BEADS OF JOY 09-18-16
“The Unjust Steward”
©2016 James Dacey, Jr. OFS
My Friends,
Today’s Gospel: Luke 16:1-13 (The
Unjust Steward)
"He
also said to the disciples, "There was a rich man who had a steward, and
charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. And he called
him and said to him, `What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account
of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.' And the steward said to
himself, `What shall I do, since my master is taking the stewardship away from
me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what
to do, so that people may receive me into their houses when I am put out of the
stewardship.' So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the
first, `How much do you owe my master?' He said, `A hundred measures of oil.'
And he said to him, `Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.' Then
he said to another, `And how much do you owe?' He said, `A hundred measures of
wheat.' He said to him, `Take your bill, and write eighty.' The master
commended the dishonest steward for his shrewdness; for the sons of this world
are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of
light."And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal habitations. "He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and he who is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."
Reflection:
Mammon! Tough topic for some and an even more difficult topic for others. When you look at the word mammon it’s difficult to find an exact meaning, after all it is an ancient biblical word. So I will share with you what I have found:
Merriam-Webster definition of Mammon:
Material wealth or possessions especially as having a debasing influence <you cannot serve God and mammon — Matthew 6:24 (Revised Standard Version)
The Free Dictionary’s definition of Mammon: Bible Riches, avarice, and worldly gain personified as a false god in the New Testament. And often mammon Material wealth regarded as having an evil influence.
Interesting find. There are many other translations of definition all of the similar nature, many referring back to scripture. And oddly enough even in scripture the word “mammon” isn’t there as often as we may think. Yes, in today’s scripture we see it, but more often than not, scripture uses the word “money” instead. Take the NIV Bible, if you look up the word “money” you will find it 113 times (61 times) in the Old Testament and (52 times) in the New Testament. In-fact when I was typing in the word mammon I was getting references back to the word money. I use www.biblegateway.com for all my biblical reference studies. It is an amazing resource. I gain nothing by referring you to go check out them out. You’ll love all the features.
So this money thing?? Hmm I know, Money is not evil… “We need money to live, we need money to pay our bills, we need money to buy food, we need money to help others.” Believe me, I have heard all those arguments about money my entire life. But let’s face it, money can’t be evil, but the people who possess it or cling to it; well I won’t say it, but those people can make some seriously bad choices because of it. Many have died because of a lack of it (hunger, homelessness, etc.). Some have died because someone else was paid to do it. Some are unable to obtain it due to physical issues and must suffer because of their inability to gain it. So I guess maybe, in many ways money can be very evil. But I still believe the choices come from the people holding it. Remember what Jesus said today, “You cannot serve God and mammon."
How do you see money? How do you embrace and hold your money? Do you cling to your money as your sole security in life? If you had choices to make, hard ones, difficult ones, would you ever consider putting money first? Hmm, some people have. Look at just one of these crazy questions and its results:
When Polled: Arm for a Million Dollars? 475 people voted:
29 (6.11%) would trade their arm for the money.
446 (93.89%) said NO WAY!
What are those 29 people thinking?
In my research I also found this write up, written by Len Penzo (What Would You Be Willing to Do for a Million Dollars?) WOW! http://lenpenzo.com/blog/id816-what-would-you-be-willing-to-do-for-a-million-dollars.html It is definitely worth a few minutes to read this, it will blow your mind to read how much people are willing to sacrifice almost anything, to get their hands on this kind of “money”. This is actually very sad on so many levels. So my sisters and brothers, what controls your life? Who is your real lord and master? Who or what governs your every thought? Idea? Desire? Does your love of money and possessions rule your heart so much that you will do whatever it will take to obtain it and keep it? Even at the cost of another? Hmm, well…
Whatever tends to control you will ultimately control every single aspect of your thinking, whether you want it to or not. If your desire is chocolate, your body and your mind each day will devise a plan to obtain chocolate, through buying it, or taking it from another, or stealing it, regardless you will get it each day. How great are your desires? You can lust after anything and desire it so greatly that your choices will be very bad, even evil, even illegal. Many have gone to jail for all different kinds of vises they hold in their hearts and have acted upon. I don’t have type them all here, just look in the news; there is some crazy things going on around the world and some of it is to fulfill desire and passion. Who is your master, what is that governs your passions?
Simply ask Jesus to fill your heart with generosity and love and ask him to give you the desire to share. Sharing with others is a wonderful Joy, the benefits and Joy are eternal and Our Lord will be so happy knowing your heart is in the right place. All that we have was first God’s. He blessed us with whatever we have no matter how little or great it is. It is our job as Children of God to do what is right with His stuff; and that is to share it with others. Hoarding and protecting His blessings when we can be blessing others is utterly insane. Think of it this way. You walk past a hungry homeless man. You buy 2 cheeseburgers, but because you saved your money and the store had a special the owner said, “Sir, you have gained 2 more cheeseburgers.” So what do we do? Hoard and hide and keep them? NO! Give them to the homeless man you passed. Pass the blessings on to those who are in need. Selfishness only leads to someone else going hungry. Think about it. I know one person can’t solve all the problems of the world. But one person can feed another person or two or three. One person can make a difference when they take selfishness out of the equation of their decisions.
Pray often asking our Lord for direction and He will do just that for you. Kindness and generosity go a long way; always think of others first, not only ourselves. See you all tomorrow. God Bless You.
LOVE YOU GUYS !!!!
Your brother in Christ Jesus
And His Most Blessed Mother,
Jim (The Rosary Man) Dacey Jr OFS
**(NEW DAILY FEATURE)
Today is Sunday: We pray the Glorious Mysteries:
The Glorious Mysteries
1. The Resurrection (Faith) –Mark 16:1-8
2. The Ascension (Hope) –Luke 24:50-53
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit (Love) –Acts 2:1-4
4. The Assumption of Our Lady
(Grace of a Happy Death) –Rev 12:1-6
5. The Coronation of Mary (Mary’s intercession) –Judith 15:9-10
Rosary Man Jim's Glorious Reflections: http://beads-of-joy-blog.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-glorious-mysteries.html
