Friday, September 22, 2023

Friday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

(I Timothy 6:2c-12; Luke 8:1-3)

In a famous sermon St. Augustine once warned pastors about using their office for private gain.  He told them that they were playing with their salvation.  One passage from the sermon reflected on Augustine’s own service as a bishop.  He said, “In addition to the fact that I am a Christian and must give God an account of my life, I as a leader must give him an account of my stewardship as well.  The reading from Paul’s First Letter to Timothy contains similar thoughts.

Beyond urging its reader to teach only Christian truth, the letter tells him to beware of ideological positions which create controversy.  Most emphatically, it warns him about using his office for monetary gain.  The true wealth of a pastor, it indicates, is the hope of eternal life.

Both Augustine’s sermon and the First Letter to Timothy have application in every adult’s life.  Parents especially have to account in part for the lives of their children as well as their own lives.  We all belong to communities in which we have some responsibility for others.  We should not attend to those responsibilities out of selfish motives but always as a means of service to the Lord. 

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