Homily 25nd Sunday of Ordinary Time - September 18, 2022

 Readings can be found here.

Who do we serve?  What does service mean to us?  With the recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II, many are talking about her service to her nation and the world.  In 1947, she stated in a speech “I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.”  Queen Elizabeth served for 70 years in ways great and small.  She set a high standard for herself as monarch and led by example.  She put duty to her subjects above all else.  She did it with dignity and grace.

I served as an officer in the United States Navy.  I pledged to support and defend the Constitution.  I also pledged to well and faithfully discharge the duties of my office.  I served my country by taking care of the people I was assigned to lead.  This meant more than being ready to defend our ship.  It meant taking care of them in their personal lives as well.  They had families they cared for and that cared for them.  Part of my duty was to make sure their family was taken care of while we were gone.  I knew if I took care of my sailors, they could serve and do their duty well.

There are many ways we can serve others.  What does Jesus mean when he asks us to serve?  Jesus gives us multiple examples in the Gospels.  He tells us He came to serve and not be served.  He washed the disciples’ feet and told them to do likewise.  Jesus told us to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the sick and imprisoned.  We have plenty of other examples of service as well.  In our second reading today, Paul tells of one way we can serve the community; through prayer.  Paul asks that the community offer prayers for those in authority.  Paul wants the community to lead a tranquil life.  God wants everyone to be saved and it is through prayer this can be accomplished.  Praying for others is one way we can serve God.

We also have Mary as a model of service.  As a young woman, she said yes to God without hesitation when asked to be the mother of our Savior.  Her next action after saying yes was to run to her cousin Elizabeth.  Mary wanted to help her through her pregnancy.  Mary then spent her life serving her family as a mother and a wife.  She followed Jesus her entire life and was there with Him at the Cross.  In the Acts of the Apostles, we see how the disciples and deacons served the early Christian community.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us we need to choose who to serve. We can serve either God or mammon but not both.  The most common meaning of the word mammon is money.  However, there is a broader meaning to the word.  It’s not just money, but anything of this world we rely on.

What do we put first in our lives?  All of us experience difficulties in life, great or small.  In these times of trouble, what do we rely on to get us through?  How do we prepare for these inevitable difficulties?  We may rely on accumulating earthly wealth for a rainy day.  Or perhaps we rely on an education, our career, or our own cleverness.  Maybe we rely on our family to be there for us whenever we’re in trouble.  Jesus tells us to rely on God instead of any earthly thing, no matter how good they are.

To rely on God, we need to trust in God before all else.  This requires faith.  But it also requires us to know God.  How can we get to know God better?  Reading the Scriptures and prayer are two good ways to deepen our relationship with God.  But our Gospel tells us that if we are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, how will we receive what is ours?  All that we have is a gift from God.  We are stewards of these gifts.  We’re meant to use them to serve others.  By serving others, we get to know Jesus.  Jesus told us that the things we do for the least people we do for Him.  We can get to know Jesus through the people we interact with in our lives.  We serve God by serving them.  Who do we know in our lives we can better serve so we can rely on God, not mammon?