Homily – 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)

Today’s Gospel is puzzling.
A dishonest steward.
Caught cheating.
About to be fired.

And what does he do?
He cheats even more —
slashing debts, rewriting bills, making friends for himself.

And the master praises him.

Strange, isn’t it?
Jesus is not praising dishonesty.
He is praising decisiveness.
The steward was in a crisis — and he acted fast.

The world knows how to hustle for money. Do we strive for heaven?

The steward thought about the future.
He knew he could not dig.
He was too proud to beg.
So he used what he had to prepare.

And Jesus says: “The children of this world are more shrewd than the children of light.”

In other words:
People put huge effort into money, business, pleasure, security.
But when it comes to eternal life? Too often we are half asleep.

If we planned for heaven the way we plan for a holiday, we would all be saints.

The prophet Amos gives us God’s warning.
“You who trample on the needy… who fix your scales… who sell the poor for a pair of sandals.”

God sees.
God hears.
God remembers.

Injustice may be hidden from courts, but never from God.

The steward’s dishonesty was small compared to what Amos condemns.
But both show the same truth: money tempts us to cut corners, to treat people as numbers.

Jesus asks:
“If you are not trustworthy with unrighteous wealth, who will trust you with true riches?”

Money is temporary.
Possessions are temporary.
Careers are temporary.

The true riches are grace, mercy, holiness, heaven.

Your bank balance dies with you. Your soul doesn’t.

And then comes the punch line.
“No one can serve two masters. You cannot serve both God and money.”

It is one or the other.
Either money owns you,
or God does.

Money is a good servant but a cruel master. God is a demanding master but a loving Father. He asks everything of us, because He has already given everything to us.”

So what is Jesus asking of us?

Be decisive. The steward acted quickly. Don’t delay conversion. Don’t delay confession. Don’t delay prayer.
Tomorrow is the devil’s favourite word.

Be generous. Use what you have to bless others. Money will fail you one day — but generosity makes friends in heaven.
What you give to God is never lost; what you hoard will slip through your fingers.

Be faithful. Small things matter. Every honest word. Every prayer. Every hidden sacrifice.
Holiness grows in the small print of daily life.

St Paul tells us: pray.
Pray for everyone.
Pray for leaders, nations, rulers.

Why? Because God wants everyone to be saved.
Salvation is not private. It is for all.

So we use money wisely, yes — but we also lift hands in prayer.
Because prayer changes the world in ways money never can.

The stock market rises and falls. Prayer rises and never falls.

Imagine two men.
One spends years building wealth, property, investments.
The other spends years building prayer, charity, love.

They both die.
One leaves everything behind.
The other takes everything ahead.

That is the difference.
That is what Jesus means by true riches.

What you build on earth can be taken away. What you build in Christ lasts forever.

This is the test for us as a parish too.
Will we serve God first, or money first?
Will we measure success by numbers, or by holiness?

A parish renewed is a parish where Christ is first.
Where money serves the mission, not the other way round.
Where we are decisive, generous, faithful.

Today is Evangelii Gaudium Sunday, a special day of prayer for the spreading of the gospel: 

Evangelii Gaudium means the joy of the gospel and we are reminded that the joy of the Gospel is not an option — it is the mark of a Christian. A joyless Christian is a contradiction. The world chases pleasures that fade; we carry a joy that no one can steal. Evangelisation is not marketing, it is overflow. We do not peddle ideas, we share a Person. We do not sell a product, we announce a Saviour.

The joy of the Gospel is not kept in a book, it is written on our faces, lived in our choices, carried in our hearts.

So today Jesus puts it plainly:
Choose your master.
God or money.
Eternal treasure or passing comfort.

The dishonest steward was clever for a moment.
You be wise for eternity.

Better to be poor with Christ than rich without Him. Better to be cheated of money than cheated of heaven.

So let’s be clear:
Jesus does not praise dishonesty.
He praises urgency.
He calls us to act with the same energy for the Kingdom that others pour into business, money, ambition.

So be decisive.
Be generous.
Be faithful.
Serve one Master.

Because the Cross, not cash, saves.
Grace, not gold, lasts.
And God, not money, is the true treasure.