No servant can serve two masters
In the Gospels, Jesus talks about how the desire for money is an obstacle to our path to God’s kingdom. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus said that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God (Mk 10:25). In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus said that the one who hears the word but is choked by the lure of riches is like the seed sown among thorns (Mt 13:22). And in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus blesses the poor but warns the rich: “Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours; but woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.” (Lk 6:20, 24).
Is it therefore impossible for those who are rich to enter the kingdom of heaven? Not exactly; in the Gospel according to Luke, Jesus said, “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 God and mammon.” (Lk 16:13) In the Middle Ages, people believed that Mammon is the name of the demon of covetousness, tempting people to worship wealth. Clearly, there is a choice to be made: one can either choose to worship God or to worship mammon. In the Parable of the Sower and the Seed (Mt 13:1-23), it is those who are lured by riches that are like the seed sown among thorns and therefore cannot bear fruit. In the Blessings and Woes (Lk 6:20-26), Jesus speaks woe to the rich, not because they have riches, but because they have found their consolation in riches rather than in God.
Though being wealthy is not condemnable in itself, it presents serious difficulties to one who seeks the kingdom of God. The desire for wealth prevents us from being generous to others, and it deludes us with a false security like the rich fool in the Gospel of Luke, tempting us to hoard our riches, and to build bigger and bigger barns for ourselves. (Lk 13:18) The more we keep for ourselves, the less we give of ourselves. And when we do give, we give like the rich people in the Gospel of Mark who contributed out of their surplus wealth, rather than the poor widow who, in putting two small coins in the treasury, contributed her whole livelihood. (Mk 12:44) Indeed, it is the poor widow who had stored up more treasure in heaven than all the rich people combined.
“40 DAYS FOR LIFE” begins on September 25 and ends on November 3. During this time, help save lives by praying for an end to abortion. You can also pick up a baby bottle, bring it home and put loose change in it. When full, return the baby bottles to church and it will be donated to Obria Medical Clinic in Gwinnett. Formerly known as the Pregnancy Resource Center, Obria is a non-profit women’s healthcare clinic which offer ultrasounds, STD testing, counseling and others. Its vision is a strong community that values and respects the life of the unborn, the life of the mother, the family unit, and the physical well-being of our youth.
The Holy Name of Jesus Chinese Catholic Mission’s Fall Garage Sale is on Saturday, October 5! Please bring items for sale to the church on or before Sunday, September 29. Items must be in saleable and working condition. The best items for sale are clothing, accessories, kitchen and dining items, small kitchen appliances, small furniture, office items, home décor and similar items. Please do not bring old books and magazines, tapes and VCRs, old TVs, radios or electronics. Only new and modern electronic items are saleable.
