HOMILIES

Dear Audience,
For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!

Twenty Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C)

Sep 21, 2025

614

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First Reading

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Amos (8:4-7)

Hear this, you who trample upon the needy and destroy the poor of the land! "When will the new moon be over," you ask, "that we may sell our grain, and the sabbath, that we may display the wheat? We will diminish the ephah, add to the shekel, and fix our scales for cheating! We will buy the lowly for silver, and the poor for a pair of sandals; even the refuse of the wheat we will sell!" The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Never will I forget a thing they have done!

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (113:1-2, 4-6, 7-8)

(R) Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor.

Praise, you servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord both now and forever. (R)

High above all nations is the Lord; above the heavens is his glory. Who is like the Lord, our God, who is enthroned on high and looks upon the heavens and the earth below? (R)

He raises up the lowly from the dust; from the dunghill he lifts up the poor to seat them with princes, with the princes of his own people. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to Timothy (2:1-8)

Beloved: First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity. This is good and pleasing to God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth. For there is one God. There is also one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as ransom for all. This was the testimony at the proper time. For this I was appointed preacher and apostle - I am speaking the truth, I am not lying, teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. It is my wish, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (16:1-13)

Jesus said to his disciples, "A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property. He summoned him and said, "What is this I hear about you? Prepare a full account of your stewardship, because you can no longer be my steward." The steward said to himself, "What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me? I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes." He called in his master's debtors one by one. To the first he said, "How much do you owe my master?" He replied, "One hundred measures of olive oil." He said to him, "Here is your promissory note. Sit down and quickly write one for fifty." Then to another the steward said, "And you, how much do you owe?" He replied, "One hundred measures of wheat." The steward said to him, "Here is your promissory note; write one for eighty." And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently. "For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours? No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon."

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

Today's gospel story is about a manager who, upon learning he would be dismissed for mismanaging and wasting his master's property, quickly devised a plan to save himself and then put it into action. He called in each debtor, asked how much they owed his master and then shrewdly lowered the amount of the debt, thereby making new friends and ensuring they would provide for him when he was fired. In doing so, the manager put his master in a difficult position. If the master had later demanded full payment from the debtors, he would have incurred the anger and ill will of the debtors. So, the master, instead of condemning the manager's actions as dishonest or unjust, surprisingly commended his foresight and wisdom in securing his own future well-being.

Jesus then used this story to teach profound spiritual lessons to his followers. He said, "The children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than the children of light", Luke (16:8). Here, Jesus drew a contrast between the "children of the world", that is, unbelievers and worldly people and "the children of light", that is, believers and spiritually minded people, noting that unbelievers are wiser in the things of the world than believers are in spiritual matters.

Jesus continued to exhort his followers by saying, "Make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings", Luke (16:9). Here, Jesus neither approved of the manager's dishonest actions nor motivated his followers to emulate the manager's dishonesty to acquire wealth deceitfully or use their wealth for personal gain. Rather Jesus encouraged His followers to be wise and proactive in managing their spiritual lives and using worldly resources, or "unrighteous wealth," for eternal purposes, such as making friends by generously sharing and supporting God's work on earth, so that when they face their own mortality, they would be welcomed into God's eternal dwelling places as non-believers are in their own material pursuits.

Jesus further said, "The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones", Luke (16:10). Here, the "small" and "great" matters refer to all aspects of life including one's time, talents, tasks, work, knowledge, wisdom, relationships etc. By this statement, Jesus emphasized that faithfulness in small, worldly matters is an indicator of one's ability to be faithful in great matters. Conversely, if someone is unfaithful or dishonest or irresponsible with the small matters they are entrusted with, they will also be dishonest or irresponsible with bigger responsibilities and true riches.

Jesus then posed two rhetorical questions. His first question was: "If you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth?", Luke (16:11). Here, "True wealth" refers to spiritual riches and responsibilities that have eternal significance, including a variety of gifts, virtues, and blessings that God bestows upon believers through Jesus Christ, such as forgiveness of sins, reconciliation with God, adoption into God's family, wisdom, knowledge, and understanding that enable believers to grasp divine truths and realities beyond human comprehension, faith, prophecy, discerning of spirits, interpretations of tongues, teaching, healing, giving and leading that empower believers to build up the Church and benefit the wider community, 1 Corinthians (12:8-10), Romans (12:6-8) and Ephesians (4:11). So, Jesus warned his followers that if they are unfaithful with worldly possessions which are often obtained through unrighteous means or are simply temporary and unreliable, they would not be entrusted with "true wealth".

