The Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time [C]
Fr. Matthew Siegman
Amos 8:4-7 + 1 Timothy 2:1-8 + Luke 16:1-13
The prophet Amos challenges us all this week in the short, but powerful, first reading. “When will the new moon be over that we may sell our grain, and the sabbath, that we may display the wheat?” These questions may seem antiquated, but let’s rephrase them for more modern times: “When will Christmas be over so that the store is open again, and Mass, so that I can get to brunch before all the good stuff is gone?”
The question Amos is trying to force us to consider is not just about buying and selling during the holy days, though. It is a much more important question: What rules my life? The scoundrels to whom Amos is addressing his prophecies cheat their customers and take advantage of the poor, all for profit. This would be bad enough, but they have made things even worse by valuing profit above even worship of the Lord. And the Lord’s response is, “Never will I forget a thing they have done!”
The Gospel continues with this message. Christ teaches us that “no servant can serve two masters.” The dishonest steward was a thief and a scoundrel, but he knew that his true master was himself and his fortune and acted accordingly. That does not mean he acted correctly. The prophecy of Amos would still condemn this steward, but Christ commends him, because he at least had the ability to know which side he was on.
The question for us, as we read these readings, is a simple one: Who is my master?
Amos, in his rebuke of the Israelites, reminds us where our priorities should be. If God is our master, then we should be doing what God has asked for us to do. The Third Commandment, which has not gone away, is to keep holy the Sabbath. Christians celebrate the Sabbath on Sunday, in memory of our Lord’s Resurrection. God calls us Catholics to celebrate Sunday not only by glorifying him, but also by resting from our labors. If we find ourselves restless over the length of a homily because it is cutting into our plans, Amos is talking to us. If we find ourselves rearranging our Sundays to watch a football game but never trying to change our schedules to go to Mass on Sunday (or Saturday night), Amos is talking to us. If we travel hundreds of miles for a sports tournament but refuse to look for a nearby Mass and try to attend it, Amos is talking to us. If we find ourselves waiting until Sunday to go to the grocery store, when we could just as easily have gone on Saturday or another day, Amos is talking to us. This might seem extreme, but the reality is this: every customer that goes shopping or every family that travels to a Sunday sports tournament is one more reason to keep having those events on Sunday. Every time we ignore God and give our Sunday to someone or something else, we demonstrate that our true master is not God.
Taking this command of God seriously will certainly change how we live our lives. We may have to rearrange our schedule. We may have to say “no” to tickets to an amazing football game or decline to let our kids participate in some volleyball tournament. A business owner may recognize that he or she needs to start closing on Sunday, which will impact profits. Even with these challenges, we still must follow God first. Sure, we might miss out on some money or a fun experience, but we will be putting our priorities in the right place. We will be putting our faith in the God who created the entire universe!
One of Bishop Kemme’s priorities for our diocese is the “Renewal of parish life and family life by reclaiming Sunday as the Lord’s Day.” Just imagine the remarkable things we could do, the joy we could experience, and the peace we would find if we made our families and our parishes the focus of Sunday, instead of what this week’s worldly pursuit happens to be.