The Gospel for November 13, 2004
Luke 16:10-18
Anyone who is trustworthy in little things is trustworthy in great; anyone who is dishonest in little things is dishonest in great. If then you are not trustworthy with money, that tainted thing, who will trust you with genuine riches? And if you are not trustworthy with what is not yours, who will give you what is your very own? ‘No servant can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or be attached to the first and despise the second. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.’ The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and jeered at him. He said to them, ‘You are the very ones who pass yourselves off as upright in people’s sight, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed in human eyes is loathsome in the sight of God. ‘Up to the time of John it was the Law and the Prophets; from then onwards, the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing their way into it. ‘It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for one little stroke to drop out of the Law. ‘Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another is guilty of adultery, and the man who marries a woman divorced by her husband commits adultery. -- The New Jerusalem Bible. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1995, c1985
A Study
The writers pose the question between what we have and what we need in another way, speaking of trust with small things. Here, a small thing is our material wealth, and genuine riches are those of the kingdom.
"Forcing their way into it" is a redux of the "strait door," through which we may pass only through agonizing effort, leaving behind everything we think of value to gain that which only is valuable.
A Reflection
Wealth by itself is not evil; what we think about wealth and how we use wealth present opportunities to serve Screwtape and ignore God's calls to us. Holding on to the possessions makes it harder (impossible) to force my way through the strait gate, no matter how agonizing a struggle I undertake.
Jesus did perform a 1-2-3 punch to the religious elite who were jeering at his words: He had just denounced the elite who loved money, He reinforced the mercy and justice demanded by the Law, and He reminded them that their strict interpretation of Moses' giving-in to their desire to divorce was not the Given Order. It's hardly any wonder that they hated Him; He seldom passed up a chance to poke them in the eye with a figurative sharp stick. And to put salt into their wounded pride, He stuck to the Law and the Prophets like glue.
We are called to pray for one another to alleviate the agony of forcing our way into the strait gate.
A Collect
O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light rises up in darkness for the godly: Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what you would have us to do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices, and that in your light we may see light, and in your straight path may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
8:42:29 PM 
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