February 26, 2017
8th Sunday Ordinary
It is not a bad word! “You cannot serve both God and mammon.†The Hebrew word is “mammon.†It means material possessions entrusted to another. Mammon includes things for survival like food, clothing and shelter. But when concern for these essentials becomes a person’s primary goal, one falls into a type of idolatry. Possessions begin to possess. We are preoccupied in trying to hold on to and to increase what we own. Possessions and consumption take the place of God. In a sense “goods†become bad. St. Augustine in his “Confessions†beautifully describes the proper role of created things. “Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my un-loveliness I plunged into lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would not been at all. You called, you shouted, and you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace.â€
Jesus sees exactly what happens when we serve “mammon†– anxiety and worry. He gives us another apparently impossible command: “Do not worry.†Certainly, bad things can happen but constant worry will not prevent them. Anxiety dulls our sensitivity to God’s providence. We fail to see the pattern of God’s grace, support and sustenance. When we are not attuned to God’s mercy, we may not recognize God’s deliverance during difficult times. Anxiety distracts us from noticing the gifts of our Creator and giving thanks to God. Instead of worry, Jesus teaches us to give our “mammon†to the poor (we will have treasure in heaven), then come follow him. Rather than worry we are commissioned to go about the business of God’s Kingdom and travel light.
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7th Sunday Ordinary
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First Sunday of Lent
