Memorial of Saint Martin of Tours, Bishop
Today’s readings point out two key elements of being a disciple of Christ: dependence on God and community.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus taught, “You cannot serve God and mammon,” (Luke 16:13). In previous homilies and reflections, I’ve heard mammon as a reference to wealth and the line interpreted as one cannot serve both God and riches at the same time. However, I’d like to take a closer look at what Jesus really meant. The word “mammon” is interesting since in Greek (the original language of the Gospels), it appeared earlier in that passage as “dishonest wealth.” Dishonest wealth literally means “mammon of iniquity,” and mammon is a transliteration in Greek of a Hebrew/Aramaic word generally meaning “that in which one trusts.” In a sense, it seems that when Jesus talked about mammon, he was referring to the dishonest wealth he mentioned earlier. Therefore, in saying that one cannot serve God and mammon, Jesus told his disciples and us that we cannot trust in both God and riches. Being dependent on wealth means we cannot be dependent on God, and being dependent on God means we cannot depend on wealth. Nonetheless, not relying on money is difficult in today’s world. Money is needed to pay for shelter, food, clothing, and other necessities. Therefore we must be prudent by asking ourselves: What is our relationship with money? Jesus used the word mammon/wealth as if it were a god. The first reading made note that the Gospel spread among the Romans brought obedience and faith “to the only wise God,” (Romans 16:27). In our relationship with money, do we use it or are we faithful and obedient to it? This Gospel passage challenges us to look at our dependence on money and shift that energy to dependence on God.
In the first reading, the writer listed many people to greet and others who greet the Roman community. This passage shows that community is an important factor in being a disciple of Christ. We learn about how to be Christian and how to depend on God from others and God strengthens our faith through other people. The letter also shows a variety of Jewish and Gentile names indicating the diversity of the community. In a way, it reminds me of Beacons of Light. As stressful or even painful as this process of combining parishes into families can be, we can see the diversity of our parish family community that connects us with our early Christian ancestors in faith. We are reminded that we come to God together and with each other rather than just by ourselves and alone.
–Sr. Emily Sandoval, FMI
Source used: Confraternity of the Christian Doctrine, Inc. “Catholic New American Bible RE.” Apple App Store, Vers. 23.2 (2023).