Certainly, the
warning that Amos gave on the first reading[1] can
be given to those who take advantage of others, and particularly, those who
take advantage of the poor and the vulnerable[2]. Many
people will have to answer to God for the way that hard working migrants are
treated by unjust employers. Many will pay dearly for the human trafficking
that takes place throughout our country. Many will have to answer to God for
creating, benefitting from, and supporting the pornography industry that
convinces mostly young people to find an instant solution to their money and/or
drug problems. Many people will have to answer to God for the creation and
sustaining of the abortion industry. Abortion is big business in the United
States. To all of these, Amos says, God
sees, and He will not forget what you are doing.
It certainly is sad how some people
can be so dishonest. Their one and only concern is making as much money as
possible, without caring if their methods are just or unjust, moral or immoral.
Certainly, all of us have had to deal with people who have done their best to
cheat us. We didn’t realize this at the time of our business dealing, whatever
it might be, because we took it for granted that the person was sincere. But then we find out that the used car we
bought from a friend of a neighbor has a different battery then when we checked
the car out, or that the roofer only put nails in half the shingles, etc. And
we ask ourselves, “How can that person live with himself, herself?” The answer
is, “Quite easily. Quite easily because he or she doesn’t care about anyone
other than themselves.” Jesus said at
the end of today’s Gospel, You cannot serve
two masters; you will hate one and be devoted to the other or vice-versa.
A person cannot
serve God and materialism. If a person is really God fearing to use the older
expression, by that they meant someone who respects the Lord, than that person
will not be a cheat and a liar. He or she will live for the Lord. If a person
is concerned only with using others for his or her own personal benefit, then
that person can put on all the piety he or she wants, but the person will only
be living for himself or herself, not for the Lord.
At the root of
these readings is the answer to this question: What makes someone a success? The
swindlers of the first reading and those in our society that make money any way
possible, have bought into the lie that success measured by net worth. I
remember hearing someone tell me that he wanted to have x amount of money accumulated before he died. Then his life would be a success. How sad. Others
will say that a person’s intelligence and skills should lead him or her to make
as much money as possible. Also sad. Following that reasoning, a teacher is not
as successful as other professionals because other professionals make a lot
more money. You know as well as I know that this is not true. But that is the
way that many people of the world measure success.
How do we
followers of Jesus Christ measure success? Our measure of success is predicated
on our union with the Lord! We believe that we were created by God and for God.
We were created to serve Him here and be with Him forever. Our lives are
successful if we have done all we can to allow our union with God to empower
our lives. It is our union with God that demands that we take up the cause of
the poor, the elderly, the vulnerable, and those about to be born.
Are we successful in life? Are we
closer to God now than we were ten years ago? Are we responding to the ways
that He is using us in our vocations, be they priesthood, religious life,
single life or marriage? Can others see
Christ in the way we treat the members of our family, our classmates, our
friends, our workmates? Do we respond to His challenge to care for His Presence
in the poor, the afflicted, the vulnerable, and those about to be born? To the
degree that we allow God to work through us, to that degree our lives are
successful.
At the end of
the first reading the Lord says about the cheating merchants, Never will I forget a thing they have done. This bad news for them. It is also bad news
for us when we hurt others and live for ourselves. But there is also good news
in that statement. God will never forget the good things that we have done
either. God sees, God knows, and God loves.
He is the one who prompts us to act as Christians in the first place. We
call this Grace.
What is your day
like? What is mine? Full of a lot of tasks, no doubt. Being continually pulled
on by others, no doubt. But in everything we do, we can serve the Lord. St.
Theresa of Lisieux called this the Little
Way. If we serve God in every action of our lives, no matter how
insignificant that action might seem in the grand scheme of things, then our
lives will be a success.
Can we do
it? Can we withstand the pressures of
the godless elements of our society and live as true Christians? Can we be
God-fearing, God-respecting people? We cannot be successful in life by ourselves. But we are not alone. God did not create us
and then abandon us. Jesus did not just call us to follow Him and then leave us
to our own devices. God gives us His Holy Spirit to empower us. He strengthens
us with His Word and His very Body and Blood. He gives us the courage to stand
up for the poor, the vulnerable, those about to be born. By nourishing our
union with God, we will live as Christians. Then our lives will be successful ■
