Pastor's Pen - October 16, 2016

On the weekend of September 17 Deacon John delivered a homily that I want to share again with everyone. (This has been edited quite a bit to #it the space.) The Gospel is LK 16:1
13 the parable of the unworthy/dishonest steward.

Today’s Gospel asks a familiar and basic question: “Whom do we serve?” We have heard often the Scripture passage: “You cannot serve both God and mammon.” Many times we interpret the term “mammon” as money, wealth, or possessions, things that we can become attached to or controlled by.

Let us look at the term “mammon” a little deeper. By serving mammon are we in essence serving our “selves”? Are we putting the “needs”, “desires”, and “wants” that benefit us personally before God and others? Serving God frees us to be decisive in doing what is necessary to secure the best for both this life and the next.

Simply put: the choices we make about our present life and our future means that God is truly at the center of our lives; that we truly serve God and God alone.

We all have the same amount of hours in a week (a total of 168). We also have a free will to choose how we will spend those 168 hours. We must be aware that we are free to choose, but we are not free from the consequences of our 
choice.

In our first reading from Amos (8:47) we see Amos speaking to the people of the Northern Kingdom the affluent and wealthy. He chastises them for taking advantage of the lowly and the poor. The Lord sternly warns them, “Never will I forget a thing they have done.” The people didn’t realize that “the rich help the poor of the world, but the poor help the rich in the world to come.”

Are we helping the poor? By helping the poor we are fulfilling our goal of not serving ourselves, but continuing to serve God first and foremost.

How do we know that we are serving God first? Here is a simple test: look at your calendar; take a look at your checkbook or credit card statement. What do you see? Could people know you are a follower of Christ by looking at your calendar or financial statements by seeing time spent at faith enriching events or by charitable contributions not only to the Church but also to other worthy organizations?

As the rich man in the Gospel asks the steward “prepare a full account of your stewardship.” We need to do the same. Eventually, one day, we all will have to stand before God to provide an account of our stewardship (time, gifts, and treasure) or lack thereof.

To share in what Jesus died and gained for us, we must make the same choice that He made. We must choose to serve God and God alone. To serve effectively we must be honest, trustworthy, and faithful.

Throughout our lives, in all our choices, in all our serving, the basic question remains…
Fr. Chuck