Monsignor Enrique Díaz Díaz shares with Exaudi readers his reflection on the Gospel of this Sunday, September 21, 2025, entitled:  “You cannot serve God and money.”

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Amos 8:4-7:  “Against those who today force the poor to sell themselves”

Psalm 112:  “Let all his servants praise the Lord”

Luke 16:1-13:  “You cannot serve both God and money.”

Just a few days ago, in a speech to the FAO, Pope Leo XIV lashed out against the corruption of authorities that has undermined efforts to combat hunger: “While civilians grow weaker from misery, political leaders grow fatter from corruption and impunity,” he denounced. He lamented that “financial resources and innovative technologies are diverted from the goal of eradicating poverty and hunger in the world to be used instead for the production and trade of arms.” He strongly condemned the use of hunger as an instrument of war and criticized the diversion of resources intended to combat poverty and hunger. In his address, the pontiff warned that corruption, armed conflict, and political selfishness are aggravating one of humanity’s most persistent tragedies: food insecurity. The greed for money turns man into the enemy of humanity. Why do money and the greed for riches pervert the human heart?

To complete the picture, we now have this Gospel, which might confuse us. How can Jesus praise an administrator who has cheated and stolen? I can only imagine how all those accused of misusing public funds must justify themselves. Corruption has reached all political parties and all societies. No one escapes it. It has been proven that one of the worst enemies of the progress of our people is corruption, the misuse of public resources, even of assets intended for the poorest and most disadvantaged.  “The level of corruption in economies, involving both the public and private sectors, is alarming, compounded by a notable lack of transparency and accountability to the citizenry. On many occasions, corruption is linked to the scourge of drug trafficking or the drug trade, and, moreover, it is destroying the social and economic fabric of entire regions ,” the Bishops painfully acknowledged some years ago in Aparecida.

And they added:  “It is worth noting, as a major negative factor in much of the region, the increase in corruption at all levels, which generates impunity, seriously jeopardizes the credibility of public institutions and increases public distrust, a phenomenon that is coupled with a profound disregard for the rule of law. Among large sectors of the population, and particularly among young people, there is growing disenchantment with politics and, in particular, with democracy, as the promises of a better and more just life have not been fulfilled.”

We must, therefore, recognize that this assessment is also true in our country. Corruption pervades everything, destroys everything, and generates an attitude of despondency, helplessness, and passivity in the face of so much impunity.

Is this what Jesus proposes as an example? On the contrary, if we read carefully, not only the words of this paragraph but its entire context, we find a harsh criticism of money, which is called “unjust.” Jesus’ proposal is to “make friends with  money , so full of injustice, who, when you die, will welcome you into heaven.” Certainly, he doesn’t praise the administrator for his tricks, but for his ingenuity and cunning in making friends. We, too, should now seriously question our commitment to creating and fostering the building of the Kingdom of God, in contrast to the ingenuity and cunning of those who dedicate their lives to building the kingdom of money. Christ makes a clear contrast between these two kingdoms. We are often tempted to unite them and even confuse them. We must have a clear distinction, not only theoretically, but above all in practice. Likewise, we cannot serve both God and money.

Today, Jesus emphasizes the danger of deifying ill-gotten wealth, but he also shows us that it can be redeemed, provided it is used creatively to do good for the poor, as was the case with the steward who had squandered his master’s goods. His shrewdness is praised, not his self-serving corruption.

The prophet Amos, in the first reading, is very clear in presenting the Lord’s message to us:  “Listen to this, you who seek the poor only to ruin them… you who diminish the standards and raise the prices, distort the scales, force the poor to sell themselves; you buy them for a pair of sandals and even sell the bran for wheat… I will never forget any of these deeds.” And these words convey the true meaning of Jesus’ parable. Money can only be well-used for the benefit of those who have the least and the most vulnerable. Money can never be worth more than the person.

We may not have large sums of money, but we must examine ourselves carefully, including our small and large frauds, the corruption we generate or tolerate, and our complicity with a world that forgets the poorest every day. What place do we give to God? What place do we give to money?

Our God, who in love for you and our neighbor have chosen to summarize your entire law, grant us to discover and love you in our brothers and sisters, so that we may attain eternal life. Amen.