September 20, 2019 (Friday of Week 24 Year I:St Andrew Kim Taegon & Companions)
The love of money
Dear friends in Christ, today we celebrate St Andrew Kim Taegon and companions, Martyrs of the Korean Church. Before the advent of missionaries on the Peninsular, many of them came to faith by their contact with Christians books. For refusing to give up the faith, many of them were martyred.
Our first reading today (1Timothy 6:2c-12) is a continuation of Paul’s instructions on what is expected of those who are leaders in the Church. He insists that they must teach sound doctrine and in accordance with the Church and not their own interpretation or what they think the truth is. “Teach and urge these duties. If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree with the sound words of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching which accord with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit…imagining that godliness is a means of gain.” He warned them not to see the faith as a means to amass wealth saying, “There is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world…” The desire to be rich from preaching the gospel, is a great temptation into all sorts of wrong behaviour capable of plunging men into ruin and destruction. “The love of money, is the root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith…” He calls on Timothy to fight the good fight of the faith as a man of God and so take hold of eternal life. Today’s messengers of the gospel have so much to learn from this message. The temptations are great, but greater still, is the grace that has been given to those who have been called to the apostolate. Pray for your priests that they may hold firm to their commitments and vows.
Today’s gospel (Luke 8:1-3) talks about those who were in the entourage of Jesus as he preached the good news through the cities and villages. Luke tells us that, the twelve were with him, but so also were some women who provided for them out of their means, including Mary called Magdalene, Joanna, Susana among others. Luke was quick to mention that these were people, who had been healed by Jesus and have now decided to dedicate themselves to the same ministry that brought them back to life. They were not perfect, but in their imperfection they were instruments of God in the work of salvation. What is your contribution to the faith you profess?
Let us pray: Lord, by your Cross and resurrection, you have set us free. Help us to live in the hope of eternal life. Amen. May the Almighty God bless you, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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