One beautiful exercise is looking at the connection between the daily readings. Today we are looking at the connection between the responsorial psalm and the Gospel reading.
In Psalm 112, we see a person who fears the Lord and whose heart is also steady and free from fear. How can both be true? The psalm gives us a clue in its opening line. The person who fears the Lord delights in God’s commands.
That word carries affection and trust. This person takes God seriously enough to let him shape how they earn, lend, give, and treat other people. Because their heart is anchored in God, even bad news need not decide how they live.
Richard Rohr notes how easily the habits of earning and measuring can spill over into our relationships. We may start asking who deserves our time, who has earned forgiveness, or what we will get back for helping. Serving God begins with receiving his love as a gift. As that truth sinks in, we become freer to give someone our attention, mercy, or practical help even when there is little chance of repayment.
Fear of the Lord is reverence born of love and trust. We recognize God’s holiness, take his word to heart, and care deeply about remaining faithful to him. Pope Francis describes this gift of the Holy Spirit through the image of a child who knows how small they are and feels safe in a loving father’s care.
In the Gospel of Luke today, Jesus asks Who do we serve -God or mammon? Mammon means wealth or property. Jesus speaks of it as a master because wealth can claim our allegiance. We feel that claim when keeping a profit seems more urgent than dealing honestly, or when protecting our standard of living makes it easy to overlook someone in need.
Psalm 112 gives us a picture of the freedom Jesus calls for. The person who trusts God can put wealth to work for justice and mercy.
Jesus says his disciples do not belong to the world and asks the Father to protect them, as He sends them into the world. We serve God in the world when we care for our neighbors, earn and spend responsibly, and act justly at work. In this reflection, serving the world means letting its measures of success, status, and security have the final say.
