November 07, 2015
Saturday
31st Week in Ordinary Time
1st reading: Romans 16.3-9, 16, 22-27
Gospel: Luke 16:9-15
Jesus said to his disciples, “And so I tell you: use filthy money to make friends for yourselves, so that when it fails, these people may welcome you into the eternal homes.“Whoever can be trusted in little things can also be trusted in great ones; whoever is dishonest in slight matters will also be dishonest in greater ones. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling filthy money, who could entrust you with true wealth? And if you have not been trustworthy with things which are not really yours, who will give you the wealth which is your own?“No servant can serve two masters. Either he does not like the one and is fond of the other, or he regards one highly and the other with contempt. You cannot give yourself both to God and to Money.”The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and sneered at Jesus. He said to them, “You do your best to be consi-dered righteous by people. But God knows the heart, and what rises high among humans is loathed by God.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
As any broom, no matter how dirty, can sweep dirt away, so money no matter how filthy can buy good things for us. Jesus advised his listeners to use filthy money to widen their circle of friends. Consider what spiritual benefits a person can derive from using his hard-earned money to help others. In a way, he is sending materials ahead to heaven for the construction of his home there. With the right use of money, one’s heaven can begin right here on earth.
Notwithstanding these spiritual benefits, people can remain reluctant to use money this way because of the mentality of scarcity. A person operating from this perspective instinctively accumulates and hoards material things in times of crisis. In contrast, those having the so-called “abundance mentality” can help even when they themselves think they need help. It is their belief that when they give, God will reward them in “good measure, pressed down and flowing over” (Lk. 6:38).
The abundance mentality is in keeping with today’s Gospel message on the wise use of money. While keeping for the rainy days is a virtue, it should not justify hoarding, bearing in mind the lot in store for those “who store up treasure for themselves instead of making themselves rich in the sight of God” (Luke 12: 21).Brooms are dirty because they are used to sweep dirty places. If money should be as dirty it should be because it is soiled by so much toil to make the lives of others worthy of their dignity as children of God. – Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM., MAPM. Email: dan.delosangeles@gmail.com. Website: www.frdan.org.
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