One of the reasons Jesus often taught
the lessons of life with parables was to illustrate how the
commandments—indeed, the whole Mosaic Law—could be interpreted and applied in
ways that go beyond the obvious. The
parable in the gospel about how we cannot serve both God and mammon is no
exception. The context for this parable
is the first of the Ten Commandments. This
commandment seems easy enough to understand and to apply its meaning:
“There shall
be no foreign god among you; you shall not bow down to an alien god. I am the LORD your God, who brought you up
from the land of Egypt” (Ps 81: 10-11).
In view of
the many Roman and Greek gods that were available for the ancient Hebrews to
choose from, the point of this first commandment is fairly obvious.
But for Jesus, this and each
Commandment has meaning and value beyond the obvious. With an eye to the first commandment, for
example, Jesus tells his disciples, “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). Beyond the obvious meaning, Jesus
stated this teaching as a not-so-subtle criticism of the Pharisees for their
lack of compassion for the poor. They
loved their money and their status above all else, and thus, the Pharisees who
heard this criticism ridiculed and rejected Jesus (Lk16:19-31). For, mammon was their god.
The
word mammon back then and still today has a strictly worldly meaning that
refers to more than just money. Mammon
refers to wealth in general and all the things of this world on which we rely
for security, status, strength, and power.
In effect, Jesus is saying to his disciples, “Be on your guard with
money and worldly wealth. It’s not as
great as you think. It will fail you in
the end. If you don’t learn to use it
wisely, it may very well be your undoing.”
Jesus knows how we can turn anything into our god, especially material
wealth.
For us, there remains a question of
how to hear his message—how are we to use our material wealth in a spiritually
wise manner. Jesus is clear on this
point as well. The whole life and
mission of Jesus shows that we must practice justice and mercy with our
wealth. We are not to turn our backs on
those in need by refusing to share the wealth that we have. All of our wealth—not just our money. And, each of us knows exactly what we count
as wealth.
There is a passage in the first
letter of Timothy that summarizes all of this in a very clear and powerful
manner. That passage reads like this:
“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put
their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who
richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good
deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.
In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation
for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life
(1 Tim 6:17-19).
Throughout his own earthly life,
Jesus made it clear that mercy, compassion, and love are the touchstones of a morally
good life. One example that illustrates
this point is an encounter he once had with the Pharisees in the synagogue,
where there was a man who had a withered hand. The Pharisees asked Jesus
whether it is it lawful to cure on the Sabbath.
They knew how he would answer, and so wanted to accuse Jesus of
disobeying the Law of Moses, which prohibited healing on the Sabbath. Jesus
said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep that falls into a pit on the
Sabbath will not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable a person is than a
sheep. So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. Then he said to the man, ‘Stretch out your
hand’” and the hand was restored as sound as the other (Mt 12:9-13).
For Jesus, each of the Commandments
lends itself to a similar expanded interpretation and application. For instance:
The Commandment says: Thou shall not kill; and Jesus says, “Blessed
are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
The Commandment says, “Thou shall
not commit adultery or covet thy neighbor’s spouse,” and Jesus says, “Blessed
are the clean of heart, for they will see God.”
The Commandment says, “Thou shall
not bear false witness against thy neighbor,” and Jesus says, “Blessed are the
meek, for they will inherit the earth.”
The Commandment says, “Thou shall
not steal,” and Jesus says, “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, for they will be satisfied.”
In the same way, Jesus summed up the
meaning and value of the entire Mosaic Law when he said—Love God with your
whole heart, your whole mind and your whole soul, and love your
neighbor as
yourself.
Love is the master that Jesus asks us to
serve, because Love Itself is the Master who serves us.
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