FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST ~ Proper 20
September 18, 2022
AS WE GATHER
We find ourselves caught between competing loyalties all the time. It is a gut-wrenching position, torn between two people, two causes, two goals. Yet we also deceive ourselves into thinking that we can bridge the gap, reconcile the divergent paths, and give our heart to the world while reserving a part of it for the Lord. When the conflict is between mammon (money) and the Kingdom of God, there is more than painful choice at stake. If we choose the kingdom of the moment with its fleeting pleasures and momentary glories, we forsake what is God’s eternal gift. Today, the Lord calls us to take seriously the choices. He beckons us to live in the world but not be of the world, to choose the eternal over the moment, and the true treasure of grace over earthly treasure.
BIBLE READINGS:
FIRST READING: Amos 8:4-7
(The Lord will remember the sins of those who do not repent.)
EPISTLE READING: 1Timothy 2:1-15
(For there is one God and one mediator, Jesus Christ the Lord.)
HOLY GOSPEL: Luke 16:1-15 (Jesus tells us that you cannot serve God and money.)