You Cannot Serve Two Masters

𝐒𝐄𝐏𝐓. 𝟐𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘 𝐅𝐈𝐅𝐓𝐇 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟏: 𝐀𝐦𝐨𝐬 𝟖:𝟒-𝟕

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟏𝟏𝟑:𝟏-𝟐, 𝟒-𝟖 “𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐨𝐫.”

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟐: 𝟏 𝐓𝐢𝐦 𝟐:𝟏-𝟖

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐋𝐊 𝟏𝟔: 𝟏-𝟏𝟑

𝑲𝒆𝒚 𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆: “…𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒚.” (𝒗.13) 

           Today our Gospel reading is as timely as today’s headlines as the reading has some parallelism with the events that are unfolding before us relative to the P1-3 Trillion financial mess that are tied to the anomalous ghost and non-existent flood control projects that were sourced from the Philippines’ national budget over three years (2023, 2024, 2025) under the current Marcos Administration.

           From what we have seen so far from the parallel investigations that are being conducted to either ferret out the truth behind this gargantuan financial mess and or hide it altogether, it is easy to conclude that those involved are so in love with money that it became their masters on which their lives revolve.

In this age when people seem stuck in their desire to eke out a living and provide a comfortable life for their family, there is a tendency to push God aside. Worship of God has not only become mechanical, but it has been turned into an obligation that people need to go through and that’s it.       

         And there are those who think they can buy their way to salvation by picking up the tab whenever the church needs a new roof or a new coat of paint. They are the ones who rise to the occasion whenever the church or community will need funds for a certain project or program. And of course, there are also those whose giving is motivated by their desire to control or manipulate their parish, community or ministry for that matter.

         But in this Gospel passage, Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and this time he gave them an illustration that will clearly define their attitude towards God and their love for wealth and power. In a way this passage is also for us because in our own journey of faith, we will have to choose between God and money and there is nothing in between and there are no gray areas either.

         It’s either we choose to be on the side of God, or we choose to remain imprisoned in the world. Jesus, however, qualified that money is not evil and it can also be used for meaningful purposes.

         If we look back to the passage before this, Jesus showed that money can be used not as an investment to bribe God and earn for us a place in heaven, but to help other people find their way to God. Without thinking of the rewards, our helping the needful especially those whom we can lead to Christ through the financial resources that we have will reap for us eternal benefits.

         The Jews firmly believe that charity given to the poor would be credited to the giver in the world to come. And commenting on the rich fool who built bigger barns to store his harvest, 𝑺𝒕. 𝑨𝒎𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒆 said “𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒓, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒊𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓.”        

Money can be used for selfish purposes, or it can be used to make life easier for others. As God has been merciful to us during the times when we are in need, so we too are being asked to follow the shrewd steward who used his position to make friends whom he expects will help him at some future time.

Generous giving is related to almsgiving and those to whom we give become our friends and they will ultimately see Christ through us. In time, our generosity will lead us to eternity as St. Ambrose commented.

         The opposite of generosity is greed or the excessive desire for wealth and power. And greed doesn’t only refer to the accumulation of material possessions but also to the insatiable desire for power and position. Generosity nurtures the soul while greed blocks the flow of Grace in a person.

This is where I will dare to assume that those involved in this flood control projects scandal – the Senators, Congressmen, DPWH Engineers, private contractors and even the President under whose watch this world record breaking theft of public funds happened are all guilty of. There can be no other plausible explanation why all these corruption were perpetrated except for their insatiable appetite of power and wealth.

         This parable teaches us the need to manage the resources that God has entrusted to us. Once again, we are faced with the reality that we have been put in charge of things that are not ours. While these resources have their present-day use and after-life benefit, still we cannot take these resources with us when we finally meet our maker. In other words, we are merely stewards and our place in heaven will largely depend on how wise we manage these resources that were lent to us.

         These resources include our talent, skills, positions, the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit and as we go through life we need to constantly account for our actions and be an exemplar for honesty and integrity even on small matters. No one becomes chief operating officer of a company in an instant unless you own the company. COOs and CEOs advanced in their corporate paths, but they all started from scratch.

         It gives me tremendous joy whenever I look back at my work in the media sector where I gave almost my entire life when I started as a Radio DJ and moving up the ladder of success until I became a Station Manager. When I moved to the Print Media, I again started as a Beat Reporter until I moved up to become a Business Editor of a major daily. Along the way, I met, helped and trained numerous Announcers and Writers who have become successful in their own right many of whom have also become Editors.

         I rubbed elbows with ordinary military, police officers, politicians and upstart businessmen who would later become generals, congressmen, senators and top corporate officials, respectively. And this association and links I have established proved beneficial at some point in time. A police general I worked with even became President of the Philippines.

         Indeed money, wealth and power can corrupt but it also brings some benefit to the person with such. As money and greed have the power to ease out God in our lives, it can ultimately become our master, and this is what Jesus is warning us in this parable. A master is one who rules our lives and in this life, there is a tendency we can be ruled by love of money and possessions, power of position, the glamor associated with wealth and prestige. These can control not only our thoughts but even our desires and values.

         Money can be a deceptive master. It may offer power and prestige but there is no permanency in these. We have witnessed how the fortunes of the high and mighty changed overnight and no amount of money can give us health, true joy and eternal life. On the other side is God who offers us peace of mind and a place in his heavenly kingdom where we will reign in glory in the company of his angels and his saints.

         Which is why Jesus demands that we choose between God and mammon because we cannot dwell in God and immerse ourselves in the cares of this world. And there shouldn’t be any doubt or vacillation in the way we make our choice. To take the side of God assures us of our eternal inheritance in heaven. To remain in the world would lead us to the fiery furnace where there will be gnashing and grinding of teeth.

         There is only one Master and that is Our God who created us, Jesus Christ who redeemed us and freed us from our slavery to sinful desires and greed and, the Holy Spirit who sanctifies the work of our hands.

         Let me end with my favorite line – there was somebody who said “𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔.” He never did because he never saw and lived one of these days. Brothers and sisters, let us not put off our response to God’s call. There is only one Master and that is Jesus Christ who is the door to eternity. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 – 𝘚𝘦𝘱𝘵. 21, 2025)