Money Left, God Right, Which Way Will You Choose?

Jesus’ words, “You cannot serve both God and mammon,” has much deeper meaning than just money.  Often times it is translated, “You cannot serve both God and money.”  That is true but it is only one component of what Jesus meant in the entirety of its meaning.

The Gospel deals with the dishonest servant and dishonest wealth.  It goes on to conclude that as Christians we need to be shrewd and prudent in our dealings with the world but more importantly that we always remain virtuous in everything we do and that we also do not become slaves of the world.

Becoming slaves to the world involves the love of money, no question about that, but it also means to lose perspective and that when we do we become slaves of the world, we retreat into ourselves in a very selfish way.  Listen again to the words from the Prophet Amos, “Hear this, you who trample upon the needy and destroy the poor of the land!  “When will the new moon be over,” you ask, “that we may sell our grain, and the Sabbath, that we may display the wheat?  We will diminish the ephah, add to the shekel, and fix our scales for cheating!”  To fix our scales for cheating, cheating against whom and to what purpose?  The cheating is against our neighbor, the poor, the oppressed, the maligned, the marginalized, those who cannot stand up for themselves and the purpose is to be rich, powerful, and full of prestige.

It’s interesting that Amos uses the term, “fix our scales.”  Scales as you know have to do with measuring things out, in this case money but it also has to do with justice, i.e. the scales of justice.  When we hear today’s readings and listen to them, I have to ask myself, “am I always the person that balances the scales fairly?”  Have I ever tipped the scales in my favor through cheating someone else?  It’s interesting that when we hear the readings is how do we process them in our conscience.  Do we always align ourselves with Jesus and somehow always interpret him to be speaking about someone else, i.e. I would never be that mean or sinful.  What if I am the person that Amos is talking about, maybe not in the same degree, but even a little?  Doesn’t Jesus say he who is untrustworthy of little things is untrustworthy in great matters as well?

Today’s Gospel lesson and readings are challenging.  Jesus wants us to tip the scales of justice evenly.  Once we start to tip them in our favor we become those people who love mammon more than God.  We become lovers of the world in the things that are passing, power, prestige, wealth, none of which brings true happiness.  So my good Christian brothers and sisters when dealing with the world remember your scales and to keep them even, do so with prudence, wisdom and most of all with compassion for your neighbors.  God bless you, Fr. John