In Dante's great work the "Purgatorio" the effects of each of the seven deadly sins are analyzed showing the perspective of the penitent in Purgatory. One of the seven deadly sins is "greed" which we hear reflected throughout the parable of the dishonest steward inside of today's Gospel reading from Luke. Dante shows the penance of those who suffer from greed by placing them face down upon rocky ground as they weep and pray while calling out examples of greed and there corresponding virtues. This posture reminds them of the words of Psalm 119:25 which states "my soul clings to the dust; revive me according to your word." In the life of these people they constantly chased after higher things to the point where they were raised in a worldly sense through all their wealth, talent, and possessions. In Dante's vision of Purgatory the lowering of oneself to the ground reminds them of the words of our Gospel: "You cannot serve both God and mammon." In this lowering of self they finally begin to understand that true charity requires the lowering of oneself to others especially to God who gives us life through His creative word.
Living in a society which has a fear of our economic future does not get us off the hook of having to worry about greed. We cannot allow excuses such as the uncertainty of our future to fuel our belief that we cannot be challenged to give of ourselves in anyway. We also look to our culture where we have become very busy with work, school, or sports. No matter how busy that we have become we must still realize that when we only chase after the raising of ourselves we are failing to lower ourselves to the needs of others who surround us not only in society, but also in our own homes. The home should be a place where a family shares time and resources with each other instead of a place where we are segregated to the loneliness of our possessions and needs without human contact or our relationship with God. To be truly intrenched inside of the vice of greed completely cuts us away from these relationships and in return makes us slaves.
The dishonest steward definitely felt the tension of becoming a slave of two masters. On one hand he was reprimanded for squandering the property of the rich man and on the other hand he was commended for acting prudently. In his actions he was torn between the service of his own needs and the liberation that comes when one gives of their self. This dishonest steward was lifting himself from the lowliness of his greed when he began to give of his own commission. In his slow separation of self he was training his body that he could no longer serve both God and mammon. We have all separated ourselves from this reality at times. We have at times allowed ourselves to become transfixed upon our wealth, time, possessions, and talents. God has given us so much inside of our lives and yet we must remember that we have no rite to take complete ownership of our possessions. We are all travelers on a journey of life that at some unknown moment will come to an end and in return we will be forced into separation with our possessions, wealth, time, and fame. The dishonest steward realized the end that was quickly coming for him and he in return acted prudently.
Our Gospel challenges each of us to act prudently in all matters. From the dishonest steward we see the effects that greed brings into our lives. Greed destroys us because we are always left looking upwards away from the needs of others. No matter how firm a grasp that greed has upon us there is always hope that we can challenge ourselves each day to conquer this vice through the virtue of charity. From charity we take ourself away from the enslavement of the exaltation of self and deliver ourself towards the lowliness that allows us to see our brothers and sisters in Christ who are in need. In this lowliness we realize that our faith requires us to be good stewards of everything that we posses. In the giving of our wealth, possessions, talent, or time we are growing in the virtue of charity and doing away with the vice of greed.
If we will ever be able to escape the grasp of greed in our life we must replace it with the growth of charity. Charity begins with our love of God and from this love extends our love that is shown to our neighbors. Growing towards God through prayer and sacrifice we are able to continuously lower ourself and place what we posses into its proper order. With this proper order defined we are then able to continue to lower ourself towards the needs of all those whom we encounter. With true charity established inside of our life we will no longer be enslaved to mammon, but instead we will become totally devoted to God who is the creator of all that is good. With God our heart will finally find the comfort that it was in search for because with God we find fullness and with greed we find a never ending desire to accumulate more and more which always leaves us feeling empty. Charity is the driving force for true happiness and liberation because it allows us to truly love through our wealth, time, possessions, and talents.
Where have we allowed ourselves to become enslaved by mammon in our life and what can we do in return to feel the tension of charity instead?
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