† Sunday, 19 September 2010
In England and Wales – For the harvest, fruits of human work, use of creation
Keynote: Jesus invites us to choose between ambition, greed, or service of God
Prophet Amos 8: 4-7
Writing some eight hundred years before the Christian era, Amos highlights some of the dangers to which we expose ourselves in our search for wealth and power, ‘Listen to this you who trample on the needy and try to suppress the poor people …you who say: “When will the Sabbath be over so that we can sell our corn?” …Then by lowering the bushel, raising the shekel, by swindling and tampering with the scales we can buy up the poor with money.’ Sounds familiar doesn’t it? For society, financial institutions, retailers, and our own greed so often put business before family values, and trading time before time for God. Wealthy nations trample on the poorer nations exacting high interest charge repayments. In our desire for fine houses, clothes and holiday pleasures: ‘we buy up the poor for money, and the needy for a pair of sandals.’ The prophet Amos utters the warning, ‘The Lord swears, “Never will I forget a single thing you have done.”’
Responsorial Psalm 112 (113) – in praise of God’s compassion and glory
First Letter of Paul to Timothy 2: 1-8
The apostle now gives advice about worship in the local church. Because they refused to take part in the pagan rites of sacrifice in the temples Christians were accused of being disloyal to the Emperor and their rulers. Answering the charge Paul says, ‘My advice is that, first of all, there should be prayers offered for everyone – petitions, intercessions and thanksgiving – and especially for kings and those in authority, so that we may be able to live religious and reverent lives in peace and quiet.’ Many will recognise the Prayer of the Faithful, which we share in the Eucharist even to this day. But notice too, the posture of prayer the ‘orantes’. For Paul writes, ‘In every place then, I want the men [people] to lift their hands up reverently in prayer…’ For early Christians the normal posture of a person at prayer was standing – standing, in contrast with the posture of the grovelling slave – standing then as freeman with arms outstretched, and with palms turned upward towards heaven, ready to receive the gift of God. This ‘orantes’ is still the posture of the presiding priest when praying in our liturgy.
Gospel according to Luke 16: 1-13
Interest rates and bank loan charges get our attention! Jesus tells a parable about the business of money. ‘There was a rich man and he had a steward who was denounced to him for being wasteful of his property…’ One reading of this parable is that the steward had been unjustly accused, and decides to take action to get his own back on his master who was being unfair. Usury – the lending of money for interest – is condemned in Jewish law, but usury was widely practised by including a false accounting figure in the contract price. It is this element of the contracts that the steward writes off in order to gain favour with his neighbours. Yet, ‘The master praised the dishonest steward for his astuteness.’ Jesus is not encouraging his disciples to act unjustly or dishonestly he urges his disciples to act positively choosing the Kingdom of God, ‘No servant can be the slave of two masters …you cannot be the slave of both God and of money.’
© 2010 Peter J Harrison