Homily for the 25th Sunday, Year C: Nothing Should Replace God: Faithful in an Unfaithful World
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C: September 21, 2025 Nothing Can Replace God: Faithful in an Unfaithful World Readings: Amos 8:4-7 | Psalm 113 | 1 Timothy 2:1-8 | Luke 16:1-13 We live in a world marked by significant social imbalances. The poor are oppressed and reduced to commodities to be bought, sold, or manipulated. This situation goes beyond a simple question of wealth or poverty; it also involves dishonesty. Cheating has unfortunately become the norm. People tamper with scales and weights to obtain false results and extort more money from buyers. Some exploit other people's businesses to make friends. You entrust your business to someone, who deceives you in order to enrich themselves overnight. These are some of the evils highlighted in today's First Reading and Gospel. The solution is to turn to God in prayer, as Saint Paul recommends in First Letter to Timothy 2:1-8. We must put God first in our lives. We live in an age where shrewd dealing and cunning shortcuts are commonplace. In business, politics, and even personal relationships, individuals fight not only to survive, but also to win. But at what cost? Today's First Reading, from Amos, denounces an unjust world where the rich trample on the poor, cheat with dishonest scales, and treat human beings as commodities. This sounds so familiar to many of us. Indeed, it is a world where profit comes before people and money replaces God. Jesus takes up this theme in the Gospel with a surprising story: that of the dishonest steward. He is at first wasteful, then shrewd. He loses his job, but secures his future by forming friendships with his master's debtors. Jesus does not praise dishonesty. He teaches us the importance of foresight. The steward prepares for his future. We too must be very shrewd in preparing for the best possible future, our time with God. Jesus thus transposes the parable to a future beyond this world. We can ask ourselves these difficult questions: Are we more shrewd in matters of finance than in matters of the soul? Are we investing in our eternal future or only in temporary gains? Saint Paul, in his letter to Timothy, reminds us what matters most: "There is one God and one mediator, Jesus Christ, who gave himself as a ransom for all." This is the kind of salvation we need. Not only in banking, but also in prayer, in generosity, in love, in truth. Dear friends, there is a spiritual battle over our priorities. Many today worship at the altar of success, popularity, and material security. But Christ tells us clearly: "You cannot serve both God and money." One must come first. So here's the message: be wise, yes. Plan ahead, yes. However, in all your planning, let nothing—neither money, nor ambition, nor even religious activity—replace God in your life. Let us be honest and faithful, even when no one is watching. Let us be generous to those in need. Let us pray, not only for ourselves, but for everyone: leaders, neighbors, enemies, as Paul exhorts us to do. Ultimately, what matters is not what we have, but whom we serve. And only one Master can save. Prayer: Lord God, in a world of greed and injustice, help us to remain faithful to you. Give us the courage to be honest, the wisdom to invest in eternity, and the love to serve the poor and forgotten. Let nothing take your place in our hearts. You alone are God, and Jesus Christ alone is our mediator. We entrust our lives, our projects, and our wealth to you. Amen. 25th Sunday #Homily #OrdinaryTime #Gospel #NothingReplacesGod #GodFirst #ServeGodNotMoney #ActiveFaith #SocialJustice #GospelOfTheDay #ChristianLife #Prayer #Hope #LoveOfNeighbor #FaithfulnessToGod #JesusSaves
