25th Sunday Ordinary Time
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Cycle C
- Q285: In his first letter to Timothy (Second Reading: 1 Tim 2:1-8), why would St. Paul ask the Christians to pray for the Roman leaders and all others in authority, whose lifestyle and brutality were not exactly models to follow?
- Credit for being Enterprising
- Q442: In today’s First Reading (Amos 8:4-7), the Prophet Amos seems to be talking to someone other than me; I’m not rich or hurting others financially.
- Q598: Now this story seems weird and unjust: why would a Manager get praised for cheating his employer out of future income that is legally his?
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Q285: In his first letter to Timothy (Second Reading: 1 Tim 2:1-8), why would St. Paul ask the Christians to pray for the Roman leaders and all others in authority, whose lifestyle and brutality were not exactly models to follow?
It is probable that this letter was written when Nero was in power. There was an important cultural force at work here in the Roman empire. Since the Christians refused to worship the Roman gods, and would not even burn incense honoring the "divine emperor," they were considered by the ruling class to be "pagans"! The Christians held private and exclusive gatherings limited to believers in the divinity of Jesus, which made them look suspicious because of their "secret meetings" (even Catechumens were barred from the sacred mysteries, and were dismissed from the assembly).
St. Paul needed to accomplish three things. First, he needed to alleviate or remove the fears of the political rulers about any potential threats from this new sect whose members called themselves Christians. What better way than to publicly (his letter to Timothy) call for prayers for everyone, especially kings and anyone in authority. Secondly, he needed to teach the Christian community that it was their moral responsibility to obey anyone in a position of valid authority, as long as their orders provided for the good of all, because all such authority ultimately comes from God. Thirdly, he needed to remind the Christians that God wants everyone to be saved, and prayers of believers have great redemptive value and are part of their missionary obligation.
We need to take this advice to heart in our own society. Rather than pray that our political leaders do what we want them to do, let us ask God to bestow His gifts of wisdom and discernment upon them to enable them to do God's will.
Know Your Catechism! Authority is considered legitimate only when it seeks the common good and only if it uses morally licit means to attain that good (CCC #1902-3). Since authority belongs to God, the choice of the political regime and the appointment of rulers are left to the free decision of its citizens (CCC #1899, 1901). If rulers enact unjust laws or take measures contrary to the moral order, such arrangements would not be binding in conscience (CCC #1903).
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Today's gospel parable about the wily steward is a little tricky to interpret. The steward, about to be fired by his employer for embezzling, commits one final act of embezzlement to win the favor of his master's debtors, hoping that they may give him another job. Jesus does not praise the rascal for his dishonesty; but he does give him credit for his cleverness in "winning friends and influencing people."
Using our wits is all the more in order when we seek to win a hearing for a good cause by good means. It is only commonsense to speak to people in an idiom they can comprehend. Father Matteo Ricci followed that principle when he went to China in 1582 to bring the gospel to the proud Chinese.
Ricci was a learned Italian Jesuit. He quickly realized that this "western" Gospel would sound strange to the pagan but highly cultured Chinese leaders whom he sought first to convert. He decided that he and his fellow missionaries could get nowhere with the "Mandarins or scholars unless they first became "Mandarins" themselves. So they adopted the dress and life-style of this highly revered academic class, and set out to learn their language and literature perfectly. Ricci, in fact, succeeded so well with the language that some of his writings have become Chinese literary classics.
Once he had gained the confidence of the scholars, Dr. Li (as he called himself) began by discussing with them the admirable rules of morality and social living of their great philosopher, Confucius. But Confucius had not given all the answers - nor raised all the questions. At these open points, Fr. Matteo gently interjected Christian teachings into the discussion. Thus, as Pope John Paul II recently said, "without imposing his views, he ended up by bringing many listeners to the explicit knowledge and authentic worship of God, the Highest Good."
It was a painfully slow approach, but the only feasible one. The gospel was not given to the West alone, but to the whole world. It must be, therefore, proclaimed, as at Pentecost, in a manner understandable to every nation. Only thus can mankind hear the message Christ addressed to all his children.
-Father Robert F. McNamara
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Q442: In today’s First Reading (Amos 8:4-7), the Prophet Amos seems to be talking to someone other than me; I’m not rich or hurting others financially.
This is one of those days when the Readings seem to give us a false sense of security. We might be tempted to say, “I’m not a merchant; so Amos’s charge of cheating can’t possibly be aimed at me.” Or regarding today’s gospel, we might be tempted to say, “I’m not wealthy, or responsible for another person’s wealth; so the gospel can’t be aimed at me.” Wrong! Scripture speaks to each one of us, many times making us very uncomfortable. But we all have one thing in common: we all want “things.”
A good illustration of this craving can be found in just about everyone’s home. It is a board game called “Monopoly.” The object of the game is to become wealthy at the expense of everyone else. We think it is fun to get all of those hotels and rental properties, and to drive others into bankruptcy. Little do we realize that the game is a mirror of what is going on in our own American society. Even at an early age, we are taught to become “desensitized” to the afflictions of others. Isn’t it true? Our values become distorted; life goes “topsy-turvy.” People even reach the point where they vote for self-promoting economic reasons, entirely ignoring the more important “life” issues and issues of social justice. They even vote for those who kill the unborn, or support the right to do so, the worst injustice and indignity of all!
Amos must have had a copy of our Catechism in his back pocket! He preaches against social injustices like wage discrimination, a “sin that cries out to heaven.” He talks about business fraud, price manipulation, and so on. Those growing wealthy have done so at the expense of others. God gives a solemn warning: “Never will I forget what they have done.” In the Gospel (Luke 16:1-13), Jesus warns, “You cannot serve both God and mammon!”
KNOW YOUR CATECHISM! The Church has stood against social injustice from the beginning (CCC #1867, 2409 et al). Every Catholic is required to participate in promoting the common good, an obligation inherent in the dignity of the human person (CCC #1913).
==== Q598: Now this story seems weird and unjust: why would a Manager get praised for cheating his employer out of future income that is legally his?
This gospel story (Luke 16:1-13) is not primarily about justice at the worldly level in a given society. Certainly the issue of justice is present; and the first reading (Amos 8:4-7) is also certainly pointing out the injustices during the prophet Amos’ time. But the gospel story is really about prudence, about taking the bull by the horns and making wise decisions under the circumstances at hand, whether those are adverse or favorable.
For the worldly and apparently wasteful and dishonest person (our story’s Manager), who is faced with unemployment because of bad decisions, his final choice to win friends at the monetary expense of his employer was probably not morally good. We just don’t have enough details to reach that decision – perhaps he was eliminating all usury by reducing debts owed his master. In any event, it was definitely a shrewd decision, because he had provided for his social security needs in his upcoming forced retirement. His master’s debtors would be very grateful and hospitable towards him.
Now, if a dishonest person can be so shrewd about providing for his future on earth, should not a Christian be extremely prudent in all ethical and moral decisions, since they affect his future eternal life? That is the point that Jesus is making. We, too, need to be concerned about our relationships; but the one that counts is our relationship with Jesus Christ. Only if we choose the morally good will we stand in right relationship with God. As I have said before, the virtue of prudence enables a person to direct his or her actions to their goal intelligently, with foresight. It is never too late to have a conversion experience, amend our lives, and provide for our eternal happiness. Live as if today is the last day of your life, for each of us will stand before the Master on judgment day and give an accounting of our acts.
KNOW YOUR CATECHISM! Prudence is the virtue that disposes practical reason to discern our true good in every circumstance and to choose the right means of achieving it (CCC1806).
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