Homily: Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)
Amos 8:4-7 / 1 Timothy 2:1-8 / Luke 16:1-13
21 September 2025
Fr. Ricky Cañet Montañez, AA
Are you upset by the news of corruption in the government? You should be! A government post is a public trust. Whatever resources are given to government officials and authorities do not belong to them. They are mere stewards entrusted with a responsibility to see to it that the needs of the people are met. Any misuse of public funds and abuse of their power is atrocius and they must be held responsible.
This is exactly what Jesus is talking about in today’s Gospel — the story of the steward who squandered his master’s property. He was not faithful, but when he realised he was about to lose everything, he became clever. Jesus is not praising his dishonesty. He is praising the fact that the man thought ahead, that he realised he had to act decisively. It, by no means, exonerates him, in fact, Jesus makes a strong point: “You cannot serve both God and money.” (Luke 16:13)
We do not need to look far to see how this plays out. Lately, corruption scandals and ostentatious lifestyles involving obscene amounts of money have been brought to light in various countries. In the Philippines alone, money intended to solve the problem of flooding, the improvement of education and healthcare and seeing to the plight of the poor, has been ending up in private pockets, funding excessive lifestyles at the expense of the nation. Often we feel helpless and silently shake our fists, wondering if justice shall be served. The prophet Amos, in the First Reading (Amos 8:4-7), gives us hope as he assures us that God sees this — every injustice, every abuse of power. He will not forget their misdeeds. They will get what is coming to them, if not in this life, then in the next.
But before we point fingers too quickly, we also need to look at ourselves. How do we use what God has entrusted to us? Our time, our relationships, our talents, our resources — do we spend them wisely, or do we waste them on things that do not last? We all have to deal with things that are not ours — a company car, people we manage, or even businesses we oversee. For parents, do you realise that your children are entrusted into your care by God? You will answer for them when the time comes. In all things, do we take our duty as stewards seriously? Or do we take the opportunity for granted and lay it to waste, misuse it, or worse — be so presumptuous as to believe we own anything?
I am very much inspired by the young Carlo Acutis who was recently canonised. He died at only 15 but at such a young age, he possessed a wisdom beyond his years. He said: “I die serene because I have not wasted even a minute of my life in things God does not like.” This is actually the heart of today’s Gospel. Life is short, time is precious, and everything we have is only borrowed from God. We are stewards, not owners. The question is: when God calls us to give an account, can we say, like Carlo, that we did not waste our life?
Finally, let us recognise what has been entrusted to us — our time, our talents, our very lives — and not squander them on things that fade away. Maybe, the challenge for us is simple but powerful. We must use our time well. We must use our money responsibly. We must use our influence for good. Above all, let us use everything we have in the service of God and others, not for our own personal gain. In the end, we discover that only God is worth serving.
Sunday Gospel Reflections 