“All that one gains by falsehood is, not to be believed when he speaks the truth.” Aristotle
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Another beautiful Sunday. I got to church just before the Senior Chateau bus arrived. I ran down the long hallway and was able to wave them in as they drove up. Hugs and bulletins for each one. I raced Mr. Mike down the hallway, but his motorized wheelchair was too fast for me. The smiles are priceless. That might be the only smile and hug they get today, or perhaps all week. Precious.
Today’s Gospel was the parable of the dishonest steward who took advantage of his position by lying and cheating.
Gospel
Lk 16:1-13 Jesus said to his disciples,
“A rich man had a steward
who was reported to him for squandering his property.
He summoned him and said,
‘What is this I hear about you?
Prepare a full account of your stewardship,
because you can no longer be my steward.’
The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do,
now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me?
I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg.
I know what I shall do so that,
when I am removed from the stewardship,
they may welcome me into their homes.’
He called in his master’s debtors one by one.
To the first he said,
‘How much do you owe my master?’
He replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’
He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note.
Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’
Then to another the steward said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’
He replied, ‘One hundred kors of wheat.’
The steward said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note;
write one for eighty.’
And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.
“For the children of this world
are more prudent in dealing with their own generation
than are the children of light.
I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth,
so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
The person who is trustworthy in very small matters
is also trustworthy in great ones;
and the person who is dishonest in very small matters
is also dishonest in great ones.
If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth,
who will trust you with true wealth?
If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another,
who will give you what is yours?
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.”
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My take on it… well, shall we just make it easy and say, “ Once a liar, always a liar?” If you are more concerned with money and wealth than honesty and integrity, you will never know the true meaning of life. Your reward will only be of this world, so don’t expect any more than that.
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Yesterday, I had such a fun day. In the morning, I met with my dear old friend from high school and her husband for breakfast on the Square. Linda and Vyto live in South Carolina, and happened to be in town for a concert. Gosh, we hadn’t seen each other in many years. It was good to catch up.
Here’s a couple of links to more Mexican Independence Day celebration folklorico dancers from yesterday.
Toni Andrukaitis 