September 21, 2025・25th Sunday in Ordinary Time ( C )

Amos 8.4-7・ Psalm113.1 2, 3 4, 7 8 ・1 Timothy 2.1-8・ Luke 16.1-13

Our readings today call each one of us to reflect upon how we use our resources in this world. While we are called to stewardship of all creation, we are reminded specifically at the same time about our responsibilities to people we directly and indirectly deal with as we use our resources for our daily temporal needs. Our responsibilities to other people include justice specially for the poor. The call for justice for every people we deal with is a call to be honest in daily life. In the context of our faith and sincere service to God and people, we must fully understand that earthly goods are tools for doing good and helping others. Our true allegiance lies to the wealth that leads to eternal life. Our Gospel reading today sums up with compact statement that says: “No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon.”

Cheating and exploiting the poor is a present social issue. Unfortunately, while many years back, cheaters and exploiters were used to do everything they could to keep others from discovering/knowing about their cheating and other similar practices, nowadays, rampant cheating and exploitation caused by greed can seemingly be done openly with less shame, or maybe no shame/conscience at all.  It may not be so true in few places around the globe, but can really be so true in other parts, and many parts of the world.

Indeed, there are some people in power and who in fact have the capacity to exploit available resources and who have the capacity to do whatever they want to. However, they rather choose to act with sincerity and integrity. We acknowledge their good deeds. We pray that they will continue to be stewards with the same sincerity and integrity they have chosen and valued so far.

Indeed, we will continue to live in this world together with our leaders for example, and with some others n higher position than us in the society and in our respective places of work, government facilities. We have our leaders in our religious affiliations too. Our second reading today invites us “to pray with pure hearts, for everyone including leaders, so we may live peacefully”. May each one of us, together with our so-called leaders in many aspects of our lives, and with our spiritual directors/leaders of course, be able to live peacefully with the offer of Christ`s peace that is already given to us for our own consumption anytime we are willing to open our hearts (as long as we are willing to).