Living With Passion

September 22, 2019 –– 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Amos 8:4–7 / Psalm 113 / 1 Timothy 2:1–8 / Luke 16:1–13

Living With Passion

In this Gospel story Jesus is not recommending conniving selfishness (the prophet Amos warns about that!). Jesus is making the point that we are in the same position as this steward who saw his imminent dismissal threatening him with ruin––but the crisis which threatens us is even more serious. The steward was losing his temporal security; all of us are going to die, and how we respond to this temporal world will affect us eternally. The word mammon in the Gospel reading is not merely money, but the sum total of temporal values.

As Christians, we believe there are two worlds: the unseen world as well as the one that is visible––the world which is eternal as well as the one that is passing away. Some people live as though this world is all there is and ever will be. That means all their values, all their energies and all their hopes are focused on the here and now. Living that way is the essence of unbelief. To live that way is to leave God and his kingdom out of the picture. It is an attitude which thinks that being “happy” right now is the most important thing––and temporal security is a top priority for having happiness.

Jesus says the man in this story acted "prudently" (v8). The word is sometimes translated “wisely” or “shrewdly” (emphasizing the devious side of being “wise”). The steward had foresight and recognized the critical nature of his situation. Jesus is not commending his character or what he did; rather, Jesus respects the intensity of the man’s perception and motivation to act “prudently” for his welfare, so he says: For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.

In essence, Jesus is saying that people who live for the here and now know how to go after what they want. Worldly people know how to be worldly. They are shrewd. They know how to get their way. They know how to take care of what is often called “Number One.” A shrewd businessman knows how to manipulate situations to his own advantage. A playboy knows how to seduce. A “shark” knows how to cheat people. That kind of character goes after their goal with abandon. People consumed with this world know what they want and they know what they have to do to get it. That is how they can be a model to us for how to live with passion for the kingdom of God. The dedication it takes to achieve advancement and pleasure in the here-and-now is the kind of dedication Jesus calls his disciples to have for following him.

We live in a world where most people get things backwards. Beginning with the first disobedience in the Garden, people have always tried to rationalize away God's laws. The Pharisees did it (see v14). Many “religious” people do it today. God calls his people to look at life in an upside-down kind of way.

One way to think about our priorities and motivations is through the values we hold for our children. So much of the focus is on worldly success. Little Johnny might know little or nothing about God, Scripture, or Sacraments, but let him bring home a bad report card, and the reaction is quick. Here is a big problem because if Johnny doesn’t get better grades, he might not get into the best college, and then he won’t be able to make a killing––I mean.... a living.

Too often in today’s culture kids are taught that sports is the most important thing. Weekly church attendance is not so easy, but daily practice is certainly accommodated. We can think that an hour sitting in church is next to eternity (and don’t dare go over), but hours of a Saturday or Sunday (or both) watching games and going to sports meets is no big deal. Meanwhile Johnny and Susie, who can kick a soccer ball or shoot baskets for hours, barely know Scripture and have no clue at Mass. But Mom and Dad haven’t made those things important, so maybe they’re not important at all.

But it’s not just families with kids and young adults…. “Mature adults” can spend hours worrying and strategizing to make sure their retirement income enables them to “live life at the standard you have come to expect” (that line was in a commercial). Retirees can passionately give themselves to the pleasures “we worked for so long and hard to enjoy,” and that’s supposedly the crowning glory of life.

It is so easy for all of us––parents and church leaders––not to be responsible in what matters most to God. Our children hear that they should study hard, get good grades etc., to make it in this world. In its place this is not wrong––but their souls are more important. If we allow our heroes and models to be sports superstars and entertainers who make it big in this world, then what is our true focus? Where are our hearts?

We all have a God-given capacity to go after what we want.... with abandonment. People around us do it all the time. “Go-getters" usually have the admiration of a lot of people. One exception to that is people who are super-motivated about Jesus––they are usually looked upon as "fanatics."

Jesus is calling us to be disciples who are willing to live for his kingdom with the same intensity with which worldly people pursue their own self interests. The unbelieving world will not easily hear the Church if we as Christians are not modeling distinctiveness in our values and commitments. May our Lord have mercy on us all. May he give us, who claim the name of Jesus, the desire and the strength to serve him with passion.