HOMILY
FOR THE 25TH SUNDAY OF THE ORDINARY TIME, YEAR C
Rev.
Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi
The God of this world
has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of
the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (cf. 2 Cor. 4:4)
As a newly ordained
priest, I carried my car to get it fixed up to a certain place known for their
expertise in car parts. I wanted to change the fork cover and replace it with
fork lamps. With immediate effects, I was rushed by very many retailers who
presented themselves as good advisers on what and what I needed to fix up in
the car for it to have the highest level of road worthiness. When one of them
realized I was a priest (having seen the souvenir of my priestly ordination),
he immediately told me that he was a catholic and can never have in his mind to
cheat or deceive me. Many too identified themselves as Catholics. Their reason
which was obvious for such identification was not actually to help me with the
right knowledge I needed, but to make sure I patronized them and if possible to
enrich their purses. Oh, what a funny day!!! They never knew that I knew what
they know. Many persuasions came from left, right and centre to buy and add to
the vehicle so many parts to make it appear more glamorous and presentable. I paid
deaf ears to them as I had a particular reason for which I came.
Finally, I settled on
the fork lamp and told its retailer to help change it. After much negotiation
on the price, he started work. As I watched him and from what he said, he
wanted to take those fork covers with him (for he had told me that they were
now useless, since I had replaced them with the fork lamp). I refused,
insisting that they are necessary and even as costly as the lamps (for a friend
had told me how important those parts are). When he noticed that I was not
ready to let him have those covers, what he now did was to fix the fork lamps
in a manner that it can easily fall off when on a highway (probably so as to
make me spend more). Oh, what a shrewd society!!! He did not tighten those
lamps very well. It’s a pity as I never recognized this. After some days, the lamps
had gone. The awareness of how poorly he fixed those fork lamps then came to
me. I have chosen to begin this homily with this story to show how cunning and
dishonest the sons of this age can be in issues that demand trust. The sons of
this world have their cunning ways of acting which they take as normal forms of
behaviour, without knowing or counting on the repercussions such acts can bring
about in their lives. They tend to remove Christianity from their business
ethics. They cheat and collect bribes on working days, and on Sundays go to
Church, give their offering, pay their tithes without the reminiscence of the
ill way they had got the money they offer.
In the Gospel passage today
(Luke 16:1-13), Jesus told his disciples and all of us Christians a parable
that is geared towards expunging such traits of shrewdness in our dealings with
God. It is the parable of the unjust servant. It is a parable that passes some
message about the kingdom of God. Actually, this parable is one of the most
misunderstood parables of Jesus as presented by Luke. Many think Jesus praised
the shrewd servant. Many also think Jesus advised us to make effort to enter
heaven even if it be in a shrewd manner. In the text, we saw how a steward
lavished his master’s wealth because of his selfish interest of the fact that
he noticed that the master was about to fire him. He had used his master’s
possessions in such a way as to make friends and to prepare for the future
(since he had thought that he was unable to go through various hard labours to
make a living. Now, he had no right to do this since he was still a steward,
who must always need the will of the master (cf. 1 Cor 9:17). The interesting part
of the story is that the master appreciated him for his skill of shrewdness in
making provisions for his future. The pertinent worry here is: how can a man who
had been cheated by his steward, someone who has suffered a substantial and
irretrievable loss, commend a crooked steward? The answer to this is offered in
the words of Christ in verse 8: 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 (Luke16:8).from these words came my
headline.
He recognized and
appreciated such shrewdness because he valued it, and practiced it. He too was
shrewd. You do not commend a man for something you disdain. Hence, both the
unjust steward and his master valued the same thing –shrewdness. Both of them
belonged to the group regarded by Christ as the sons of this age. Thus, one can
hypothesize that the master praised the steward for the shrewdness because he
knew that if he were to be in that position, he would have done the same. With these
words, Jesus makes a demarcation between the city of God and the city of man,
between heaven and earth, between light and darkness, between good and evil,
between shrewdness and straightforwardness, between honesty and lies, between
believers and non-believers, between the sons of this age and the sons of light,
etc. Therefore, Jesus would not and cannot join the master in praise of such a
crime.
In the interpretation
of this parable by Jesus (from verse 8b-13), we derive more insights. Jesus words
were a description of how men think and act, and not a commendation nor a
recommendation of it to us. The unjust servant and the master may commend shrewdness,
but Jesus condemns it. God does not commend what he condemns. What
God condemns, He does not commend. The parable does not teach
shrewdness as a way for God’s followers, but a way to be avoided by his
followers, since no one can serve two masters at the same time. We are not to
be shrewd but to be honest and straightforward as Christians. The shrewdness
exhibited by this steward is typical of the way sons of this age act (as
exemplified in our lead story). If Christians are to put off worldly ways of
acting and thinking, then we are to be clear on what worldliness is. This story
gives us a vivid image of the worldly manner of thinking which Christians must
change.
Christians must use
what God has given to them to store treasures in heaven. In v. 13, Jesus said:
make friends for yourselves by the use of material possessions. Christians should
act like the unjust steward (but not the same). We like the unjust stewards are
stewards. We have nothing we can rightly call ours. God gives us everything. If
we understand this well, we shall learn to use our money and our material
possessions in ways that manifest Christ to men, and which can draw men to
Christ in faith. The Christian must give exclusive loyalty to God or succumb to
the enslavement of money (mammon). This loyalty is expressed by sharing mammon
with others in need.
We cannot serve both
God and wealth. One of the great temptations which must have confronted the
steward was the tension of how to use the master’s money to further his master’s
interest (being faithful to his master) or using his master and his money as a
means to his own (self-serving interest). He did the later. In our age, money posses
itself as a master to many Christians, as they allow themselves to become
slaves of money. In such a case, we become sons of this age, ceasing to be sons
of light.
This world represents
the many distractions that try to remove our focus from God and the things of heaven.
It can represent those ideals and ways (abortion, gay marriage, etc.) that are
inimical to our Christian belief which today the world promotes. The sons of
this age trample upon the needy and destroy the poor (cf. First Reading –Amos 8:4-7).
The sons of this age are the perpetrators of social injustices and vices. They cheat,
take bribes, are corrupt, are violent, and steal forcefully from others. The sons
of this age find nothing wrong with lies in their business life. The sons of
this age are quick to sale damaged and expired goods to the masses to eat. The sons
of this age are comfortable with the production of fake drinks and drugs.
The light represents
Christ and every good thing that comes from him (cf. John 12:35). If we believe
in the Lights, we become sons of light (cf. John 12:36). The sons of light help
to lift up the poor and salvage them from their poverty. The sons of light
offer supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving for all men, for
kings and all who are in high positions, that there may be a quiet and peaceful
life, godly and respectful in every way (cf. The Second Reading -1 Timothy
2:1-8). The sons of light are sons of
peace (Luke 10:6). The sons of light are fans of social justice and virtues. They
are sincere, are incorruptible, and cannot desire that which is not theirs. The
sons of light disgust lies in their businesses. They cannot sale damaged nor expired
goods to others. The sons of light are quick to report any offense against
human life and right; for they take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness,
but instead expose them (Eph. 511).
Therefore, dear
friends, I must end with the very words of St. Paul to urge us to strive to
become sons of light.
For you are all
children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the
darkness...since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the
breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation; for God
has not destined us for wrath but for salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ...therefore,
encourage one another and build up one another just as you are doing (1 Thes.
5:5-11).
I wish you a blessed
week ahead. God bless you.
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