Fr Bernard writes…
Sunday 22nd September 2019 : Sunday 25C (Luke)
Of all the Hebrew Prophets Amos is arguably the most vitriolic against those who oppress the poor, especially as in today’s short passage, by cheating them in all sorts of different ways and thus keeping them in poverty. He has an ominous threat for such people by quoting the Lord himself, “Never will I forget a single thing you have done.” The first reading is chosen to prepare us to hear the gospel, which it has to be said, is one of the oddest parables Jesus gave. It follows the three parables of being lost and found which we had last weekend. A steward has been denounced to his master for being wasteful, so he is given the sack. He is in crisis, not strong enough to be a labourer, too ashamed to beg on the streets, so he decides that his final act before dismissal will be one which will give him a good welcome in people’s homes. He reduces what the master’s debtors owe him. Even if we go down the road of the steward simply knocking of his own commission, at best his actions are dubious. But then the master praised ‘the dishonest steward for his astuteness’, and then the crunch, ‘For the children of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than our the children of light.’ As ‘Children of light’ are we trustworthy? Are we acting with astuteness in our life, focusing on what or who are important, or are we letting lesser concerns consume your energy? Are we trying to serve two masters, if so we need to have a good hard look at ourselves, because Jesus tells us that we cannot.
Next Sunday, 29th September we resume our Family Faith Formation Meetings after the 10.00am Mass. Parents are asked to make every effort to bring their children as we start a new year of faith development. Please see the Newsletter for up to date news.
