Deacon Tom Writes,
“I Will Never
Forget”
We
would be seriously mistaken to think that cheating the poor and stealing from the
needy was a modern day phenomena. Sad to say that such behavior has been around
for a long time. 750 years before Christ the Prophet Amos chastises those who
tinkered with their scales in order to overcharge the poor and needy for their
wheat and grain. The Lord has a few caustic words for them, “Never will I forget a thing they have done”!
Have
you ever heard the expression, “keeping
your thumb on the scale”? In whose favor does that work? In addition, those
who engage in such a devious practice, as Amos writes, can’t wait for the
Sabbath and the Festival of the New Moon to be over with so that they can take
advantage of the poor of the land. Such behavior has gotten the Lord’s
attention, says Amos, and the Lord, “will
never forget a thing they have done”!
In
the gospel, Jesus tells the story of a manager who has quite the way with
numbers. Apparently, he was an unscrupulous steward whose deception was
detected by his employer. What the steward lacked in integrity, however, he made
up for with his imagination. Before he is fired, he cancels part of the debt
that others owed his master. This way those whose debts he had forgiven would
take care of him after he was discharged. What a fraud…. and cleverly done. That’s
why Jesus points him out. As deceitful as this act was, Jesus recognizes that the
dishonest steward was very successful in taking very good care of himself.
Now,
Jesus is not advocating deceitful means in our dealings with the world. Rather,
he is suggesting that his disciples be as ingenious and imaginative in ways of building
up the Kingdom of God as those who seek to acquire an inordinate share of the
things of this world. If just a small token of our efforts were directed toward
advancing the Kingdom of God in all our daily encounters at home, where we work
or go to school, where we shop or play, a more just and peaceful world would
unfold before our very eyes.
Today’s
readings prompt us to reflect on how much imagination and energy we put into
bringing about God’s Kingdom as we go about our daily affairs. Do we see the
poor being abused and cheated in any way today and point it out, refuse to
participate, seek to put an end to unfair and unjust practices that oppress
them? This is an important question for disciples of Jesus to ask themselves today.
Why?
You
see, those words of the Prophet Amos also apply to those who help shoulder the
burdens of the poor today... the Lord says, “Never will I forget a
thing they have done”.
Enjoy the day,
Deacon Tom
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