Eldho Augustine csc –
Readings: Phil 4: 10-19; Lk 16:9-15
‘You cannot serve God and wealth’: crystal clear words, that even nowadays generate ridicule. Scripture tells us that the Pharisees were “lovers of money”. They who had devoted their lives to God were in reality devoted now to their wealth and hence had lost the right to be called “faithful” for they were not faithful to God to whom they had pledged their lives. The wealth they had prized was clearly an abomination in the eyes of God. Jesus states that no slave can serve two masters he will hate one and love the other.
In Luke’s Gospel the word hate is translated as ‘love less’. Jesus in another context asked us to hate father and mother. When rightly translated it means love father and mother less in order to love God more. Similarly, Jesus is not condemning money but clearly asking us to love it less or else we will never be able to love and serve him. It is in this context that he says, “you cannot love both God and wealth.”
“Wealth” can be understood literally, but it can also be given a metaphorical meaning. It can stand for anything that distracts us from serving God; anything that may have become a substitute for God; anything that seduces us away from God’s love. What is the place of God in my life? Who is my master?