gain", opposed to the just God.
(2) Wealth - accumulated possessions - becomes an injustice as long as there is one single human being who goes hungry.
(3) Others who accumulate wealth (mammon) in our present-day world are for instance: Giant corporations taking advantage of cheap labor in underdeveloped countries; international financial agencies lending money to impoverished countries at cutthroat interest rates that only perpetuate poverty and exploitation in the borrowing countries while bursting the coffers of the lenders.
(4) The children of this world are very creative when it comes to exploiting, destroying their fellow human beings. For instance when the oppressive policies of a powerful nation are opposed, the powerful nation reacts by implementing the most elaborate means (including war) to destroy such opposition. It never occurs to them that the most appropriate action could be a correction of their own oppressive policies or a peaceful dialogue with the oppressed. The children of light, however, are to resort to the means of "light": Dialogue, understanding, mutual respect. It is, thus clear, in this instance, that while the children of this world are good administrators of war and injustice, the children of light must be better administrators of peace and justice.