This first reading, though written almost three thousand years ago, could be written about the state of the world today. Spending a few minutes looking through news articles would give someone a dire outlook for the future. Rumors of famine, shortages, shipping blockages, and backups, all while some companies are making record profits and shareholders are getting massive dividends. The value of our dollar goes down, and the middle class is slowly becoming non-existent. But we are shrewd when it comes to money as a society. We cut corners. Stock up. Make runs for milk and bread and toilet paper. We are storing up the necessities for when times get tough.
That’s good and right. It’s proper to be good stewards and provide for our families. One could even use this Gospel from Jesus as an example of being informed that we should be careful with the money God has blessed us with, right? I think it’s deeper than that, though. The message for today is not just a simple be a good steward; it’s more a question that Jesus poses to us today. What are you doing with the treasures I have given you in the Church? The beauty and splendor of its wealth and knowledge. The lives of the Saints, the writings of the Church, the many different forms of prayer and private devotion, and the wealth of spiritual grace in the Sacraments… are we making use of them?
What good are a stock of toilet paper, milk, and bread if we haven’t spent time investing in our eternal destination? “We cannot serve both God and mammon.” Mammon means wealth or “material things.” It’s a simple matter of priorities. Is our life oriented to the needs of our physical body alone? Or is it oriented to our spiritual life first and foremost? Our relationship with God has to be first. He has to be our prime reason for living. By giving ourselves to God instead of money, we can genuinely begin to pray with blameless hearts for the poor. We can start to see the value of fasting and prayer, the value of Confession, and the Eucharist. Those are the treasures He has given us. What are we doing with them? Are we cherishing and investing in them? Or are we squandering them away?
We are stewards of the greatest gift ever given to Man. Jesus Christ Himself, body, blood, soul, and divinity in the presence of the Most Holy Eucharist. Do we live in a way that shows others that we love God and hate worldly things? If someone you know were asked where your heart lies, what would they say you were investing in? I challenge you to take some time this week to read the readings for next Sunday. Pray with them, meditate on them, so that we may truly seek to invest our minds, bodies, and souls in the treasure that is our Holy Catholic Faith.
(You can find all the readings on the USCCB website, here are the ones for next Sunday: 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
A homily for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (year C): September 18th, 2022