Today’s modern man has forgotten how to live, he does not have a life, he just survives his life, hence, he is mechanically limited by the multiple occupations he has imposed upon himself. Hardly anyone lives peacefully anymore, we are always on the run, we are slaves to time and to our jobs.
We are slaves to materialism, the ridiculous and ruinous desire to possess, we are always preoccupied about tomorrow, what is going to happen, worried about when will it come, the going back and forth of questions, always wondering, we get old and die internally.
One of the teachings that Jesus makes very clear this Sunday is in reference to the way money and material possessions are used. He tells us: “you cannot serve God and mammon” (Mt 6, 24-34). He makes it very clear that we have to be very straight and concrete on how we follow the gospel.
We have to follow the gospel in its evangelic way not half way, no half time or space, He is asking you to make a clear and uncensored decision. We cannot surrender our hearts to materialism. He wants it all for Himself, in other words, He wants you to be only His, to belong only to Him.
Jesus uses the word to serve. That does not mean you cannot have material possessions and that you should not seek them, of course we have the right to have them, to look for them, but Jesus wants us to understand that everything has to be done with caution and in moderation, without forgetting that you do not belong to those material things or the money, since these things are all temporary, they will pass, they will vanish one day, and when all these possessions disappear, you will be empty, you won’t have anything.
I will give you an example: when we buy new things, the happiness of having them lasts only a few days, when they get old there are other things that will take their place. It is precisely what our Lord refers to when He said not to be slaves to money, in other words, do not allow money to control us, or allowmaterialism to lead our lives. So then, it is not the sameto have wealth and serve or to be a slave to them. How will you know the difference between these two attitudes?
Jesus talks about two masters: God is one Master, the other one is money or materialism, or work or any other element that is not of God. We have to make this clear, we call “master” someone who has the power to dominate and make you his slave.
Money has the power to change the human being, to make of him whatever it wants. Satan has a way of taking possession of this area in a
very ridiculous way. Jesus is warning us that money also pretends to be a “master”. And my question is: Can money make us be dependants of it?
Of course it can. When our life is only centered on or above everything else, in obtaining money or getting what money allows us to have, without us knowing it, we have turned ourselves into slaves of money and money has turned into our “master”.
Work has its’ importance, but not to the point of giving your whole life to your job. There are people, and I am not talking only about rich people, that give themselves in such a way to their work that everything else becomes subordinate to the job. And these other things are: family relations, friends, their relation with God, etc. How many people have changed their personalities, their way of thinking because of money, they have even killed and destroyed others.
That is why Jesus calls money “a master”, but a “master”, not with the strength or conviction that we call Him “Master”. I think thata huge portion of the economic crisis we are living now has its origin in the ambition and greed of people who were so centered in making money, in gaining a lot, that they did not care about tearing apart or destroying the lives of others.
They made wrong decisions that have ended in terrible consequences for lots of people. It is a good example and this Gospel is still relevant for us today. It does not pay to get overwhelmed. We have to trust in God, know that we are His divine providence for our brothers and sisters, and for ourselves too. We have to take care of each other because we are sons and daughters of God.
God wants us to understand who He is, He is the “Master” but not only to say He is the Lord, but believe it with all our hearts and souls. Because He created us, He is our “Owner”; we depend on Him. We owe our obedience andrespect to Him, because of Him everything exists and lives. Also, Jesus talks to us about how much God loves and takes care of us.
This is what we call: Divine Providence. Jesus explains this to us using the country images of the birds in the sky and the lilies of the field to ensure us that He directly takes care of our nourishment and clothing. If His Heavenly Father in Heaven feeds the birds in the sky, are we not more important than they? If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you? O you of little faith!” Mt 6, 30.
He is telling us something that is very evident, but we do not pay it any mind: God takes care of the grass that will perish and lasts only a short time, how will He not take care of us, who are destined to live with Him forever! Also, Hereproaches us: If we are so worried about our clothes is because we are people of little faith.
Why will He accuse us of having little faith? Because to have faith, we have to really believe in Divine Providence, our trust in God is a consequence of our faith in Him. Then He tells us what we have to do, how to do it, and what He wants: “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be given you besides”.
In other words
, we should worry about obtaining our spiritual treasures, God’s kingdom, find out what He wants from us, look for what is needed to be able to acquire and possess theeternal treasures of God. If we seek God first, everything else, material things, an additional bonus, will be given to us without looking for it.
If we have and live with this conscience, we will go out and fight, to ensure that this world is a better place, a loving place where everyone, all people, can live and not only just survive, because that is the will of God.
That is the mystery of God that Paul talks about in the second reading. We are the administrators, the stewards of everything around us. God wants our lives. God will never leave us alone, He will always hold us in His arms. He will never forsake us, as we are reminded in the first reading from the Prophet Isaiah.
AMEN!!
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