[stephenkhoo]

Scripture Reflections
Saturday, 05 November, 2011, 31st Ordinary Week, Cycle 1
USING OUR RESOURCES FOR THE GLORY OF GOD

SCRIPTURE READINGS: ROM 16:3-9.16.22-27; LK 16:9-15

Who does not want money? We all desire money, although some desire more and some never have enough. Without money, we cannot survive. Even religious organisations need money, otherwise how can they build places for worship or engage in the work of spreading their beliefs or do works of charity? In the gospel, the evangelist remarked that even the religious leaders of the day too loved money. But why do some people have such greed for money even though they already have so much? In truth, money gives them security. This is understandable, especially when you are not a believer in God. Money becomes the only security. Of course, more than just acquiring things with money, we can also acquire influence, power, prestige and even control peoples’ lives and body through money. So money can be a very powerful tool we can use for good or for bad.

However, we must extend the interpretation of the gospel text beyond money alone to all resources that we seek or have in life. Some are not interested in money as such but they want power and glory. Again such people are often very insecure. They need to perform better than others; otherwise they become envious and fall into depression. They need to control and be seen as “somebody.” So they are always acquiring new academic honorific titles, portfolios and positions so that they are adored and adulated by others.

The crucial question that the gospel is confronting us is, how do we use this tainted thing? Do we employ our financial resources and all other talents and positions we have for the love and service of God, the building of His kingdom and for our fellowmen? This is what Jesus exhorts us when He said, “use money, tainted as it is, to win you friends, and thus make sure that when it fails you, they will welcome you into the tents of eternity.” Money and all other resources must be used not so much for ourselves but for the good of others. Money is but a means for us to exercise the generosity of our hearts. By expanding our hearts to love people, we in turn reap happiness and joy because the joy we give to others rebounds to us double fold. As our hearts become more loving and caring, we grow in virtues and become more and more like Christ our Good Shepherd. In this way, when we complete our life on earth, God and all the saints in heaven will welcome us “into the tents of eternity.”

So with respect to money or otherwise, we are merely stewards of God’s gifts and no more. We do not own anything, since all things come from Him alone. We possess nothing, since everything that is given to us is given in trust. We are custodians and therefore even when we are stripped of our possessions we can only say with Job, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” (Job 1:21)

So how do we make use of the money entrusted to us? Has money become a means to serve God and man or have we become slaves to money? Do we simply possess money or does money possess us? When money possesses us, then we are slaves because everything we do is motivated by the dollar. Everything we do is calculated in terms of what we can get out of it rather than what we can put into it. When that happens, we are truly slaves of money since money is the only motivation for what we do and why we do.

But possessing money is different altogether. It is all right to possess money so long as we remain masters. We must be able to use them for what is good and contributive to the happiness of others. Most of all, we must be able to use them for the glory of God, which means for the use of the expansion of the Gospel, the work of evangelization, the building of the Church and the Christian community and for the service of the poor. That is why Jesus warns us, “No servant can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or treat the first with respect and the second with scorn. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.”

Furthermore, He said, “If then you cannot be trusted with money, that tainted thing, who will trust you with genuine riches?” What are these genuine riches if not the transcendent realities of life and not just the mundane? The genuine riches refer to our faith, the way of the gospel life, the virtues inspired by Christ, the way of faith and love. If we cannot even be masters of money, how can God entrust us to handle spiritual matters like faith, the Good News and His people placed under our care? Isn’t this the question posed to us, “The man who can be trusted in little things can be trusted in great; the man who is dishonest in little things will be dishonest in great. And if you cannot be trusted with what is not yours, who will give you what is your very own?” What is ours if not the gift of eternal life and our faith in God?

St Paul was given the task of revealing the mystery of salvation, the genuine riches that Christ spoke about in the gospel. He gave his whole life to it, saving his own soul by saving the souls of others. He wrote, “Glory to him who is able to give you the strength to live according to the Good News I preach, and in which I proclaim Jesus Christ, the revelation of a mystery kept secret for endless ages, but now so clear that it must be broadcast to pagans everywhere to bring them to the obedience of faith. This is only what scripture has predicted, and it is all part of the way the eternal God wants things to be.”

That is why we have even greater responsibility with respect to the transmission of faith, since we are dealing with real riches. We read that “the Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and laughed at him.” The truth is that people can make use of religion to generate great profits too, whether in monetary terms or in terms of resources, power and glory. There are some who make use of their spiritual powers to enrich themselves materially and to control the lives of others.

This was the precaution that St Paul gave to Timothy when he wrote, “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”(1 Tim 6:6-10) This explains why the Church exhorts priests and religious to keep the evangelical counsel of poverty, otherwise money can cause us to lose our passion for the gospel and be identified with the poor.

Truly, the greatest crisis in our time is one of faith. Man has lost complete faith not just in humanity but in God. Not only have political leaders lost credibility through scandals but religious leaders too. When religious leaders fail us because of their lack of integrity, the last bastion of faith is lost. It is not surprising therefore that many who have been hurt by the Church leaders are cynical of religious leaders and eventually of their religion as well. One cannot help but think that our faith is man-made and a fake, and that truth and love and justice do not exist. Neither does God!

By extension, even people from noble and honorable professions like teachers, doctors, and those involved in the exercise of justice and law and order can lose credibility when they are corrupt or when they put money above truth and charity. In truth, people from such professions must be the very ones who should uphold justice and charity above everything else. But how many of such altruistic people do we see today? Many today enter these professions for the wrong reasons, not to save lives or to uphold justice but for the honour, recognition and for material gains.

Parents too come under scrutiny over how they exercise stewardship over the children entrusted to them by God. Parents must remember that they do not own their children. They are given by God and entrusted to them to care for and nurture on His behalf. So parents must also ask whether they have helped their children to acquire the genuine riches that Jesus spoke about. Many parents pressure their children into pursuing careers that can bring home economic and personal benefits, and are discouraging when they lean towards the helping professions that do not pay well. Most of all, by their poor examples of love, charity and compassion, parents too can be the cause of their children losing faith in God as the Father of love.

Today, let us learn from the examples of St Paul and the early Christians. We read how St Paul gave thanks to particular individuals who have committed themselves and their resources to the spread of the gospel, even at the risk of their own lives. “Aquila … risked death to save my life: I am not the only one to owe them a debt of gratitude, all the churches among the pagans do as well.” St Paul used his resources and influence to build friendships not for the benefit of himself but for the service of others.

Indeed, let everything we do be for the glory of God and for the proclamation of the Gospel. With the psalmist we sing, “I will praise your name for ever, Lord. Every day will I bless you, and I will praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord and highly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable.” And with St Paul we pray, “He alone is wisdom; give glory therefore to him through Jesus Christ forever and ever.