Jesus' second question was: "If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours?", Luke (16:12). Jesus used this question to emphasize to his followers that if they are not faithful with the earthly possessions of others, which ultimately belong to God, they would not be entrusted with the true, eternal riches of heaven, which are their own inheritance. In essence, Jesus pointed out that wise management of or faithfulness with the resources given to them in this life is a test for receiving true spiritual riches from God.

Then Jesus made the well-known statement about serving two masters. He said, "No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon", Luke (16:13). "Mammon" refers to money, wealth, earthly possessions, or anything that holds a person's trust, loyalty, and devotion in a way that rivals their service to God. So, Jesus highlighted the inherent conflict and spiritual incompatibility of serving God and pursuing material wealth simultaneously and told his followers that they must choose one allegiance over the other because it is impossible to be fully committed to two opposing masters. True devotion to God requires placing Him above all worldly desires and commitments particularly the pursuit of wealth.

Jesus concluded the parable by giving a command, "You cannot serve both God and mammon," emphasizing that His followers cannot serve two masters, and will inevitably favour one over the other, thus making exclusive devotion to God necessary.

Through the grace of baptism, God brings us out of darkness into His light and calls us to live as children of light by abandoning deeds of darkness and sin, by living with integrity, acting compassionately, being honest, and upholding justice, by imitating Jesus Christ and by living in a way that honours Him, reflecting His life and teaching to others, and by illuminating the path for those who are still in darkness and drawing others to God's redemptive love, Ephesians (5:8-9). Unfortunately, most of us still cling to the ways of the world and are not astute in spiritual gain.
Like Israel in the prophet Amos' time, we gain earthly riches through dishonest or unjust means such as exploitation, force, fraud, bribery, theft, deceit, and other unethical dealings. We often use the resources entrusted to us by God such as money, time, talents, material possessions, and knowledge, exclusively for our own selfish purposes. Like "the children of the world" we place high value on temporary earthly possessions above God and eternal spiritual treasures. We accumulate wealth just like everyone else. We forget that we are called to be simply "in" the world - physically present - but not of it, not part of its beliefs, values, systems, priorities and practices, John (17:14-16).
Today's gospel challenges us to examine our relationship with wealth and our use of resources, and to seek God rather than money. As we respond to this parable, we must, first and foremost, ask ourselves what resources we have been entrusted with. Just like the dishonest manager, in some way, we are all managers of something: time, talents, relationships, possessions, money, wealth, knowledge, or wisdom and we are held accountable for how we manage these resources, which are not our own but God's. We must always be faithful and honest stewards of these resources. We must earn our living in honest ways and be forthright in our business dealings. God knows our sins. He doesn't forget the things, the way you or I do, as the prophet Amos says, Amos (8:7).

However, if we, in some way, like the children of the world, obtain something in a dishonest way, we should freely use the "unrighteous wealth" to benefit God's Kingdom and to serve others, rather than amassing or hiding or wasting it. Demonstrating faithfulness in how we handle these resources, even small ones, will lead to God entrusting us with true, eternal wealth.
As Christians, we continue to face the same fundamental choice as people in the past. Once Elijah challenged the people of Israel on Mount Carmel to choose between the worship of the true God, Yahweh, and the false god Baal, rather than remaining indecisive. The people remained silent, unable to choose between the two. He said, "If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God, follow Him", 1 Kings (18:21). Today, once again, Jesus gives us the privilege of making our choice - to choose between God, who offers eternal life, and money, which can lead to destruction. We cannot waver in choosing God over money because Jesus says that it's physically and spiritually impossible to serve both.

Let us, therefore, wholeheartedly choose to love and serve God above all else, seek His face above all other idols in our lives, trusting that He will do what is right and provide for our needs, including earthly riches.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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