25th Sunday in Ordinary Time - 19th September 2010,

I love reading newspapers. All sections of a paper interest me (maybe fashion a little less than sport!). What I have noticed, though, in recent years is that more and more pages are devoted to financial and business matters – the economy, the banks, recession (single or double dip), recovery, borrowing, bankruptcy, house repossessions, bad debts and so on. These are just some of the phrases and words I notice recurring on an almost daily basis.

This is not new. Amos (1 st Reading of the Mass), writing 750 years before the Birth of Christ noticed that the economy was developing at an impressive rate. With this growth in the economy, people began moving to the towns from the more rural parts. A powerful trading class emerged and acquiring property became the fashion (sound familiar?) There was an ‘economic miracle’ and now money could buy almost anything. Judges, priests, politicians and many others were open to offers. The moral ones refused.

Amos courageously unmasks this economic situation and starkly states the downside. He points out that the rising tide did not lift all boats. This new prosperity had to be financed and mostly, Amos points out, it was by small peasant farmers and labourers who were at the mercy of the emerging commercial barons. The text of the First Reading of the Mass is clear. Greedy merchants came to see the Sabbath as an irritating intrusion into their corrupt dealings (falsified scales and cartel pricing). The Sabbath for them was no longer a time of rest to re-connect with their God, who is a God of Justice. Tragically their rush for gain had turned the poor into human merchandise, forced to sell themselves for little reward.

Amos is a brave man plainly saying that what is happening in the economy is plainly unjust. Because this is the case, it must be repugnant to the god these merchants claim to adore. Exploitation of people for money by others is starkly condemned by Amos.

As followers of Christ we are challenged to examine our values – to what have I given my heart over all else? Values other than those condemned by Amos must have a primary place in our lives. We believe in a God who is beyond financial balance sheets. The Christian vision is driven by investment in people without any immediate hope of a return. Without doubt, money has its legitimate role – this church and community could not function without your generosity and careful management of resources – but it is how money is ‘used’ that makes the difference. The Gospel points out that it must be used in the service of other people and of deeper values. This applies to Church as well as to State.

Many of us at Mass this weekend are not players on any stock market or involved in property speculation. Some among us who are so involved try to live by the values of the Gospel. Many do so in an exemplary fashion and it has been my privilege over years as a priest to know something of the enormous generosity people show to others in need. Often, a condition of such giving is that nobody is to know of their generosity.

Even the poorest among us can find some person or some family worse off than ourselves. The reaching out with help to the most needy must bring great joy to the heart of Jesus. In this parish there is a steady development in the work of the St Vincent de Paul Society. This is a wonderful example of how giving is based on Gospel values and yet remains utterly practical in its outreach to the most needy. You may wish to reflect on some other group that you know and admire.

Next Sunday we will have the challenging story in the Gospel of the rich man in his palace and the poor man Lazarus at his gate. We will return to this theme then.

Aidan Troy, C.P. [Aodhán Ó Troighthigh, C.P.]

(I acknowledge helpful material I found in “Scripture in Church”, No. 159: Dominican Publications, Dublin)

Aidan Troy, C.P. [Aodhn Troighthigh, C.P.]