Homily: 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, YR C
“Who’s Your Master?”
by Fr. William Holtzinger
September 19, 2004

Cheating is nothing new. We’ve been doing it since the very beginning. In the Scriptures, Amos is chastising those who would manipulate the costs for things for their own selfish schemes. For the wealthy, being cheated out of something may not have that big of an impact. Amos was especially concerned for those who were poor. For those in leadership positions, the expectations are serious, and the consequences are great. Paul reminds us to pray for those in leadership positions. The story in the Gospel, however seems to encourage deception. Or does it?

While the parable Jesus offers illustrates the shrewdness of the manager, remember that he is caught squandering the owner’s property. That’s just the background context for the main part of the parable. What Jesus illustrates next is intended to encourage us all to use our intelligence, ingenuity, forethought to seize opportunities for growth in our faith relationship. In the parable, the steward reduced the debt of those who owed him. Before getting caught, his focus was on money and profit. Afterwards, he shifted his focus towards the relationships he would need in the future. The moral being that both cannot be served simultaneously.

So what master do you serve? God or money? Are relationships at the center of your life or things? How can you know? Well, one way might be to look at your checkbook. Another way may be to ask where you spend all your time. Does work occupy every waking moment? Do you spend time with your spouse each day? How much time is dedicated to sports or television? How often do you come to Church? How much time is spent in prayer? Do you pray only when things are bad? Does money worry you so much that you suffer from anxiety attacks? How much energy do you spend trying to keep up your appearance? Do you spend more time working on how you look on the outside than who you are on the inside? Do you only give to the Church your spare change or have you made a plan and committed to supporting your parish each week? Do you make the effort necessary to educate your children in the faith? Are your efforts minimal compared to the energy you spend on your children’s sports events?

What is more important? How does your life reveal who your true master is? Are you focused on things or relationships? Are the things you’ve spent money for more important than the relationships that require spending your time with?

You cannot serve two masters. So who is yours? Jesus wants us to use our intelligence in order to make good choices. Spend your creativity and intelligence to advance the relationships in your life, especially the one that matters most, the one with our Lord.